The game this time will be played west of town, on the front lawn of The Willowtree Inn, built in the 1880s.
The vintage baseball game is the brainchild of Reed Spencer and Greg Enslen, members of the Downtown Tipp City Partnership.
Spencer said they came up with the idea more than three years ago while brainstorming for DTCP projects.
“We feel vintage baseball has a historical tie-in to our downtown. The Tippecanoe Sleepies played in Tipp City’s Freeman Prairie (flood plain east of town),” Spencer said.
The men came up with a game location, The Willowtree Inn and its huge lawn west of town, and a roster of 25, including residents and business people in the Tipp City area.
Modern methods were used to recruit players including a Web site, www. tippecanoecanaljumpers. com; social media; and the “Get Social” show on Blog Talk Radio hosted by Enslen and another downtown supporter, Mike McDermott.
The baseball experience of the Canal Jumpers ranges from Little League to college.
“Our vintage baseball experience is very minimal, but our enthusiasm cannot be matched,” Spencer said. The team will hold an informal practice the week before the game to allow players to become familiar with the 1860s rules and customs.
Enslen said the intentions of those behind the Aug. 16 game is to “play up the casual and historical nature of this outing, in hopes of garnering enough local support to field a team in the future.”
Matt Owen, president of the Tipp City Area Chamber of Commerce and the DTCP, said a lot of community support has been seen for the vintage baseball project. “It should be a fun day for the entire family,” he said.
Tickets for the Aug. 16 game are $2.
A fundraiser for the Canal Jumpers will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 7 at Harrison’s in downtown Tipp City.
For more information about vintage baseball, call the downtown partnership at (937) 667-8300.
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