“Leg it, Cotton!”
If that was yelled down the hall at Bethany a lot of people would be very confused, but there is one person would know exactly what it meant.
For eleven years, Kevin Miller has played vintage baseball with the Bonneyville Millers. They play by the rules of 1858, complete with terminology and clothing. The Bonneyville Millers are sponsored by the Elkhart County Parks Department and home matches are played at Ox Bow County Park. The team is a member of the Vintage Baseball Association along with other teams, and to goal is to educate people about Civil War era baseball.
The Bonneyville Millers play other clubs in the area, sometimes traveling three to four hours away for games. In their complete season, the team plays eight to nine games at home, at Ox Bow County Park, and eight to nine games away at area fields. The games are on Saturdays and Sundays, with some evening games in the summer.
One of the most noticeable differences between the average modern baseball team and the Bonneyville Millers is the clothing and uniforms. The team dresses in the style of the period, including long pants and a white long sleeve shirt, with suspenders and hats. Players do not use gloves, and must try to keep as neat as possible. It was considered a gentleman’s sport, so there is no swearing, spitting, or scratching, and because it is partly an educational show for the fans, players are fined 25 cents for infractions. There is an umpire present but for the most part players are expected to be honest and call their own for a more laid back style of play.
The game almost resembles slow pitch softball more than baseball today, but the point is to throw it so the other person can hit it, not to get as many outs as fast as possible. Speaking of pitching, that brings up another large shift in terminology. Pitchers were called, and are referred to in this game, as hurlers; fans are cranks, to score a run is to “tally an ace,” and a common cheer for the “cranks” to yell is “Huzzah!” Telling a teammate to “Run!” was expressed as “Leg it!” Another noticeable difference is the word baseball itself. In Civil War times it was written as two words, “base ball,” but that is now different showing an example of how the English language, and the game itself has evolved over time. The men also use nicknames as was customary at the time, for example Kevin’s nickname of Cotton.
Kevin “Cotton” Miller plays at the Vintage Base Ball World Series in 2006.
Kevin Miller first got involved with the vintage baseball team eleven years ago, when the Bonneyville Millers were only three years old. Along with him, two other friends on the team have also played long term. A highlight for the entire team is going to Greenfield Village for the Vintage Baseball World Series. In 1867 they hosted a real World Series, so they use the rules of 1867 as opposed to 1868, as the Bonneyville Millers are accustomed to using.
Baseball was always a passion of Kevin’s, but as he got older and started raising a family he decided to quit playing fast-pitch baseball. However, he also loves history, and “Vintage baseball is a great way to remain involved with baseball in a sense, with less competition, but also to enjoy the history of the game.”
Kevin “Cotton” Miller meets well known announcer Ernie Harwell, who announced Kevin’s home run.
One of his personal highlights of his baseball career involved the Vintage Baseball World Series and Ernie Harwell, longtime Tigers announcer. Harwell was there to announce the championship game, but had arrived early and decided to pick up the end of Bonneyville Millers’ previous game. Kevin got up to bat, and managed to hit his solo career home run, with Ernie Harwell announcing!
This love of the game and of history keeps Cotton interested and involved with vintage baseball, as he combines two of his passions in learning, playing and teaching the American pastime.
~Katie Hurst