Lewes Base Ball Club home opener is April 21

Lewes Base Ball Club will have its home opener at noon, Sunday, April 21, against the Fair Play Club of Talbot County in a doubleheader.

The games will be played at the field at the Villages of Five Points near the intersection of East Edgemoor Street and Old Orchard Road, Lewes.

The Lewes Base Ball Club plays by 1864 rules, which includes balls being caught on one bounce for an out, no fielding gloves in use, and historically accurate, 19th century rules of America’s pastime. The games are free and spectators are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket.

Lewes has additional home dates throughout the season, including the Base Ball at the Beach in August and will once again take part in the National Base Ball Festival in Gettysburg.

The club opened its season on the road April 14, at the Cecil County Farm Museum, against the Eclipse Club of Elkon in a doubleheader.

The Lewes Base Ball Club traces its origins to around 1874, and will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the earliest recorded baseball game in Lewes throughout the 2024 season. On Feb. 28, 1874, Lewes took on Milton in a match, the results of which are currently unknown. There were likely earlier matches but no written record of those have been discovered as of now. The Club celebrates all baseball history in Lewes, the Cape Region, and across Southern Delaware.

Throughout the years, the team played across Delmarva and even across the Chesapeake Bay with at least one game in Baltimore. Lewes may have fielded a semi-pro team into at least the early 1940s and other local and recreational teams called the First Town home. Anyone with Lewes baseball information, artifacts, photographs, scorebooks, uniform and equipment, or news clippings is encouraged to contact the club.

The current team was reconstituted in 2010 and was crowned Delaware State Champions in 2016 and in 2023. Interested players and volunteers are encouraged to reach out to the club's Facebook page or to email lewesbaseball@gmail.com. The club is a nonprofit organization and membership is open to all. Other activities include hosting speakers and programs relating to baseball on Delmarva with a particular emphasis on Lewes and Sussex County.

For more information, visit the club’s Facebook page @LewesBaseball or visit www.lewesbaseball.org.