Town Baseball
 

Does anyone know why Town Baseball seemed to die off in the 1920's. Or did it? I always see postcards showing Town Teams from the 00's and 10's, but rarely see any from the 20's.

Does that have more to do with they just stopped doing that with Real Post Card pix or did Town Ball start to die out? and if so why?

It has more to do with postcards than it does anything else...postcards were a huge rage from about 1905-1915..after that not so much. You don't see this with just baseball postcards, but all postcards across the board. Town ball pretty much disappeared in the World War years...Organized little leagues and Legion ball for the most part replaced town team ball post WW2.

Here's a postcard of Town Team (Now Cape Cod Baseball League) from Sandwich, MA from the late 1930s/early 1940s.

Great way to grow up!!
 

I spent MANY nights running down foul balls for a dime each at the local town team games (O'Neill Nebraska) in the 70s-80s.

There is a rich tradition of small town ball from way back that is still alive through the Nebraska Baseball Association.

(Not my photo)

Bergen County (NJ) League
 

I played in a local wood bat baseball league in the late 80's/early 90's called the Bergen County league in New Jersey. Don't think it is around anymore. Our team was basically filled with Rutgers recruits and players but we played against teams that were either college age players or older men. I believe that Jim Bouton played in this league and may have pitched against us while I was there.

Tom C

I used to own that cabinet photo.

Town ball is alive and well in Minnesota. On ESPN's list of 100 things to do before you die seeing a townball game in MN is one of them. I grew up in MN and there were some fields that rival minor league ball parks and towns of 500 drew 650 fans a night somehow. It was amazing.

Unknown Town Team from the Reading PA area
 

Sold this card a few years ago. Thought maybe it was a Reading, PA team, because I acquired the PC in the vicinity, but was never certain.