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Elsberry column:
Dig those roots: Orators open season
BRIDGEPORT — Mike Roer adjusted his tie, straightened his suit jacket, tapped his top hat and yelled out to
everyone around, "Striker to the line!"
Roer, the umpire, make that the arbiter, took his place to the right of the batting area and waited for the first
Bridgeport Orator to take his swings. Saturday morning down at Seaside Park, it was like taking a step back
in time. Back to when the sport of baseball was in its infancy, when the rules were different and when
gentlemen played the game. There were no gloves, no balls or strikes. Bats were big and heavy and
baseballs were small and hand-stitched.
Once upon a time, the game was played all over the city, at Newfield Park, at Pleasure Beach, at Barnum
Park and at Candelite Stadium. There were the Bridgeports and the Victors and the Mechanics and the
Hustlers. There were the Bolts and the Bears and the Brown Derbies and the Bees.
And of course, the Orators.
The original Orators played in the Connecticut League from 1900 through 1909. They were managed by
Bridgeport's own James O'Rourke, who is credited with getting the first hit in the National League in 1876
and had a major league career that spanned 22 seasons in the National Association, the National League
and the Federal League. But "Orator Jim," as he was known, was just the tip of this city's baseball iceberg.
The Yankees barnstormed here. John McGraw brought his New York Giants to play here. So did Connie
Mack and his Philadelphia A's. Many Negro League teams also played games at Newfield Park.
In 1923, Lou Gehrig hit two home runs at Newfield while playing for the Hartford Senators, a Yankees farm
team. In 1932, Babe Ruth singled in a game against the Bridgeport Bears. Jimmy Foxx managed here. In
1917, a young infielder named Casey Stengel scored the Brooklyn Robins' lone run in a 2-1 loss to the
Bridgeport Americans.
Mel Ott. Honus Wagner. Rabbit Maranville. Pie Traynor. They all played here, too.
The history is deep. The history is rich.
And Joe Vigorito is one who is bringing that history back to life. He created the Bridgeport Orators, a vintage
baseball team that played its first home game of the season Saturday morning at Seaside Park against the
Atlantic Base Ball Club from Smithtown, N.Y. And while the ABBC swept the doubleheader from the Orators
— one game under 1861 rules and the second under 1864 rules — Vigorito is helping re-create history and
having a heck of a lot of fun doing it.
"This is definitely a learning experience. We're taking some licks, but we're having fun doing it," Vigorito said
between games. "This is baseball at its very roots. It is such an amazing experience to see how the game
was played and to act gentlemanly. It's a special experience." The Atlantic Base Ball Club has been playing
vintage baseball since 1997 and several of the players, according to Ed "Pigtail" Elmore, the ABBC's
player/manager, have been with the team since the beginning.
"We don't have a lot of turnover," Elmore said. "The guys just love playing the game this way. It might look
somewhat like softball, but believe me, once you play the game this way, you'll never play softball again."
Under 1861 rules, the ball was thrown underhanded to the plate by the "hurler" to the "behind," or catcher.
The batter was the "striker" and one ball was used for the entire game. Strikers could not over-run first base
on a hit,
and if a fielder caught the ball either on the fly or on one bounce, the striker was out.
The ABBC team spent the first game showing the Orators just how this was done, winning 19-0.
"We're just learning how to play," Vigorito said. "Right now, the No. 1 goal is to enjoy ourselves. By the end
of the season, we'll hopefully have won a couple of games, and that will be great."
The second game, under 1864 rules, had arbiter Roer first issuing a "warning" to the pitcher about throwing
a ball before actually calling one. Not that anyone actually took a walk. That would have been
"ungentlemanly." Just like bunting and stealing were considered "sneaky," according to Roer, who wrote a
book called "Baseball in Bridgeport, from Barnum to the Bluefish" in 1998.
At the time of the Bluefish's debut, Roer worked for the Chamber of Commerce. While "looking to sell the
nostalgia of Bridgeport," he started digging into the city's baseball history.
"I started finding out about the Bears (from the 1920s and '30s) and the Bees (from the 1940s) from a lot of
the old-timers," Roer said. "The book was the end result of my research."
And the newly created Bridgeport Orators are the end result of Vigorito's and his friends' passion for vintage
baseball.
"It's not about winning or losing, it's about having fun and this is super fun, I love it," said Kurt Wehmann, who
pitched for most of the first game. "Everything about this is fun."
