What Is the VBBA Vintage Base Ball Association?

The VBBA (Vintage Base Ball Association) is an organization that promotes base ball as it was played in the 19th century and other historic eras, and it supports member clubs that play the game by those older rules and customs. It's the right starting point if you want to watch, join, start, or host a vintage club — or if you're organizing a conference, vendor table, or educational talk around historic base ball. It is not a youth league or a modern competitive sanctioning body, and the site does not present itself as a rules authority for present-day baseball.

What the VBBA actually does

The organization's own description centers on two things: promoting historic-era base ball and supporting member clubs "in various ways." On the site, that support shows up as practical resources rather than a formal program list:

• Club discovery — a Find a Club tool, since there are over 200 vintage base ball teams across the country.
• Getting involved — guidance for people starting a team or simply looking to become part of the game, plus a Join the VBBA path.
• Learning the game — material on playing "by the rules and customs of base ball as it was played in its formative years."
• History and advocacy — a petition supporting Doc Adams for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and a reading on The Abner Doubleday Myth.
• Media — conference recordings on a Videos page and a VBBA YouTube channel, including interviews such as Andrew Schiff's conversation with Gary Schiappacasse about Henry Chadwick.

The annual conference is the main event

The clearest dated item on the site is the VBBA 2026 Conference in Phoenix, AZ, March 13–15, 2026, held at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Phoenix Downtown North. The page links out to hotel information, a hotel registration link, area attractions, conference registration, vendor registration, a schedule, and a presenter guide — so the conference serves both attendees and people selling or presenting. A separate page covers the 2026 Cactus League Spring Training, which fits a Phoenix trip.

If you're planning around the conference, treat those links as the operative details: registration, lodging, and the schedule each have their own entry point, and the schedule is the thing to check before booking travel.

A preservation example: Warren Ballpark

The VBBA also spotlights Warren Ballpark in Bisbee, Arizona, built in 1909. The site notes it is owned by the Bisbee School District, is the oldest continuously operating multi-sport facility in the country, and still hosts high school baseball, football, soccer, and community events. Its history includes Casey Stengel and Billy Martin playing there and Jim Thorpe hitting a 440-foot home run over the center field fence. The page directs support to the Friends of Warren Ballpark and a donation option. This is a useful model if your own club is trying to attach itself to a historic venue: pair the playing side with a preservation ask.

Deciding whether the VBBA fits your situation

Two caveats before you commit. First, the site does not publish membership dues, conference fees, or vendor pricing, so confirm costs through the registration links rather than assuming anything is free. Second, the site's social presence is thin — the Facebook page shows only 3 likes — so don't read engagement numbers as a measure of the organization's reach; the club count and conference program are better signals.

Where to start

Go to vbba.org and pick the path that matches your goal: Find a Club if you want to play or watch, Join the VBBA if you're forming or running a club, and Conference Registration if you're heading to Phoenix in March 2026. If you only want to understand the game, start with the rules section and the Chadwick and Doubleday material — they explain why vintage base ball is played the way it is.