Fort Concho Baseball Heritage Day

As part of its ongoing 150th birthday celebration, Fort Concho will host a Baseball Heritage Day on Saturday, April 1, with a full schedule of talks, book signings, trivia contests and a vintage baseball clinic.

The cost is $5 for adults and $3 for students ages 13-21. Children 12 and younger will be admitted free. The fee covers a continental breakfast, snacks and prizes for participation in the trivia contest.

The day’s program will be from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.in Officers’ Quarters 8 at 215 E. Avenue D.

The day’s special guest will be Richard “Lefty” O’Neal, a baseball author and the only white ballplayer to participate in the last years of the Negro Leagues in the 1970s. He will also be available to sign copies of his book, “Dreaming of the Majors, Living in the Bush,” over lunch from noon-1:30 p.m.

Two programs will be led by fort staff members. Fort Concho Manager Bob Bluthardt will talk about “Baseball After the Civil War.” Bluthardt is a 36-year member of the Society for American Baseball Research; he chaired the group’s Ballparks Research Committee from 1982 through 2007. Curator of History Cory Robinson will cover “The Game,” a summary of how the game was played in the mid- to late 1800s. A vintage baseball clinic and demonstration will follow on the Parade Ground. Robinson is responsible for resurrecting the fort’s vintage baseball program, which as fielded two teams in recent years.

Angelo State University kinesiology professor Dr. Warren Simpson will address “Baseball Games off the Field,” and ASU history professor Dr. David Dewar will speak on “The Chicago Cubs and the Curse of the Billy Goat.”

For more information, call Bluthardt at 325-234-0316 or visit fortconcho.com.