Contact Chris Elsberry at celsberry@ctpost.com
Dig those roots: Orators open season
BRIDGEPORT — Mike Roer adjusted his tie, straightened his suit jacket, tapped his top hat and yelled out to
everyone around, "Striker to the line!"
Roer, the umpire, make that the arbiter, took his place to the right of the batting area and waited for the first
Bridgeport Orator to take his swings. Saturday morning down at Seaside Park, it was like taking a step back
in time. Back to when the sport of baseball was in its infancy, when the rules were different and when
gentlemen played the game. There were no gloves, no balls or strikes. Bats were big and heavy and
baseballs were small and hand-stitched.
Once upon a time, the game was played all over the city, at Newfield Park, at Pleasure Beach, at Barnum
Park and at Candelite Stadium. There were the Bridgeports and the Victors and the Mechanics and the
Hustlers. There were the Bolts and the Bears and the Brown Derbies and the Bees.
And of course, the Orators.
The original Orators played in the Connecticut League from 1900 through 1909. They were managed by
Bridgeport's own James O'Rourke, who is credited with getting the first hit in the National League in 1876
and had a major league career that spanned 22 seasons in the National Association, the National League
and the Federal League. But "Orator Jim," as he was known, was just the tip of this city's baseball iceberg.
The Yankees barnstormed here. John McGraw brought his New York Giants to play here. So did Connie
Mack and his Philadelphia A's. Many Negro League teams also played games at Newfield Park.
In 1923, Lou Gehrig hit two home runs at Newfield while playing for the Hartford Senators, a Yankees farm
team. In 1932, Babe Ruth singled in a game against the Bridgeport Bears. Jimmy Foxx managed here. In
1917, a young infielder named Casey Stengel scored the Brooklyn Robins' lone run in a 2-1 loss to the
Bridgeport Americans.
Mel Ott. Honus Wagner. Rabbit Maranville. Pie Traynor. They all played here, too.
The history is deep. The history is rich.
And Joe Vigorito is one who is bringing that history back to life. He created the Bridgeport Orators, a vintage
baseball team that played its first home game of the season Saturday morning at Seaside Park against the
Atlantic Base Ball Club from Smithtown, N.Y. And while the ABBC swept the doubleheader from the Orators
— one game under 1861 rules and the second under 1864 rules — Vigorito is helping re-create history and
having a heck of a lot of fun doing it.
"This is definitely a learning experience. We're taking some licks, but we're having fun doing it," Vigorito said
between games. "This is baseball at its very roots. It is such an amazing experience to see how the game
was played and to act gentlemanly. It's a special experience." The Atlantic Base Ball Club has been playing
vintage baseball since 1997 and several of the players, according to Ed "Pigtail" Elmore, the ABBC's
player/manager, have been with the team since the beginning.
"We don't have a lot of turnover," Elmore said. "The guys just love playing the game this way. It might look
somewhat like softball, but believe me, once you play the game this way, you'll never play softball again."
Under 1861 rules, the ball was thrown underhanded to the plate by the "hurler" to the "behind," or catcher.
The batter was the "striker" and one ball was used for the entire game. Strikers could not over-run first base
on a hit,
and if a fielder caught the ball either on the fly or on one bounce, the striker was out.
The ABBC team spent the first game showing the Orators just how this was done, winning 19-0.
"We're just learning how to play," Vigorito said. "Right now, the No. 1 goal is to enjoy ourselves. By the end
of the season, we'll hopefully have won a couple of games, and that will be great."
The second game, under 1864 rules, had arbiter Roer first issuing a "warning" to the pitcher about throwing
a ball before actually calling one. Not that anyone actually took a walk. That would have been
"ungentlemanly." Just like bunting and stealing were considered "sneaky," according to Roer, who wrote a
book called "Baseball in Bridgeport, from Barnum to the Bluefish" in 1998.
At the time of the Bluefish's debut, Roer worked for the Chamber of Commerce. While "looking to sell the
nostalgia of Bridgeport," he started digging into the city's baseball history.
"I started finding out about the Bears (from the 1920s and '30s) and the Bees (from the 1940s) from a lot of
the old-timers," Roer said. "The book was the end result of my research."
And the newly created Bridgeport Orators are the end result of Vigorito's and his friends' passion for vintage
baseball.
"It's not about winning or losing, it's about having fun and this is super fun, I love it," said Kurt Wehmann, who
pitched for most of the first game. "Everything about this is fun."
Contact Chris Elsberry at celsberry@ctpost.com