Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti
ANSONIA-The city will be celebrating the 125th anniversary of its founding with a family-oriented Summer Festival July 19 beginning at 2 p.m. on Nolan Field.
The day will start with a blast featuring a baseball game between the Ansonia Coppermen and Derby Osborndales.
But it won’t be just any ballgame. Players will use vintage 1890s equipment which includes 42 ounce bats and a fielder’s glove that resembles an oven mitt. They will also play by that era’s rules which include seven balls to a walk, the batter selecting his strike zone and foul balls counting as nothing.
Players include Scott Gura, Shelton High School’s baseball coach; George French, Derby High School’s Football coach, Alex Michel, a former Emmett O’Brien Vocation Technical School second baseman and Anthony Buono, commissioner of Seymour’s Little League.
Flannel uniforms have been designed for the two teams.
The Vintage Base Ball Factory in Hartford is providing the balls, gloves and unifroms while the Bulldog Bat Co. of Newtown manufactured the bats.
Following the game will be performances by the Rob Zappulla Orchestra, an 18-piece band from Hartford which specializes in Sinatra classics and Eight to the Bar, whose repertoire includes swing, jazz and rhythm and blues.
There will be a restaurant row and a historic photo exhibit showing Ansonia’s evolution from 1870s to the 1960s. This year marks the city’s annexation from Birmingham.
The day will end with a boom echoed from a display of Atlas Pyrovision fireworks shot off from the Little League Field.
Farrell Pomini, whose manufacturing plants employed tens of thousands of city residents dating back to the 1860s is the main sponsor.
“It’s going to be great,” said Mayor David Cassetti. “It’s a do not miss summer celebration that offers something for everyone. I hope this brings the city together for a good time.”
Admission is $5. Children 12 and under get in for free.
The rain date is July 20.
