On Saturday we went to watch the Rawhide Creek Tanners play a baseball match against the Wichita Red Stockings. I guess there is a league of club nines that play old style. The Tanners are from the Dallas area and the Red Stockings traveled all the way from Wichita, KS to play this match. They play by the rules adopted by the National Association of (Amateur) Baseball players on March 14, 1860. Some of the differences in this match than present day baseball are: the ballists don't wear gloves, the horsehide is softer and is made out of a one-piece hand-stitched white or tan leather, the umpire may ask the players and rooters for assistance in making calls (very fun way for the cranks to join into the game), the bowler must pitch the ball underhanded, and sliding into a base is discouraged and deemed ungentlemanly.
Before the game started the baseball commissioner of the Dallas area came out and read the rules to us. Then, all the players introduced themselves by their actual name and their nickname. Supposedly back in 1860 every player had a nickname.
Here are some 19th century baseball slang for you that, if you'll notice, I tried to incorporate into the paragraph above:
club nine: team
bowler: pitcher
cranks: fans
huzzah: used to congratulate a player on a well played ball
ballist: player
horsehide: ball
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