The Louisville Historical Museum dedicates itself to collecting and preserving the city’s history. Summer King, the museum associate for outreach and education, said one of those ways is by bringing history to life through the Vintage Base Ball Game — complete with historic uniforms, vintage equipment and old-school game rules. The Louisville Miners — made up of volunteers, historical museum workers and its board members — will face off against the Star Base Ball Club of Colorado Territory, an all-star team made up of members from different clubs that represent the Colorado Vintage Base Ball Association. The base ball game, originally written as two words, will return for its fourth year at 11 a.m. Saturday at Miners Field, 1212 South St., Louisville. Players in the game will play by the 1860s rulebook.

At the game, sponsored by the Louisville History Foundation, there will be free T-shirts for the first 200 attendees. There will also be food and live music from a brass band at the event.

“The game is a way for people to connect with the distant and not-so-distant past that we have here in Louisville,” King said.

The vintage rules will have the ballists (what players were called) pitching the ball underhand from 45 feet away. Back then, players did not use gloves or mitts and the ball was able to touch the ground twice before being considered out of play. That way players could catch the ball when it bounces from the ground.King said it is important to preserve the history of small towns, like Louisville, as small-town history in schools oftentimes gets overlooked, as students mainly learn about the history of the country.

“Each small town has their own unique history and almost a microcosm of these events that you see play out at a national scale,” King said.

Being connected to how the community plays a role in the larger scale of history helps people connect more to their community, Summer said.

Martin Babicz, a history teacher at the University of Colorado Boulder, teaches a class called America Through Baseball, where he takes students to the Louisville game to observe the old style of playing.

“It’s still the same game, although the rules have evolved,” Babicz said.

He said that studying the game is a great way to look at how baseball reflects history and the world around it.

Whether the residents have a long history in Louisville or just moved recently, King said the game is a great way to reflect on the city’s history and become a part of the community.

More information about the event is available at tinyurl.com/LouisvilleVintageBaseBall.