On Sunday, July 14, Lake County Parks and Recreation hosted its Music and Baseball event at Deep River County Park. The Legacy Foundation, a Lake County-based community enrichment foundation, sponsored a concert by the South Shore Brass Band. Assembled in front of Deep River County Park’s gazebo, the band offered up a varied selection of toe-tapping tunes. Attendees then headed over to the park’s very own Grinder Field to watch the Deep River Grinders and Danville, Illinois’ Vermillion Voles face off in a 1858-style vintage baseball game. Attendees of all ages enjoyed hot dogs, cookies, and ice-cold Sioux City Sarsaparilla, a Deep River County Park special.
The South Shore Brass Band performed their renditions of several popular songs ranging from the 1930s all the way to the 2010s, including “What A Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong, “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, “South Rampart Street Parade” by Ray Bauduc and Bob Haggart, and “Uptown Funk” by Bruno Mars. They also played some patriotic songs such as “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Liberty Fanfare” by John Williams. Mary Lee Ryan, a former vocal professor at Valparaiso University and a South Shore Brass Band board member, joined the band to sing “America the Beautiful.” After the concert, Ryan and the band assembled on Grinder Field to open the baseball game with a performance of the “Star-Spangled Banner.”
Jim Basala, CEO of Lake County Parks and Recreation and one of the umpires for the baseball game, has been a member of the Deep River Grinders for over 30 years. He feels that the Music and Baseball event reflects Lake County Parks and Recreation’s mission and core values.
“This event embodies everything that Lake County Parks and Recreation is about,” Basala said. “Parks and Rec is an essential service because we provide people with the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and forget about their troubles for a while. Today we're bringing families together on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the park to be entertained. Watching the Grinders play is an intergenerational event: the people who watch the games today used to come out with their grandparents. Now, they’re bringing their own kids. It’s a good time. We also have the South Shore Brass Band here, so what more could you ask for?”
The 1858 baseball rules that the Grinders and Voles adhere to differ significantly from those of today. For example, the pitcher always throws the baseball underhand instead of overhand. Also, players do not bunt, slide into base, or even steal bases. Aleda Hileman, a first-time Grinders spectator, appreciates the opportunity to witness how the sport was played over 160 years ago.
“My family and I are visiting a friend and she brought us to watch the game,” Hileman said. “It’s been exciting. I love baseball, so this has been really cool to see how different the rules of the game were back in the mid-1800s. This is a great location for a vintage baseball game because there are no power lines, it’s away from the main road, and we’re right in the middle of nature. There’s lots of trees, a really nice breeze, and we’re right by the river. This event has truly been wonderful.”
Brian “Patches” Doolin, an outfielder for the Deep River Grinders who has been playing for the team since 1993, considers Grinder Field to be uniquely suited to celebrating Lake County’s baseball heritage.
“I've been to a lot of fields and Grinder Field here at Deep River County Park is by far the greatest field in vintage baseball,” Doolin said. “Its construction lends a lot to the whole atmosphere of the game. Vintage baseball involves a unique mix of both theater and athleticism. Hopefully the spectators here today will walk away both educated and entertained. We want to give people something to remember and something that they’ll want to come back for. We’d like the people who watch us to have a good time and think of Lake County in a positive light.”
The players engaged in good-natured taunting with one another as the spectators or “cranks” – an 1880s term for baseball fans – celebrated with the traditional baseball cheer of “huzzah” and encouraged the athletes with cries of “Leg it,” another term from the early days of baseball.
You can learn more about Lake County Parks and Recreation by visiting lakecountyparks.com.
