For Immediate Release
Cecil County * Cecil County * Cecil County* Cecil County *Cecil County
March 11, 2006

FLEMINGTON, NJ- After 140 years of dormancy, the Eclipse Base Ball Club of Elkton took the field again, Saturday March 11, 2006 in its first exhibition game of the 2006 season. The Eclipse tied the Flemington Neshanock 10-10 after 9 complete innings in northern New Jersey.

Tom Duffy, a local player from right here in Cecil County, got the team’s first hit since 1866. After falling behind 4-0, the hometown club started to get its berrings correct and took a 10-8 lead in to the bottom of the 9th. After surrendering two quick runs, the Eclipse retired the Neshanock with three straight outs after they had men on second and third base. While this seems like an ordinary account of a local baseball game, it is not.

The Eclipse Base Ball Club is a member of the Vintage Base Ball Association (VBBA). They will be stepping back in to a time before steroids, before million dollar contracts, and before gloves to compete against other clubs by playing base ball (two words) using the rules, equipment, and customs of the 19th Century. They will be facing such clubs as the Flemington Neshanock, the Easton Fair Plays, the New York Mutuals, the Brooklyn Atlantics, and the Gettysburg Sentinels just to name a few.

The Eclipse will be playing its home matches at Elk Landing in Elkton, Maryland. They are actually a subcommittee of the events and programming committee of the Historic Elk Landing Foundation (www.elklanding.org). When spectators come out to a vintage base ball game in Elkton, they will be transported back in time. Not only will they witness a game against teams with authentic 19th century uniforms, but they will also see what a day of leisure was like in Cecil County in the 1860s. Townspeople from all over came out to see the games, but also listened to political speeches, listened to music of the day, and caught up on town gossip. Look for the Eclipse’s schedule in coming weeks. It already includes home games on April 30, July 8th and 9th, and July 15th. The season goes from early April until late October. The Eclipse intention is to play 12-14 games this year.

The Eclipse have playing members from all over the tri-state area including players from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and 4 right from Cecil County. We are still looking for about 4 more players to round out the roster. If you are 21-60 and love baseball and love history, we want you for our team! You don’t have to have been a minor league baseball player or a softball all-star, you just have to have a love for the game. If you don’t want to play but still want to be part of the club, we have social memberships which include: a season pass to all of our home games, a guidebook to tell you what’s going on, and entrance into an exclusive “season ticket” holder only raffle for a great prize. The cost for this is just $20. Your business can also support the Eclipse by purchasing a 1/3 page ad in our guidebook for just $75. For only $100, you can get a full page ad. We also have corporate sponsorship packages available for those companies who want to display their name at our events, hand out information, etc. (Contact us for more information).