Saturday September 26th the Lynn Live Oaks squared off against the Fitchburg Rollstones in Danvers, MA and split the doubleheader.

Sunday September 27th Essex matched up against Melrose and was able to secure a victory before the rain ended the day.

Next Up
Sunday October 4th- All Day Round Robin at Spencer Pierce Little Farm , 5 Littles Lane in Newbury, MA 11am start
11am Lynn Live Oaks vs. Fitchburg Rollstones
12:30 Essex Base Ball Club vs. Fitchburg Rollstones
2pm Kids Game- All kids will be welcome to come play a few innings of 1861 baseball
3pm- Essex BBC vs. Ipswich Brewers.
Food will be available for purchase and free samples of Ipswich Ale will be available

After close to a month off due to rain the Essex Organization returned to action this past weekend as the Essex Nine played two pairs of games. On Saturday the Nine traveled to Bristol, RI to take on the always powerful Blues. The first game moved quickly and the Essex squad was able to take the game 12-3. In the second game the Blues battled the Essex Nine back and forth but thanks to a lead off hit by Brian “The Wizard” Besse and then a walk off hit by Chris “The Monkey” Sheehy the Essex Club was able to take both games. The Essex guys would like to thank the Blues for their great play and they would like to thank all of the oxen at the farm for leaving us presents all along the field.

On Sunday the Essex Nine returned to action to take on their new friends the Ipswich Brewers in Methuen, MA as part of Trails and Sails weekend. The scores were not totaled but progress was seen in the Brewers play. Getting a hang of the vintage game and the bounce rule is not easy so HUZZAH to the Brewers for being good sports and agreeing to play.

The Essex Organization has a full weekend coming up….
Saturday September 26th 12pm Lynn Live Oaks vs. Fitchburg Rollstones at Endicott Park in Danvers, MA
Sunday September 27th 12pm Essex vs. Melrose Pondfielders at Endicott Park in Danvers, MA

Both games are part of the Essex National Heritage Trails and Sails weekend so come check them out.

The Essex Nine traveled up to beautiful Thomas Point Beach in Brunswick Maine this past weekend to take on the Dirigo Base Ball Club. Despite the blistering hot weather two fine games were played with the Essex Nine winning both games 8-7 and 9-5. As always Bill “The Undertaker” Gendall kept the Dirigo batters off balance with his hurling. The offense was led by Brian “Cappy” Sheehy who baffled the Maine boys with his fair fouls. The Essex Club would like to thank the Dirigo guys for their hospitality and look forward to seeing them next season.

Next Up
The Lynn Live Oaks travel out to Georges Island Saturday August 22nd to take on the Fitchburg Rollstones. For more info on getting out to the island http://www.bostonislands.com/

The Boston Beaneaters finish off their schedule on Saturday August 29th at 12pm as they take on the Olneyville Cadets at Riverside Park in Haverhill, MA.

On Saturday six members of the Essex Base Ball Organization teamed up with two members of the Mudville Nine to take on four members of the Ironsides BBC, three members of the Ipswich Brewers, and one NH Granite in a set of innings that included 1861, 1871, 1886, and 1900 rules. The event was in conjunction with the Cambridge Discovery Days and as always members of the EBBC dressed up as John Clarkson and Joe Kelley (2 of the 3 Hall of Fame players from Cambridge). The underhand rules went very smoothly with the vintage base ball newbie’s from the Ironsides and Brewers fairing very well. In the overhand innings Brian “Cappy” Sheehy after 21 years of playing baseball finally got his chance at pitching and pitched admirably striking out at least five, while one hitting one. The exact score is not known but the day saw some new vintage base ballists trying out some new rules and enjoying themselves in the process. The Essex Organization would like to thank all of the teams for coming to support the day and to the Cambridge Discovery Days for setting everything up.

Sunday saw the Essex Nine head off to Georges Island to take on the DCR Park Rangers. Despite some first inning woes the rangers held their own but the experience of the Essex ballists was too much in the end and they fell 10-1. The second game was a mix matched kid’s game and fun was had all around. Pictures from the weekend are on our facebook group. The Lynn Live Oaks head back to Georges Island on Saturday August 22nd to take on the Fitchburg Rollstones.

The Essex Club returns to action this Sunday as they travel to Thomas Point Beach in Brunswick Maine to take on the Dirigo Base Ball Club. Game begins at 1pm for more info on Thomas Point Beach www.thomaspointbeach.com

The Boston Beaneaters continued their dominance as they easily defeated the Boston Colonials this past Saturday 24-1. Behind seven stellar innings of work in which he only allowed one run and a handful of hits Drew Murphy got the win and Eric “Goose” Gosselin finished off the last two innings only allowing one hit. Just about every member of the Beaneaters had multiple hits but the offense was especially led by rookie Ryan Sifferlen who batted for the cycle. Despite the breaking of his beloved bat Aaron Horwitz spayed hits to all fields as well.

