Great Black Swamp Frogs

The Great Black Swamp Frogs Base Ball Club
of Sylvania, Ohio

   Preserving and celebrating our historic heritage is one of the goals of the Sylvania Community. One of the ways we honor that heritage is the recreation of vintage base ball matches by the Great Black Swamp Frogs Base Ball Club. The Frogs play Civil War Era base ball using rules codified in 1860. Players wear old time uniforms, the umpire and the scorer appear in period attire, and even some of the spectators don historic dress.
   The ball club is named for the Great Black Swamp that once covered much of the northwest Ohio area and Toledo's early nickname, "Frogtown". The game that the Frogs play is fundamentally the same as baseball today; differences in rules, strategies, and equipment are portrayed and duplicated as accurately as possible. In the mid-nineteenth century, base ball was two words and an amateur game played by respectable gentlemen. The Frogs, along with their families, recreate these social and recreational events.
    The Frogs are charter members of the Vintage Base Ball Association.

Occaisionally updated, usually correct, the 2017 Frogs' Schedule is now available!

Next Match: Sunday, September 17, 2017 Tiffin Heritage Festival vs. Whiskey Island Shamrocks and The Spiegel Srove Squires		Frogs Outlast Black Flags Toledo, Ohio -- Sunday, September 10, 2017, was a beautiful day for base ball filled with sunshine and comfortable temperatures. The Great Black Swamp Frogs of Sylvania, Ohio, hosted the Black Flag Base Ball Club of Drovertown, Indiana, for a match at Genacross (formerly the Lutheran Home of Toledo). The Frogs scored early and then hung on for dear life against a late inning rally by the Black Flags. The strikers from Sylvania posted four tallies in the first inning to jump ahead of the Blag Flags at the onset of the game. Both club continued to strike well and score often, but the Frogs maintained a healthy lead until the seventh inning. In that frame, the Drovertown boys answered in a mighty way, scoring four runs of their own in an inning to pull to within one run of the Frogs' 13. The Frogs were able to answer that challenge and never relinquished their lead. Reported by Rick Fuchs, September 10, 2017 Accounts of other recent matches can be found on the News page! More news...
	For more information about vintage base ball, visit the VBBA site
	Visit the Sylvania Historical Village	If you would like to schedule a match with the Frogs , or if you are interested in becoming part of the Frogs' team, as a player, scorekeeper, or umpire, contact Rick "Sparky" Fuchs (419-843-1725) or Brad "Doc" James (419-885-1893).
	Follow the Frogs on Facebook	Be sure to visit the sponsors of the Frogs' 2017 season! (listed on the Links page)

Main Page News Schedule Roster Vintage Rules Frogs' History Photo Gallery Links

This web site designed and maintained by Rick Fuchs. Site last updated on 7/29/16. Report problems to blackswampfrogs@gmail.com.