Baseball dinner features Cincinnati Reds historian

It is the Dog Days of Summer and the Bengals are in training camp. However, there is still two months of baseball left. Come join us at the Ohio County Historical Museum for dinner and a program about the first professional baseball team on Friday, August 24, 2007 beginning at 5:30.

Our presenter, Greg Rhodes has served as Reds Team Historian and Executive Director of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum since its founding in 2004. He is native of Richmond, Indiana, and is a lifelong Reds fan. Greg graduated from Indiana University with a doctorate in Education, and has taught middle school, high school and college courses.

Since moving to Cincinnati in 1985, he has co-authored six books on the history of the Reds, worked for the Cincinnati Historical Society where he was involved in the opening of the Museum Center, is a past chairman of the local chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), and is the founding president of the Cincinnati Red Stockings vintage base ball team.

Mr. Rhodes' program is about the Cincinnati Base Ball Club who launched the professional sports revolution in 1869 when it signed 10 players to contracts for the season. The experiment proved phenomenally successful on the field ( the club's record was 57-0), but a financial disaster off the field. After a second season in 1870, the club went out of business, but the revolution it sparked continues to this day. The program will present an overview of the players and highlights of the two seasons that started professional baseball.

The cost of the dinner/program is $12.00 for members and $15.00 for nonmembers. Program only (starts at 7:15) $3.00 for members and $4.00 for nonmembers. Payment must be received by August 22.

The Ohio County Historical Museum (212 S. Walnut Street, Rising Sun, Indiana, 47040) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located along the Ohio River Scenic By-way. Museum hours are 11-4 Monday-Saturday, 1:30-4:30 Sunday, and closed Wednesdays. Admission to the museum only is $2.50 for adults, $2.00 for senior citizens, $1.00 for high school students, and free for members and children 12 and under. For more information about the event or museum please call Bill Dichtl at (812) 438-4915.