Plowboys
The Plowboys - Vintage Base Ball at its Best!
Are you a fan of the 18 karat? Come experience the thrill of the national pastime as it was originally played in the mid-1800s before the American Civil War! Join the hurler, the behind and the other hands of Downers Grove’s own Plowboys as they juggle the spheroid against vintage base ball (yes, it was originally two words) teams from throughout Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. Come yell huzzah! as a striker knocks the apple out of the orchard during the Plowboys season.
Where did the name come from? The Plowboys was a real Downers Grove group in the mid-1800s. It was political group organized in the late 1850s to support the abolitionist and union candidates. It dissolved during the Civil War and then was briefly resurrected as the “Sons of the Plowboys” for the 1888 presidential campaign.
Organized base ball in Downers Grove dates back prior to the Civil War. In 1857, Judge Walter Blanchard stated about the community’s original settlers that “…there are still enough around to get up a good game of ball now and then.” In an 1858 Chicago Tribune article, a group of “country boys” from Downers Grove defeated the Chicago Union in a game of base ball.
According to a recently discovered c.1932 reminiscent, members of the original Plowboys stayed together between the political campaigns by playing baseball. They supposedly traveled throughout the area and were quite successful. We don’t know if they are the same team mentioned in the 1858 newspaper article. So, come and rediscover the national pastime as it was originally played!
2010 Sponsors |
| New View Gardens |
| Downers Grove Historical Society |
| Allers Morrison Insurance Agency |
Interested in becoming a 2010 sponsor? Support your local Vintage Base Ball team! Sponsorships help provide uniforms, equipment and supplies. Contact Museum Supervisor Christa Christensen at (630) 963-1309 or cchristensen@dgparks.org for information regarding giving levels.
Please visit www.dgplowboys.com for additional information and team photos.
2010 Game Schedule 
* Home matches are played at Herrick Middle School Field, on Saratoga, 1 block south of Ogden Avenue.
