Dan Duquette, left, and Mike Barbera talk about the upcoming 150th anniversary game.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Nearly two centuries of baseball history will converge at a college baseball "cathedral" — Wahconah Park — this May.
Williams and Amherst college will renew a baseball diamond rivalry begun 150 years ago in the city, toting up yet another run on Pittsfield's scoreboard. The game marking the anniversary of the first intercollegiate baseball match will be broadcast on ESPNU.
"It's only fitting that this game be played here because of the rich, very rich history that Pittsfield has and has enjoyed as it relates to Major League Baseball," said Mayor James M. Ruberto on Monday.
The game could be described as a triple play, bringing national sports news coverage, college baseball and its Hall of Fame and Wahconah's newest home team, the Pittsfield Defenders, together for a weekendlong event.
Forgot to add the chess game, and the youth clinics and the vintage baseball game. Let's just say this one got hit out of the park.
Ruberto was joined by organizers Dan Duquette, an Amherst alum, and Mike Barbera, a Williams alum, and other representatives, including Jonathon Tosches, general manager for the Pittsfield Defenders, at Patriot Suites for the announcement.
Dan Duquette, a partner in the Pittsfield Defenders, said a rain date for the Sunday, May 3, game was set for the following day but the park had a tarp — so the game should go on.
So should the vintage game that same day in which Amherst and Williams alum will don antique attire and play by the same rules as in 1859. Organizers are working with baseball historian John Thorne, who discovered the 1791 Pittsfield bylaw that appears to be the oldest recorded reference to the game, to ensure the authenticity. (Nokona Athletic Goods Co. is donating the uniforms; two of its executives are partners in the Defenders, as well as two other teams.)
"We're trying to recapture as much of that day as we can," said Barbera.
That's where the chess game comes in. The same day the teams met in Pittsfield (considered a neutral field) in 1859 to play the nation's first collegiate baseball game, the Lord Jeffs and Ephs also battled over a chess board. (Barbera joked that he expected Williams "to have several Russians on their team.")
The vintage game will have a time limit — the first one went 25 innings, with Amherst winning 73-32. There was no information on who won the chess match.
The main game, the third time the colleges will have met this spring, will be broadcast on ESPNU, thanks in part to Pittsfield native Mike Ryan, an Amherst graduate working at ESPN. Radio America's "Talkin' Baseball" with Phil Wood and Tim Donner will also be broadcasting from Pittsfield.
The organizers are also planning other events, including youth league clinics at the Dan Duquette Sports Academy and the College Baseball Hall of Fame, which will send two representatives. Other events are expected to held within the city.
Pittsfield is sponsoring a poster contest to commemorate the 150th anniversary game. Local artists are being invited to submit their work by March 13 to the Lichtenstein Center for the Arts. It's all part of integrating the city's history and culture together, said the city's cultural director, Megan Whilden. "We expect lots of submissions that will hit the ball out of the park."
The winner will receive $1,000 and season tickets to the Defenders. Entry forms will be available at the Pittsfield Web site and at City Hall.
The College Baseball Hall of Fame is planning an exhibit at its Lubbock, Texas, headquarters about the Western Mass. rivals and Pittsfield's role in college baseball history.
The Amherst-Williams matchup may not be an annual event, but the organizers are hoping that the Hall of Fame will recognize some type of yearly celebration in Pittsfield, since its the birthplace of college baseball.
"I think all of us really hope that this is the beginning of maybe a refocusing of Pittsfield not just as a great baseball city but a historic college baseball city," said Barbera. "... and the future of Wahconah Park as a real cathedral of college baseball going forward." Baseball Time Line
