JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Historic Springfield Community celebrated the Fourth of July by honoring America’s pastime.
The “Throwback Baseball Game” has everything you would think it should have: wool uniforms, and for the most part, no modern-day equipment.
“Springfielders are a little bit nutty,” Westside Giants coach Tiare Burgarin said. “Any excuse to have a community event, to get together, enjoy each other’s company, have fun. That’s just how we roll.”
On Tuesday it was the Eastside Reds versus the Westside Giants in a game with bragging rights on the line.
“We’re looking pretty good this year actually,” Burgarin said. “Our team is really committed. We do extra practices. So I’m feeling really good about our chances.”
In order to participate you have to be a Springfield resident or business owner and have a baseball background.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Eastside Reds captain Stuart Poplin said. “It’s really cool. It’s unique. How many other communities in the city are putting on old-timey baseball games? To be a part of something special and to be a part of something that unifies this neighborhood is a really cool thing to me.”
Even though the game is a family-friendly event, the competition was still fierce.
“I think secretly and internally we all want to win, but nobody gets out of hand,” Burgarin said. “We’ve actually placed rules. We’ve had some years where we’ve had a little bit of incidents, little outbursts. So now we have everybody sign a conduct waiver.”
From May until the big game both teams practice together twice a week. Due to bad field conditions, this is the first year since 2019 that the baseball game is back at Klutho Park.
“The community loves this event,” Poplin said. “This is probably the biggest grassroots effort that we do every year. Everybody knows Springfield for Porch Fest and they know them for the home tours. This is kind of our gem that we’re able to provide from an athletic standpoint to the community.”
Players and residents come out every Fourth of July for the entertaining game.
“It kind of brings you and your neighbors together,” Springfield resident Daniel Choquette said. “Get to watch people try to be athletic. It’s usually quite the event.”
While others are attending their first Throwback Baseball Game and are enjoying it.
“It’s a great event for everyone to come out, meet your neighbors, hangout, have a good time, good family event,” Springfield visitor Andrea Barnett said. “I was looking forward to it.”
There are rules, which include no modern-day equipment like metal cleats, no sunglasses, and you have to use a wooden bat. But the most important rule is players have to wear turn-of-the-century wool uniforms.
“While the heat is brutal and while these things are not comfortable,” Poplin said. “They are heavy. They’re as heavy as they look. It’s really special and important for us to understand and respect how much history is steeped in within our community and we want to try to honor that any way we can.”
Residents tell us they look forward to the Independence Day tradition every year. They say it’s a great way to bring the community together with a fun family event to start the day’s celebration.