Never Sweats To Face Mackinaw City Boys in Old-time Base Ball Game Saturday
Neighboring Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City Teams Last Competed 122 Years Ago
By Allison Levy Mackinac Island Town Crier

On July 26, 1886, the Mackinac Island Never Sweats faced off against the neighboring Mackinaw City Boys in a gentlemanly game of base ball. The Never Sweats came away the victors, scoring 23 aces (the old name for runs) to trump Mackinaw City's 14. Now 122 years later, the Never Sweats must defend their long-standing title because the Boys are back, and they're ready for a rematch.

Saturday, July 19, Fort Mackinac will host its sixth annual vintage base ball game. Instead of playing against their longtime opponents, the Rochester Grangers, the Never Sweats will square off against the Mackinaw City Boys in what Mackinac State Historic Parks Director Phil Porter called "an interesting Straits of Mackinac event" and a "neat historic phenomenon."

Both the Never Sweats and the Boys have their roots in historical base ball teams from the area, and in true Mackinac State Historic Parks fashion, authenticity is key to the game. The two teams, decked out in 19th century base ball garb, will play by the rules established in the 1860s. Spitting, swearing, or smoking on the field are offenses punishable by minor fines. In addition, "cranks," or fans, will hear a set of vocabulary entirely different from what they are used to hearing today.

"The idea of the game is not competition," Mr. Porter said. "It's about education. It's more of a match to demonstrate how base ball was played."

Education was the impetus behind the 2003 reincarnation of the Never Sweats of the 1880s. In 2003, museums across the state of Michigan collaborated to focus on historical sports. Fort Mackinac chose vintage base ball, and began the process of bringing a team that had been dormant for more than a century back to life.

According to Mr. Porter, the State Park found a good deal of information in newspaper clippings and photographs from the 1880s. According to such sources, base ball was a popular pastime for soldiers at Fort Mackinac, which, in the 1880s, was not of huge strategic importance. At that time, the game was spelled as two words, rather than one.

The soldiers played on the same field behind the scout barracks that the current Never Sweats use for their practices and games, and that visitors have used for decades, making the field one of the oldest continuously played base ball fields in Michigan.

Between 2003 and 2007, the Never Sweats grew accustomed to playing against their mentors, the Rochester Grangers, against whom they have a record of two wins and three losses. The switch to their new opponents, the Boys, will be bittersweet.

"The Grangers really helped us develop," Mr. Porter said, "but we're really looking forward to playing Mackinaw City's team."

In addition to the geographical rivalry set up by this year's game, cranks will have the opportunity to witness a rivalry between two generations of Detroit Tigers players. Each team will have a former Tiger playing "hurler" (read: pitcher) for the team. John Hiller, pitcher of the 1968 World Series team, will return for his fifth season with the Never Sweats. Scott Lusader, an outfielder for the Tigers from 1987 to 1990, will join the Boys.

The Never Sweats have two extra years of experience over Mackinaw City's three-year-old team, which may work to their advantage in Saturday's match up. The Boys, however, do not seem worried.

"We play to win," Mackinaw City Village Manager and Boys team member Jeff Lawson said, "and we haven't lost a game yet."

The game will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 19. Admission costs $15 for families, $5 for adults, and $3 for children ages 6 to 17. Children 5 and younger are admitted free.