After 145 Years, Athletics Return to Delaware
August 20, 2010 – After a nearly 145-year absence, the Athletic Base Ball Club (BBC) of Philadelphia will return to Delaware to play ball. The Athletic will face the Diamond State BBC on their home field at Fort DuPont State Park in Delaware City, Delaware on Sunday, August 29 at 1:00 p.m. The two clubs will play a match of 19th century amateur base ball, based upon the official rules of 1866.
The last and only time the Athletic faced Diamond State in Delaware was on October 28, 1865 at the old ballpark at Delaware Avenue and Adams Street in the Wilmington, when the Philadelphians soundly defeated Delaware nine by the final score of 104 to 7. That game was one of the first played by the then newly-organized Diamond State BBC. The Athletic BBC had begun playing amateur play in 1860 and was, by that time, one of the strongest clubs in the country.
The decidedly lopsided victory over Diamond State was not an unusual occurrence for the Athletics. The Philadelphia club was regularly challenged by newer clubs throughout the region and country to the same result. In fact, the Athletics last appearance in Delaware occurred on May 9, 1866 and resulted in a 131 to 8 defeat of the Lenape BBC of New Castle.
In the modern era, the Athletic BBC and Diamond State BBC have met only once before. The two clubs faced one another on May 2, 2010 in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. Diamond State won the day with a 22 to 3 victory. The Delaware nine’s 2010 record is 7 wins versus 16 losses.
The August 29 Mid Atlantic Vintage Base Ball League Eastern Division game is the final match of the season between the Diamond State and Athletic ball clubs. It is also the next to last game that Diamond State will host at Fort DuPont State Park in 2010. Diamond State’s last home game at Fort DuPont is on Sunday, September 26 against the Excelsior BBC of Arundel (Glen Burnie, MD) at 1:00 p.m.
