The Cup!

Setup started at 9am as club founder Reed Spencer and other members of the committee arrived to prepare the fields and set up the tables and tents for the scorekeepers, along with greeting members of the visiting teams.

Eight teams played for the Cup: the Tippecanoe Canal Jumpers, Columbus Capitals, Kettering Clodbusters, Mansfield Independents, Ohio Muffins, Champion City Reapers, Columbus Buckeyes, and the Norwood Highlanders. Games began at 10am proceeded all afternoon, with the following results:

• 10:00 am        Muffins vs. Capitals (Capitals won 16-5)
• 10:00 am        Highlanders vs. Reapers (Reapers won 10-9)
• 11:15 am        Jumpers vs. Independents (Independents won 9-7)
• 11:15 am        Clodbusters vs. Buckeyes (Clodbusters won 20-6)
• 12:30 pm        Capitals vs. Reapers (Capitals won 17-2)
• 12:30 pm        Muffins vs. Highlanders (Highlanders won 7-3)
• 1:45 pm           Independents vs. Clodbusters (Clodbusters won 3-1)
• 1:45 pm           Jumpers vs. Buckeyes (Jumpers won 5-4)
• 3:00 pm         CHAMPIONSHIP:  Capitals vs. Clodbusters (Capitals won 4-0)

In the last match of the day, the Capitals played a low-scoring championship match against the Clodbusters.  In the end, the Capitals were victorious, scoring 4 aces to the Clodbusters’ zero.

After the match, Spencer presented the Tippecanoe Cup, an oversized spittoon emblazoned with the names of the previous winners, to the Capitals.  Sadly, they didn’t get to take it home—the cup remains safely ensconced in the Downtown Tipp City Partnership offices in Tipp City.  But the Capitals players took many pictures with the cup, hoisting it over their heads to celebrate a hard-one win.  Congratulations, Capitals!

Spencer plans to hold the Cup event every year during Mum Festival weekend, so go ahead and put it on your calendar for next year!

Thanks, and Two Questions Answered

With the Canal Jumpers’ season over, Spencer and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the supporters, players, and sponsors that make the Jumpers such a great team and an important part of our community.

One minor complaint I’ve heard about the Canal Jumpers is that they’re not a good use of Downtown Tipp City Partnership funds.  To set the record straight, the Canal Jumpers are self-funded and do not receive any funds from the DTCP—in fact, last year we donated $200 to the group and plan to donate about the same this year. Reed Spencer and I started the team in 2009 and pay all team expenses out of pocket, including team equipment, clothing, and promotion. In addition, individual players pay $100 to play each year, and team caller Logan Rogers donates his design services to create the promotional materials.  Reed handles the team side of things, and I run the website and help with promotion.

Another concern I’ve heard about the Canal Jumpers is that they don’t play in the downtown.  This was an issue from the beginning because … well … there are no baseball fields in the immediate downtown.  Our hope is that, in the future, a baseball field could be created somewhere near the downtown for the Canal Jumpers to use as their “home field”—if anyone has a good idea about where we could play, please let me know.  Until then, we’ll continue to play in locations as close to the downtown as possible.

Tipp City, Ohio – The Tippecanoe Canal Jumpers Base Ball Club will be hosting the 2nd Annual Tippecanoe Base Ball Cup Sunday, September 25 during Mum Festival Weekend. The Cup features clubs from Dayton, Springfield, Columbus and Cincinnati playing vintage base ball using the rules of 1860. Spectators will experience players in old-time uniforms without gloves, catching the ball off the bound for an out and under-handed pitching.

The event will be held at the Tipp City Park, north of the Aquatic Center parking lot. Nine matches will be played from 10 am to 4 pm. Vintage base ball clubs participating include the Ohio Muffins, Columbus Capitals, Norwood Highlanders, Champion City Reapers, Columbus Buckeyes, Clodbuster Base Ball Club and the Mansfield Independents. The Tippecanoe Base Ball Cup is a competitive single elimination tournament while guaranteeing each club a minimum of two matches played.

The Canal Jumpers won the inaugural Tippecanoe Cup in 2010 in a hard fought extra-inning match defeating the Clodbusters from Dayton. “Defending the title this year will be very difficult,” said Reed Spencer, Captain and Founder of the Canal Jumpers, “This year’s event, we’ve added four more teams to make a total of eight club’s competing for the Cup.”

Admission is free. The Canal Jumpers are a project of the Downtown Tipp City Partnership, a non-profit 501c3 organization with a mission to enhance, preserve and promote downtown Tipp City. For more information on vintage base ball or the DTCP, please call 937.667.0883 or visit our website at www.tippecanoecanaljumpers.com .

