City’s annual vintage baseball game a hit

Over 100 years ago, Glen Cove residents wrote a letter to Mayor James M. Burns requesting permission to play baseball games on Sundays. The resolution passed with a unanimous “aye.” To celebrate the roots of the sport, the city held its annual vintage baseball game on July 20, taking a step back in time to when the rules were drastically different. The match was between the Brooklyn Atlantics Baseball Club and the New York Mutuals Baseball Club. 

The game was once played with minimal equipment — no gloves and lighter bats. The first professional baseball game was played during the Civil War, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as a pastime for soldiers on both sides of the war. Upon returning home from the war, many brought the sport back home and unified their towns.

The first vintage game started in 2018, coinciding with Glen Cove’s 350th anniversary. Throughout the years, the games have been a homerun for the city.