February 27, 2020
Edison and Ford Winter Estates Hosts Vintage “Base Ball” Games at Terry Park (Canceled)
Please note: This event has been canceled.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (February 27, 2020) — On March 22, Edison and Ford Winter Estates will host its annual Vintage “Base Ball” Tournament at historic Terry Park in Fort Myers. The games will be played in a small tournament format with four teams playing four consecutive games by 1860s rules. Gates open at 9:30 a.m.
Players will wear vintage uniforms, and play with wooden bats, no gloves, and use lemon peel baseballs. The four vintage teams include the Fort Myers Vagabonds, the Central Florida Awkwards, Akron Black Sox and the Chicago Salmon. The Boss Lady of the Chicago Salmon will provide on-site commentary.
The game coincides with major league baseball spring training. Baseball has been played at historic Terry Park for almost 100 years. Visitors may purchase tickets at edisonford.org or the ticket counter at Edison and Ford Winter Estates. Admission for adults is $5; kids 18 and under will be admitted free; and FGCU students with identification will also get in free.
In the days leading up to the game, Edison and Ford Winter Estates will host several baseball-related presentations.
Fort Myers All Stars
On March 20, at 12:30 p.m., Edison Ford program manager, Holly Shaffer, will give a presentation on the Fort Myers All Stars baseball team. She will also talk about the baseball legends that played in Fort Myers during spring training. The presentation is included with general admission to Edison Ford.
Hindsight is 2020
Then on March 21, at 11 a.m., Ellie Carlson of Ellie Presents will give a presentation on women’s history entitled “Hindsight is 2020.” The presentation is included with general admission to Edison Ford.
Women’s History Month is a month-long celebration of women’s contributions to society and history observed during the month of March. In the U.S., it has been officially celebrated since 1987. August 26 will be the 100 year anniversary since the 19th Amendment was passed, granting American women the right to vote in all elections.
Countless people labored for decades to bring enfranchisement to both genders. This year-long series of portrayals, programs and events focuses on the past 100 years of women’s influence. While the nation expanded westward, women’s suffrage expanded eastward. Illinois was the very first state east of the Mississippi to allow women to vote in municipal elections. As the western women encouraged their eastern sisters, the movement spread across the nation, culminating in national suffrage by the end of the second decade in the twentieth century.
This presentation will focus on the influence of trade and teachers’ unions, women in higher education, fundraising through cookbooks and bazaars, marches, songs, letter writing campaigns and how women’s influence over the voting men in their lives brought about the reform.
The Distaff Side of Vintage Base Ball: Then & Now
On March 21, at 2 p.m., a presentation on the Distaff Side of Vintage Base Ball will offer stories and information that will help spectators understand a vintage base ball match. Ellie has been the manager, “Boss Lady,” of The Chicago Salmon since 1996. In all those years, she has baked thousands of pretzels, grilled tons of chicken, sewn hundreds of uniforms and costumes for umpires and followers, and mended more than several pairs of trousers (sometimes with the player still in them). The Boss Lady has also 
organized festivals, helped form new teams, and kicked at least one player off the team for having a bad attitude. Cost: included with admission
Each presentation is included with daily admission. Tickets may be purchased online for $25; admission is free for Edison Ford members. Visitors who attend a presentation will receive a wooden nickle, which represented good luck in the 1860s and can be used for admission to the baseball game. For more information or to purchase tickets online, check our calendar.
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