Take a step back in time and enjoy living history in action when an old-time baseball doubleheader is played at Janson Park, 650 Cherry St., Columbia. The games, pitting the Keystone Base Ball Club of Harrisburg against the Monmouth Furnace from New Jersey, will start at 11 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17.

The games are played using the rules of the 1860s, complete with authentic uniforms, equipment and sportsmanship, said Mark Stewart, who plays for the Keystone team.

"The game we play is equally appealing to baseball fans and history fans," he shared. "It's like a 19th-century battle reenactment, except you don't know who will win."

Stewart noted that the game will be recognizable to any fan of modern-day baseball, with a few key differences. Although there are three outs per team per inning and nine innings played, batted balls caught on one bounce - called "on the bound" - are counted as outs. "That rule had been challenged as 'unmanly' for several years and was officially changed in 1865, so that only balls caught in the air - 'on the fly' - counted as outs, as they do today," Stewart said. "Even so, as a matter of pride, serious ballplayers did their best to catch balls before they hit the ground prior to 1865. We do, too."

Stewart said the most noticeable difference between modern-day baseball and the vintage version is that old-time players did not wear gloves since the gear didn't come into regular use until the 1880s. "Members of the Harrisburg Keystones and Monmouth Furnace will all be playing bare-handed and, yes, controlling a hard-hit or hard-thrown ball involves varying levels of skill and pain," Stewart commented. "The two-handed 'clam shell' technique was the style of the day and it still works."

The ball is the size and weight of a standard baseball with a bit more give, he said, and the same ball is used for all nine innings. "By the third inning or so, it softens up slightly," Stewart said. "Its 'lemon-peel' stitching is faithful to the style used during the Civil War era. Uniforms are almost identical to the ones firemen used to wear back in the mid-1800s, in part because that was one of the few jobs where everyone had to dress the same and also wear an identifying emblem."

Stewart emphasized that players not only follow vintage rules, but they also try to use historically accurate vocabulary during a game. A batter, for example, is called a "striker." Outs are called "hands," and runs are called "tallies."

It's also tradition for every player to use a nickname, Stewart said, noting that members of the Keystones go by monikers including "Bullet," "Grumpy," "Stumbles," "Meatloaf" and "Three-Fingers," which is Stewart's nickname.

The Keystone Base Ball Club of Harrisburg formed in 2010, and the team features players who range in age from teens to people in their 60s. "An actual team with the same name played in Harrisburg in the 1860s and 1870s," Stewart noted. "It was formed by Samuel D. Young, a railroad superintendent who is buried in Columbia at Mount Bethel Cemetery. He played a key role in moving soldiers and supplies around Pennsylvania and Maryland during the Civil War and was celebrated as a great hero."

There is no admission charge for the doubleheader, and fans are encouraged to bring their own food, drinks and seating. Free Italian ice will be available to children age 12 and under, provided by the Janson Foundation in celebration of its 100th anniversary. A food vendor will also be on-site selling hot dogs, snacks and drinks.

The game is organized by the two ball clubs and hosted at Janson Field by the Janson Foundation. The Catholic War Veterans and Columbia Historic Preservation Society are among the other local supporters, as well as the Columbia Public Library. The library will host a presentation on 19th-century baseball in Pennsylvania on Thursday, Aug. 15, at 6:30 p.m.

For more information on the Keystone Base Ball Club, visit https://keystonebbc.com.