The Canal Jumpers in conjunction with the gentlemen of the Tippecanoe Masonic Lodge 174 will perform a flag ceremony memorializing the terrible and tragic day 10 years ago when the United States was attacked by terrorists in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC. Tipp City’s Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts will be present at this event and celebrating “Scout Day”, seeking to obtain their Flag Badge.

Admission to this and all Canal Jumper games is FREE. The Canal Jumpers is a project of the Downtown Tipp City Partnership, a non-profit 501c3 organization with a mission to enhance, preserve and promote downtown Tipp City. For more information about the DTCP please call 937-667-0883 or visit their website at www.dtcp.org

Canal Jumpers shirts and other items now available - and every purchase helps the Jumpers!

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“We are honored to host three fine base ball clubs at our first Tippecanoe Cup,” said Reed “Worm Burner” Spencer, club founder and player, “More than just premier base ball clubs, all 3 have been very helpful starting the Canal Jumpers.” The 52^nd Tipp City Mum Festival offers a great venue for the event. The Mum Festival is Miami County’s oldest festival.  The festival began in the fall of 1958 to showcase fields of mums growing on the edge of town. “It’s a perfect opportunity to promote vintage base ball and the Mum Festival,” said Spencer.  The schedule for the day:

• 11:30 am – Field Set-up
• 12:00 pm – Club Photos
• 12:30 pm – Warm-up
• 12:55 pm – Introductions
• 1:00 pm – Columbus Muffins vs. Clodbusters BBC
• Champion City vs. Tippecanoe Canal Jumpers
• 3:00 pm – Cup Match
• 3rd Place Match
• 4:30 pm – Tippecanoe Cup Presentation

Canal Jumpers reenacts base ball (yes, two words) the way it was played in 1860 when Tipp City was a bustling canal town. Similar but different to the modern baseball, the ball is hurled (pitched) underhand, the players don’t use gloves and the ball can be caught on the bound. Vintage base ball clubs also wear reproduction uniforms and play a gentleman’s game, no swearing, scratching, chewing or spitting.

The Canal Jumpers are winding down their first full season of vintage base ball. The Tippecanoe have won 4 matches, lost 9 and one tie on the season which started in April in Rising Sun, Indiana. Tippecanoe participated in the Ohio Cup at Ohio Village in Columbus over Labor Day Weekend. The Ohio Cup, hosted by the Ohio Muffins, featured over 30 clubs throughout the Midwest.

The Canal Jumpers are a project of the Downtown Tipp City Partnership, a non-profit 501c3 organization with a mission to enhance, preserve and promote downtown Tipp City. For more information on vintage base ball or the DTCP, please call 937.667.0883 or visit our website at www.tippecanoecanaljumpers.com.

Our local vintage baseball team, the Tippecanoe Canal Jumpers have been invited to Ohio Village in Columbus on Sunday, September 5 to play in three tournament-style matches.

Canal Jumper Match Times and Opponents

• 12:00 vs. St. Louis Perfectos
• 2:00 vs. Pittsburg Franklins
• 4:00 vs. Wyandotte Ghostriders

The Canal Jumpers have never played these three teams, so be prepared for some good spirited, gentlemanly match play.

This is a family-friendly event at the Ohio Historical Society so bring your family and friends and expect a festival atmosphere. Sunday will be a day of family fun marking the largest gathering of vintage base ball clubs in the country. More than 25 clubs from across the Midwest and beyond square off on fields around the Ohio Village to celebrate base ball “the way it was meant to be played.” No gloves, no spitting, no swearing-no kidding! Family, food, and fun in the sun close out the Muffins’ season at home.

Admission: FREE

Location – Ohio Village is located just off of I-71 on 17th Avenue (exit 111) about four miles north of downtown Columbus in Franklin County. After exiting I-71, take the first right off of 17th Avenue, make a slight right almost immediately into the Ohio Historical Society parking lot and continue along the perimeter road to the northside of the Ohio Historical Center where the Ohio Village is located. Please note that online directions using the Ohio Historical Society’s address below will take you to the back of the Ohio Historical Center and Ohio Village. There are no public entrances to either facility from Velma Avenue.

The Tipp City Park proved to be a respectable site for a vintage base ball match. The cranks (fans) enjoyed the shade from trees while the ballists (players) suffered through the heat of the day. The match was governed by Logan “White Lightening” Rogers, the law at Tippecanoe’s home games. Mr. Rogers explained the match well to all in attendance while keeping his keen eye on the play reminding both clubs to “mind your bases.”

The match featured the debut of Chad “Ace” Beam. Mr. Beam played a fine center field and had some mighty strikes with the bat. Mark “Mad Dog” Mabelitini hurled 9 exhausting innings for the win. The Canal Jumpers played a strong defense throughout the match highlighted by Captain Steven “Swifty” Pope’s play at behind (catcher), strong right field play by club founder Reed “Worm Burner” Spencer and explosive play of Glen “Wolf Pack” McMurry as the third-base tender. The offense was led by Rod “The Vacuum” Martino whose day included several trips around the bases.

