Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo

Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo The Continental BBC of Kalamazoo is a vintage base ball team that plays 1860’s rules base ball

The Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo aims to preserve, perpetuate and promote the history of the game of base ball as it was played in its' formative Civil War years. As best as historians can tell, the first documented game of "base ball" in Kalamazoo was played in 1859 when John McCord came to Kalamazoo after attending school in New York. In 1860 the first documented base ball team in Kalamazoo was formed as the Champion Base Ball Club, captained by McCord, and by 1861 the club had renamed themselves the Continental Base Ball Club. From 1861 through 1867 the Continentals were one of the premier teams in Michigan, and one of the ever growing number of clubs that existed in the Greater Kalamazoo area. The City of Kalamazoo was host to a number of clubs in this time - the Burk Oak club and the Excelsior Club are two examples - while surrounding communities like Galesburg, Schoolcraft, and Three Rivers all had town base ball teams. In 1868 the Continentals once again rebranded - this time becoming the Una Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo - and for 145 years the club was dormant. But in 2013 the Continental Base Ball Club was revived, and since that time our club has been one of the roughly two dozen vintage base ball teams in Michigan and 100 clubs in the Midwest who compete on the field by mid 19th century base ball rules.

Another year for the Portage Vintage Base Ball Festival is official!June 26 & 27, 2027 we will once again bring four fie...
09/11/2026

Another year for the Portage Vintage Base Ball Festival is official!

June 26 & 27, 2027 we will once again bring four fields of 19th century base ball action to the Kalamazoo/Portage community.

Mark it on your calendar, and if you are a club interested in attending please reach out!

We have seen 37 different clubs attend our event over the last few years but there are a lot of clubs out there. If you haven't attended before and would like to make the trip, let us know and we'd love to add you to the mix.

08/22/2026

Gameday!

We’re happy to welcome the Rockford Stars Base Ball Club to Ramona Park for a day of 1864 base ball. Game is scheduled to start at 1PM, and with this being our final home date of the year we are opening up the game to community members. If you’ve seen us online or in person at our June Festival and thought you would want to give vintage base ball a try, today is the day! Head to the field, find a Continental, and we will get you in the game!

08/21/2026

This Saturday at 1pm the Continentals welcome the Rockford Stars Base Ball Club to Portage for a game of 1864 base ball!

This is our last home game of the year, and we want to open the game up to the community. Anyone 16+ interested in giving 19th Century base ball a try can join us at the park and we will get you in the game. If we have a lot of interest we’ll create 3 teams and ensure everyone gets a chance to play. Be there by 12:45 and we can add you to the lineup!

Game is at Ramona Park…Hope to see you at the field!

08/16/2026

Bringing West Michigan to Greenfield Village today! Game time is 1:30!

08/10/2026

Kalamazoo enjoyed a fun Saturday of base ball, taking the field with east side friends from the The Wahoo Base Ball Club of Royal Oak and the Wyandotte Stars Vintage Base Ball Club at the Sidney Heritage Festival hosted by the Rockford Stars Base Ball Club. It is always a good setting for base ball, the weather was great, and we were happy that Wyandotte and Royal Oak were able to make the drive to participate in this event! Kalamazoo went 1-1 over the weekend, and of course we took no pictures to prove any of this actually happened ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Looking ahead, Kalamazoo heads to Greenfield Village next weekend and will take on the host Lah-de-Dah's. This will be a Sunday game, with first pitch at 1:30.

The following weekend, Saturday August 22, Kalamazoo is hosting Rockford at Ramona Park in Portage. This is our last home event of the year, and what we really want is to see more of you! If you have seen vintage base ball in action and are interested in giving 1860's base ball a try, reach out to us - or just show up to the game - and let us know you're there to play. Depending on turnout we may split into 3 teams to play an afternoon of 19th century base ball. If you've seen our annual festival and you're looking for more games to watch, this is your last chance to see us in 2026. Tentative game time is 1pm but that will be confirmed shortly!

08/08/2026

The Continentals are back on the field today!

We kick off a busy August with our 1st of four straight weekends of base ball. Today we head to Sidney, MI and the Sidney Heritage Festival, hosted by the Rockford Stars Base Ball Club at Montcalm Community College. We're looking forward to two great base ball games, and will have the opportunity to take on our friends from The Wahoo Base Ball Club of Royal Oak and the Wyandotte Stars Vintage Base Ball Club.

Looks like a good weather day across Michigan and there is a lot of good 19th century base ball games happening today across the state, so find a game near you and enjoy the day!

So...we've been slacking! The Continentals have had a busy season this year and you wouldn't know that's the case with h...
07/28/2026

So...we've been slacking! The Continentals have had a busy season this year and you wouldn't know that's the case with how we've been (not) updating our fans! Let's start fixing that now!!

Working backwards, over the last two weeks the Continentals have travelled far and wide for base ball games. This past weekend found Kalamazoo making our first ever visit to Beery Field in Douglas for a game against the Douglas Dutchers. A back and forth match ensued and the Continentals went into the bottom of the 9th inning looking to take our 7-7 tie into extra innings, but the Dutchers strung together a number of singles and brought home a runner to claim an 8-7 victory!

Going back now to July 18 & 19, the Continentals sent six representatives to the Gettysburg National 19th Century Base Ball Festival to enjoy the festivities with our east coast brethren. Cobbling up ballists from a few surrounding clubs Kalamazoo enjoyed 1 win with 3 losses at the event but had an absolute blast with the community. We can't wait to send a full team back!

And finally, on July 18 nine Continentals stayed in Michigan and made the track to Mt. Clemens for another first ever visit to a field, this time to take on our friends the Regular Base Ball Club of Mt. Clemens in a game of 1867 base ball. While the wildfires and weather made the game somewhat in doubt, we were able to play a full 9 innings. Despite a 30-14 defeat to the Regulars, we very much enjoyed the opportunity to see the Regulars at their home field and enjoy their fine hospitality.

Kalamazoo is off for this upcoming weekend before we take the field four weekends in a row in August, starting with the annual Sidney Heritage Festival on August 8 hosted by the Star BBC of Rockford.

07/18/2026

The rain looks to be holding off and the air conditions have improved, so we play on today! Kalamazoo is making a trip to metro Detroit today, taking the field at the home of the Regular Base Ball Club of Mt. Clemens for the first time. We’re looking forward to a fun match!

07/16/2026

Good luck to our guys, and to all clubs, heading to Gettysburg this weekend!

07/14/2026

Was going to have a practice tonight but this heat is for real so practice canceled! We’re looking forward to getting back on the field this weekend with a visit to the Regular Base Ball Club of Mt. Clemens!

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