Philadelphia Town Ball

Glossary of Games
	Curated by Larry McCray and Jeffrey Kittel
	Chart: Predecessor and Derivative Games
	Predecessor Games
	Derivative Games
	Glossary of Games, Full List
Game Families
	Baseball · Kickball · Scrub · Fungo · Hat ball · Hook-em-snivy
	Untagged Games
	Add a Game
	Add a Family of Games

Game	Philadelphia Town Ball
Game Family	Baseball Baseball
Location	Philadelphia
Regions
Eras
Invented
Tags	1800s, US
Description	The game that arose in Philadelphia in the 1830’s. The rules of this game have recently been induced from game accounts by Richard Hershberger. The game is distinct from the Massachusetts Game. It’s signature features were 11-player teams, an absence of set defensive positions, stakes [as bases] set in a circle 30-foot diameter, non-aggressive pitching, a lighter, softer ball, an all-out-side-out rule, and a bound rule. This game was evidently the game of choice in the Philadelphia area until about 1860, when the New York game came to dominate Philly play.
Sources	Richard Hershberger, “A Reconstruction of Philadelphia Town Ball,” Base Ball, Volume 1, number 2 (Fall 2007), pages 28-43.
Source Image	[[Image:\|left\|thumb]]
Comment	Edit with form to add a comment
Query	Edit with form to add a query
Has Supplemental Text

Comments