By Lisa Carolin
There is a new vintage base ball club forming in Chelsea, a sister club to the Monitors made up solely of women. The team name is the Merrimack club, the Merries for short.
“Honest” Jon Van Hoek, captain of the Monitors, is helping to organize the women’s club, which currently has 18 members.
“The Merries play baseball with the same rules we play by, the rules of 1860, which are very similar to modern baseball,” said Van Hoek.
Players don’t use gloves or wear any protective gear. Their uniforms are similar colors to those of the Monitors. They wear white shirts, navy blue skirts with navy blue bloomers, and pill box caps.
Van Hoek got the idea for a women’s club from the Detroit River Belles team.
“I know some of these women and talked to their captain and was confident we could put together such a club in Chelsea,” said Van Hoek.
Upcoming matches for the Merries will be on Sunday, June 22 at 11:30 a.m. when the Merries and the Monitors take on community members from Chelsea at Timber Town, the teams’ home field.
On Sunday, June 29 at noon, the Merries will play against the Detroit River Belles at noon followed by a game between the Monitors and the Detroit Early Risers. Those games will take place inside Historic Fort Wayne on the Detroit River.
“On Saturday, Aug. 23, we’ll march in the Chelsea Fair Parade, which starts at 1 p.m., and then go to Timber Town,” said Van Hoek. “The Merries will play a match first at 2:30 p.m. followed by a men’s match.”
Van Hoek says that like the Monitors and other vintage base ball clubs, the Merries will be playing for fun.
