(Left Photo) Andrew Gilbert (left) is pictured with his brother-in-law Adam Kimberley, walking out of the corn field at the Field of Dreams in Iowa; (Center photo) Andrew Gilbert is pictured pitching on the Field of Dreams; (Right photo) Andrew Gilbert (back row, far right) is pictured with the group of players he played games with on the Field of Dreams in Iowa.
(Photos by Sheri Kimberley)
By Bruce Rolfe
A Climax man who has had a dream of playing on the same field the 1989 hit movie “Field of Dreams” was filmed on, checked that ambition off his bucket list after he recently had the opportunity to play on the famous field in Dyersville, Iowa. Andy Gilbert joined eight other members from the Continental Baseball Club of Kalamazoo he is a member of along with many other players from other vintage baseball clubs in Michigan playing two games on the famous field.
An old time baseball enthusiast, Gilbert said after being diagnosed for Mantle Cell Lymphoma and going through treatments, he discovered the Continental Baseball Club of Kalamazoo on Facebook. The Continental Baseball Club Of Kalamazoo is a vintage baseball team that plays by 1860s baseball rules.
He joined the group and was looking forward to his first event at Greenfield Village earlier this year but he became ill.
He said the Chelsea vintage baseball group alerted players from the Kalamazoo vintage baseball group Gilbert plays on last year about the Field of Dreams opportunity.
Although his son Logan (football) and daughter Ashlynn (volleyball) had a sports picture day scheduled at Climax-Scotts High School August 16, the same day he had an opportunity to play on the Field of Dreams, he felt it was too big of an opportunity to pass on.
He said 40 players from other Michigan vintage baseball clubs, including nine from the Continental Baseball Club of Kalamazoo Gilbert plays on, divided into teams and played games on the field for four hours.
He said any person or group can rent the Field of Dreams to play baseball games on at a cost of $600 an hour. His group rented the field from 5 to 9 p.m.
Gilbert said the field, farm house near the field, and cornfield surrounding the famous field looked the same as it did in the 1989 movie.
The Climax man said he pitched, played third base, shortstop, second base, and first base in the two seven inning games his team played in.
“It was definitely a bucket list thing for sure,” said Gilbert.
He said he and his Continental Baseball Club of Kalamazoo teammates wore the same uniforms they wear during other games they participate in.
The team Gilbert played on was made up of his Continental Baseball Club of Kalamazoo teammates and players from the Dexter, Chelsea, and Lansing vintage baseball clubs.
He said the teams played games under a Gatlinburg Shotgun format, where one inning the team bats and the next inning they play in the field. The team that ends up scoring the most runs wins the game.
Players in the field did not use mits and pitchers pitched to batters underhanded.
Gilbert said of the nine players from the Continental Baseball Club of Kalamazoo that played on the Field of Dreams, six were first year players on the vintage baseball team including his brother-in-law, Adam Kimberley (husband of C-S graduate Sheri Bowman).
The Climax man said it was an amazing experience the first time he walked onto the same field Kevin Costner and other movie stars performed on in the hit movie.
“It was pretty awesome because Logan (his son) and I watched the movie the night before we headed out,” said Gilbert, who said interest in the Continental Baseball Club of Kalamazoo has picked up.
While the focus was playing games on the famous field, Gilbert said players took the time to have pictures taken at some of the famous locations on the field that were filmed in the movie. He said players had pictures taken next to the corn field Costner stood in when he heard the whispered voice say, “If you build it, he will come.”
Gilbert and his brother-in-law also had pictures taken of the two walking in and out of the corn field, similar to how actor Ray Liotta, who played Shoeless Joe Jackson, and his teammates did in the movie.
Some players had pictures taken as they touched the corn like actor James Earl Jones did before he departed the field and walked into the mysterious cornfield that famous players from another era entered from to play games and then go back into following games.
“It’s very accessible, which is real nice. And the house, that looked just like it did in the movie,” said Gilbert, who said tours through the farm house are available, however his group did not get there in time for a tour.
He said one seven inning game he played in was with his teammates and the second seven inning game players were divided into other teams, which he enjoyed because it allowed him to interact with some of the other players.
“A lot of camaraderies, that’s for sure,” said Gilbert.
He said as the games were played, players could be heard saying a lot of the famous lines from the “Field of Dreams” movie, like “if you build it, he will come.” Or, “go the distance.”
“There were a bunch of old guys out there playing, but really, each of us kind of turned back into a little kid. Everybody was like, this is just the greatest thing ever. A lot of bucket lists crossed off,” said Gilbert.
The vintage baseball team Gilbert plays on do not use baseball baseball gloves. He said one event his team played at in Romona Park in Portage there were three fields, where one field used different rules from the 1860s. He said the 1864 rules allowed a player to record an out even if they caught the ball on the bounce. Any runner on the base was also allowed to advance a base if the ball was caught on a bounce for an out. He said the 1868 rules was the first time a player was required to catch the ball in the air for an out. The balls are pitched underhand.
He said one weekend his family was on Mackinaw Island when a vintage baseball game was being played he discovered former Detroit Tiger hero and member of the 1968 World Series champion Tigers, John Hiller was playing in one of the games.
Gilbert said he would like to play on the Field of Dreams again when he hopes to take his family to the well known field for another memorable trip.
To learn more about the local vintage baseball team, visit the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo Facebook page.
––––––––––––––––––––
Subscribe to the Legal News!
https://legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available
