Second Annual George Bradley Vintage Base Ball Festival

Big Vision Foundation hosts Second Annual George Bradley Vintage Base Ball Festival


The second annual George Bradley Vintage Base Ball Festival, presented by Lehigh Valley Bat Works is set for June 27 and 28 at the BIG Vision Sports Complex in Leesport.

The festival, which will showcase Vintage Base Ball as it was played in the 19th Century is a celebration of the accomplishment of George Washington Bradley, a native of Reading, PA who threw the first no-hitter in Major League Baseball history on July 15, 1876. Bradley’s St. Louis Brown Stockings defeated the Hartford Dark Blues 2-0 to record the first no-hitter in Major League history. Bradley finished the 1876 season with a 45-19 record, 1.23 ERA and 16 shutouts, which is still a major league record today that he shares with Grover Cleveland Alexander.

The festival will feature Vintage Base Ball teams from Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland.

In addition to the Vintage games, there will also be a youth baseball and youth girl’s softball tournament taking place at the facility as well.

The weekend will feature great Vintage Base Ball, wonderful food and fantastic entertainment sponsored by the Reading Musical Foundation. Kent Courtney will be performing 19th Century acoustic music on Saturday, the Ringgold Band will be performing on Sunday and Robert Mouland, a traveling puppeteer will be performing on both days.

Renowned 19th Century Base Ball historian, Erik Miklich of Long Island, New York will be on hand for the entire weekend to give demos and explain how the game has evolved since its inception in the 19th Century.

Admission is only $5 per car each day. Gates open at 7:00 AM each day, with youth games starting at 8:00 AM and vintage games starting at 10:30 AM on Saturday and 11:30 AM on Sunday. Additional information regarding the festival can be obtained on the BIG Vision Foundation web site at www.BigVisionFoundation.org.

(All information in this post was provided through the Big Vision Foundation.)

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