As the national baseball season draws to a close, Pejepscot Historical Society (PHS) once again invites the public to enjoy an afternoon of old-time baseball between two Maine vintage clubs. This year, the Dirigo Vintage Base Ball Club plays the newly-reformed Sunrise Club of Brunswick at Crimmins Field, on Baribeau Drive in Brunswick, on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 1:30 p.m.

Access to the field begins at 1 p.m. and entrance is by suggested donation, to benefit PHS. Snacks, bottled water, and other PHS products will be available for purchase, and collection items will be on display. Attendees are encouraged to bring chairs or blankets and picnics. Following the official game, the teams will invite interested audience members onto the field to play.

“Bring the whole family and friends and come out and cheer on a team and even try your hand at playing by the 19th century rules,” says Larissa Vigue Picard, PHS’s executive director. “This is our version of the Fall Classic — and it truly is a classic, as the Pejepscot region can point to its 1860 game as one of the earliest on record anywhere.”

The reference is to the Oct. 10, 1860, contest between the original Sunrise Club and a Bowdoin College team, played at the Topsham Fairgrounds. The Sunrise Club won the game by a score of 46-42 — unheard of by modern standards. Last year, PHS hosted a game between Dirigo and a town team at Bowdoin for the 155th anniversary.

Some mid-19th century rules and equipment can seem odd to a contemporary fan. Players don’t wear gloves but catch the ball with bare hands, and if a ball is hit fair it stays fair — even if it goes foul before first or third base. The “rules and customs” are listed on the Dirigo Club’s website at dirigobaseball.org.

The bat from the Bowdoin versus Brunswick 1860 game is possibly the second oldest documented baseball bat in the United States, according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and was made the very day of the game. It is in the collections of Pejepscot Historical Society. The new Sunrise Club had a reproduction made, which will be used in this year’s game, and the original will be on display, along with other memorabilia.

In the event of light rain, the game will go forward. Heavier rain or thunderstorms would necessitate cancellation. If there is any question about the weather, PHS’s voicemail message at (207) 729-6606 will be altered by 11 a.m. on game day to indicate whether the game will go forward.

For information on other PHS programs, visit www.pejepscothistorical.org/events and follow PHS on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@pejepscoths).