LARNED — The Santa Fe Trail Center invites the public to a vintage baseball game at 2 p.m. Sunday on the museum grounds. 
The Hodgeman Nine from Jetmore will be playing athletes from Larned High School.  Spectators might also be invited to take a turn at bat, sponsors said.
The Hodgeman Nine Base Ball Club is a living history organization hosted by the Haun Museum of Jetmore and comprised of volunteer players.  It demonstrates the spirit and ideals of the early days of our national pastime as they show how the game was intended to be played, in the spirit of good sportsmanship and with manners and courtesy.
The players’ uniforms are based on the styles of those seen in the mid to late 1860s.  Although wool was the standard fabric for most uniforms, this team has chosen to go with cotton, which is more durable and much more comfortable in the heat and wind of Kansas.  The earlier ball players would wear long pants, but knickers and colored stockings were adopted by many teams by the end of the decade.
Team members will talk briefly about the rules, the equipment and the evolution of the game.  The Hodgeman Nine team will be playing by the rules adopted by the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1860, blended with a few rules from 1870 to enhance the flow of the game.  Team members will also explain how the Civil War brought this new game to the West, and how it had an impact on a community.
Admission to this program and all third Sunday of the month programs is half price:  Adults, $2, Students ages 12 to 18, $1.25, Children ages 6 to 11, 75 cents, and Fort Larned Historical Society members, free.  Spectators should bring their own lawn chairs.
The Santa Fe Trail Center is located two miles west of Larned on K-156.  Operating hours are Tuesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mondays from Labor Day to Memorial Day.
For more information regarding this program, the museum, or how to become a Fort Larned Historical Society member, call 620-285-2054.