The 1850’s brought major changes to American society, including changes to the rules of base ball. The expansion of the railroads throughout the country, brought with them written rules of base ball and was the beginning of the development of the game we know today. Base ball in this era was a gentleman’s game, played by club teams consisting of local residents against neighboring clubs in friendly competition.  The McHenry County Independants is a vintage base ball team that plays base ball by the rules of 1858, recreating the game as it was played before radar guns, launch angles and professional players. We are named after a local team from the 1800’s. Please join us to witness the game as it used to be played.

The McHenry Independants play vintage baseball around the Chicagoland area. The rules are based in the 19th century. So that means no stealing; no lead offs; and no doubling runners off a base on a fly ball, amongst other rules. The full rule set can be found at the Vintage Baseball Website.

We play around 6 games a year around Chicagoland.

Please contact Paul for more information.