Next Up
Come join members of New England’s vintage base ball community on Saturday August 8th at St Peters Field on Sherman St in Cambridge, MA from 10-2 as they attempt to play a few innings of base ball as it was played in 1861, 1876, 1886, 1893, and 1900. Join us as we also celebrate Cambridge’s Hall of Fame trio of John Clarkson, Tim Keefe, and Joe Kelley by wearing replica uniforms and with an exhibit highlighting their careers. The event free and is organized by the Essex Base Ball Organization and sponsored by Cambridge Discovery Days for more information on this event contact Brian Sheehy at historyball@yahoo.com or check out our web site www.essexbaseball.wordpress.com

Sunday August 9th the Essex Nine travels out to Georges Island to take on the Park Rangers

The Essex Base Ball Organization had a busy weekend with games on both Saturday and Sunday and then an appearance on Monday.

Saturday saw the Beaneaters travel up to Nashua NH to take on the NH Granite. Despite several new faces in the outfield, the team was led by the always strong pitching of Chris “Monkey” Sheehy and coasted to a 13-4 victory. The Beaneaters return to action Saturday August 1st as they take on the Boston Colonials.

Sunday July 26th the Essex Nine traveled to Ipswich, MA to celebrate the 375th anniversary of the town of Ipswich. The day started with the Essex Nine matched up against the Ipswich Little League All Stars. After two innings with the little league players the Essex Nine saw the debut of the Ipswich Brewers of the Mercury Brewing Company. In brand new uniforms the Brewers held their own with the much more seasoned Essex boys. The final score was lost to the ages. We would like to thank the Ipswich Historical Society for setting up the event and the Mercury Brewing Company who were generous enough to allow the players to sample their fine brew. We look forward to many more games with the Brewers as they are a fine group of guys.

Cappy, Monkey, and Scaps headed up to Manchester, NH on Monday night to be part of the NH Fisher Cats Negro League Night. Former Red Sox pitcher Dennis Oil Can Boyd was on hand along with Larry Tye the author of Satchel: The Life and Times of an American Legend. We listened to some stories about Satchel page and got to meet Oil Can Boyd (who is a character) but unfortunately a thunder storm knocked out the power and the game was postponed.

Brian and Chris Sheehy made the long trip over to Ireland last week to bring the history of baseball to the children of Ireland. The brothers showed up at Corkagh Demesne Park in Clondalkin, West Dublin on a dreary Saturday morning not knowing what to expect but were pleasantly surprised to see 18 or so 7-12 year olds who were more than happy to learn about the history of baseball from two guys from the Boston area. Cappy took a few minutes to show the kids several uniforms, gloves, and baseballs, and after the show and tell session Cappy moved on to the rules and explained how they changed in the 19th century. Finally, Cappy explained why he was wearing his new red Lawrence uniform, and he explained that Patsy Donovan (who was born in County Cork and moved to Lawrence, MA) wore this uniform in 1886. Donovan may be one of the best players who was ever born in Ireland and Cappy wrote an article on him a few years back click here. After all of the talk (which judging by the quiz after the game they all remembered) they decided to let the kids play an inning. For a sport that is relatively new in Ireland the kids showed some great fundamentals and even picked up the vintage game quickly calling their fellow teammates muffins after they swung and missed. After the inning the kids were gathered together and huzzahs were cheered and kids activity packs were passed out. Cappy and Monkey would like to thank everyone involved with Baseball in Ireland for the opportunity to educate the kids on the history of the game.

Upcoming Events
Sat July 25th 1pm Beaneaters vs. NH Granite Pennichuck Middle School 207 Manchester St. Nashua, NH 03064

Come join the Essex Base Ball Club for an event Sunday July 26th at 4pm at Raymond Fields (94 Essex Rd (Route133) in Ipswich, MA. The Essex Nine is teaming up with the Ipswich Historical Society and Mercury Brewing Company to celebrate the 375th anniversary of Ipswich. The day kicks off at 4pm with the Essex Nine playing two innings against the Ipswich Little League All Stars. After the two innings the Mercury Brewing Company will unveil the newest vintage base ball club in New England, the Ipswich Brewers. The day promises to be a good exhibit of 1861 base ball and beer and food will be available for sale.

Admission, non-members $5/person, $20/family. Members, $3/person, $15/family

Bring a lawn chair and enjoy the action.

During the lovely month of June this year finding time between the rain to play base ball has proved a challenge but the clubs squeezed in three games in two days this past week. On Sunday a Essex/ Lynn squad matched up against a Melrose/ Fitchburg squad in Ayer, MA. The games were enjoyable and both split squads were able to claim one of the games played.

Despite several cancelations and the ever present threat of rain the annual Hot Dogs and Hits game was played Monday night to a good sized crowd. The home town Essex squad marched off to a quick lead and never looked back winning 8-2 in a special 12 inning extended game. As always the crowd enjoyed the game and the kids enjoyed playing before and after the game. We look forward to the event again next year.

Next on tap…
Members of the Essex squad will be heading to the town common in North Andover on Sundya July 5th for a demonstration.

July 12th members of the Essex and Lynn squads will be out on Georges Island

Brian “Cappy” Sheehy and Chris “Monkey” Sheehy will be traveling over to Ireland on July 10th and will be doing several kids camps in which they will be teaching the 19th century rules to little league players over in Ireland.

Due to the rain the Georges Island game has been canceled along with Hot Dogs and Hits. On Monday June 29th we will try the Hot Dogs and Hits game again at Endicott Park in Danvers, MA. We will have a kids game at 5pm and start our game at 6pm.