The Tippecanoe Canal Jumpers is a project of the Downtown Tipp City Partnership. The Canal Jumpers next match will be Sunday, July 18th at the Willowtree Inn. The Blue Ashlars of Worthington will be traveling to Tipp City to participate in “Masonic Day” at the ball field. Spectators are encouraged to wear their finest 19th Century wear and bring a picnic lunch.

by Mike Woody

The Tippecanoe Canal Jumpers split their two weekend matches, both of which were tightly contested.

A heart stomping defeat was dealt to our gallant lads, by the Clodbusters on Saturday, June 19, but the next day, a victory was secured against the North Baltimore Cyclones.

In the first match,  played in fields of Fairborn, the Canal Jumpers were in control throughout the first eight innings against their arch-rival the Clodbusters. However, their good fortunes were short lived as the lead was snatched away in the Clodbusters’ final turn at the plate.

Courtesy of the solid hurling by Phil ‘Curly’ Cox and some timely well – struck balls by Craig ‘The Cannon’ Seeman and Adam ‘Ricochet’ Blake the Canal Jumpers were ahead 5-3 after seven.

A key at bat occurred in the eighth, thanks to Mike ‘Big Papi’ McDermott a.k.a ‘Benedict’ who chose to play for the opposition, when it was discovered they were short a player.  The turncoat Big Papi betrayed his team by loading the bases with a hit, which continued the dreadful inning and allowed the Clodbusters to secure a lead. Big Papi was originally called out, but the umpires call of a fair ball was reversed, thus allowing the inning to continue. By the time it was over, the Clodbusters had scored three aces and led 6-5.

The Canal Jumpers were retired quietly in the ninth, with the final ball caught by none other but the suddenly sure- handed Big Papi in center field.

Despite the outcome, it was a well played game by the Canal Jumpers who remained gentleman amidst the sorrow of defeat. A slight commotion was stirred when Ricochet was issued a fine of 25 cents by the umpire for spitting on the field and was made to apologize to the female cranks.

With no time to sulk, the Canal Jumpers readied for another match on June 20 at the Willowtree Inn with the North Baltimore Cyclones. A combination of  well-struck balls and stellar assured the Jumpeers  were 10-5 victors.

The gallant offensive attack was led by Kevin ‘The Inn Keeper’ Lett with a pair of base hits, one of which soared over the fence into the corn field, and Rod ‘The Vacuum’ Martino whose fleet-footed base running generates lightening speed.

It was a back -and -forth match, but the fine hurling of Mark ‘Mad Dog’ Mabelitini was able to keep the Canal Jumpers close, until they erupted with five aces over the last two innings to secure the victory.

The Cyclones struggled to string together a series of hits due, in part, to the cannon ball arm of Glen ‘Wolfpack’ McMurry at third, who effortlessly made the throw to retire runners at first. And behind the plate, Steven ‘Swifty’ Pope was splendid, recording four straight put-outs by catching foul tips.

One exception to the near perfectly played match by the Canal Jumpers was the Inn Keeper made to apologize to the cranks for throwing down his bat in frustration. Once match was completed in honor of Father’s Day, children in attendance were permitted to play.

The Jumpers are a much improved club from the beginning of the season and will attempt to establish their first two game winning streak in team history when they meet the Columbus Buckeyes on Saturday, July 10 at the Tipp City Park beginning at 1:00 p.m.

On Saturday, June 19, the Canal Jumpers will be playing at Central Park in Fairborn for Fairborn’s Heritage Days. The game will be a rematch with the Clodbuster Base Ball Club who shellacked the might Canal Jumpers by the score of 17-0 on June 9.  Match time is 1 pm so come out and join the fun!  2010 Heritage Days Passport Flyer

Sunday, 6/20 vs. North Baltimore Cyclones

The Sheriff and Umpire aka Logan “White Lightening” Rogers wants to remind all you cranks about the Canal Jumper’s match at the Willowtree Inn this Sunday, June 20 at 1 pm. It’s Father’s Day so we’ll be doing a special father’s day toss with the kids. Come out and cheer on your home town base ball club!

In their last game, the Canal Jumpers bested the Norwood Highlanders Base Ball Club with 6 aces (aka runs) to 3, marking their first win of the 2010 season. Well-played, Gentlemen of Tippecanoe! Go out and visit them or catch a home game at the Willowtree Inn to see their authentic circa 1860 uniforms and to experience the National Pasttime from a bygone era. For more information, including the 2010 Match Schedule and pictures from previous matches, please visit their website at www.tippecanoecanaljumpers.com.