About the EAC...

In the late nineteenth century "athletic clubs" were quite popular in many communities as places where local citizens could gather for sporting and social events. Most athletic clubs took part in many different types of sporting events such as bowling, rowing, whist, and gymnastics. It was common for athletic clubs to sponsor theatrical and musical events also to help finance their clubs' need for equipment as well as maintaining their clubhouses and grounds.
Base Ball was of course a very prominent sport for athletic clubs. Clubs took great pride in their base ball team's accomplishments. The events of the Elizabeth Athletic Club were regularly reported on by the Elizabeth Daily Journal newspaper. The Journal was published from the late 1700's until the early 1970's. In the Spring of 1891 the Elizabeth Daily Journal reported that the Elizabeth Athletic Club would be getting a new clubhouse, a new base ball field complete with grandstand, and new uniforms for the base ball team. The EAC base ball team's roster would also be fortified by the members of the old "Dauntless Base Ball Club" joining on. Based on these rather significant events, we think that the EAC in 1891 must have been rather well financed. The EAC went on to compete against other area amateur organizations, including colleges and high schools, as well as other athletic clubs. The city of Elizabeth itself had several athletic clubs.
The current EAC is made up of mostly Union County residents and has this year just begun playing base ball by the rules of 1891. The EAC follows the rules according to the Spalding Base Ball Guide from that year. We also play in replicas of the actual uniforms worn by the original EAC and use base ball equipment accurate to the year 1891. Their are no batting helmets, batting gloves, or pads of any kind. Catchers wear only replicas of the type of masks and chest protectors used in 1891. Shin guards were not yet invented so our catcher does not use them. The bats are wooden of course, and made to the specifications of the nineteenth century, the most common difference being the thicker handles than modern wooden bats. Nineteenth century bats also usually had a much more gradual taper from the barrel down to the handle.
The EAC travels to many destinations to play vintage base ball. The 2008 season will include matches with the Nines from Roxbury and Hancock, NY, the Grays of Providence, RI, and the Zig Zag and Mutual clubs from Bethpage, NY to name a few. We will also host matches in various locations around the state of NJ with the clubs from Roxbury, Bethpage, and Providence, as well as the Senators club from Hartford, CT. Our season will total approximately twenty-five games played on seventeen different dates, some dates being double-headers. We will also be playing matches in the rules years of our opponents, which include 1884, 1886, 1894, and 1898 rules base ball. We'll also continue playing our old friends the Flemington Neshanock in 1873 rules base ball as we did when we recreated the old Elizabeth Resolute Base Ball club. Please see our schedule of events for further details.