The Tippecanoe Canal Jumpers – A History
Over the 4th of July weekend, the Tippecanoe Canal Jumpers, the local vintage base ball team (yes, it’s two words) played at the “Red, White & Base Ball” community event in City Park. The family-friendly free event featured another opportunity to showcase the local volunteer sports club as a centerpiece of Tipp City’s patriotic and heritage festivities centered around 1840s‑style base ball, food, and fellowship.
The Tippecanoe Canal Jumpers Vintage Base Ball Club is a Tipp City team that plays base ball following mid‑19th‑century rules and is a project of the Downtown Tipp City Partnership (DTCP), promoting the city’s canal‑era heritage and historic downtown. The Tippecanoe Canal Jumpers use bare hands, underhand pitching, and gentlemanly conduct to recreate base ball as a community pastime rather than a professional sport. Their games help audiences experience the evolution of America’s pastime while enjoying a family‑friendly spectacle rooted in local history.
The team combines athletic recreation with living history, using period‑style uniforms, language, and customs to show how the game of base ball was played before the modern era. The team is a regular feature in Tipp City’s civic life, especially at heritage celebrations that highlight Tipp City’s story, draw visitors downtown, and turn City Park into a living museum of 19th‑century base ball.
The Canal Jumpers got their start in 2009 as the brainchild of Reed Spencer and yours truly. During the summer of 2009, I attended a vintage base ball game at Carriage Hill featuring the Clodbusters, the official base ball club for Carillon Historical Park. After enjoying the festivities, I suggested to Reed that we start a local vintage base ball team to play against the Clodbusters and other local area teams. I thought up the name “Canal Jumpers,” and Reed literally “took the ball” and ran with it, recruiting players and setting up an exhibition game, which took place on August 12, 2009, at the Willow Tree Inn west of Tipp City. And a great time was had by all!
Following the success of that exhibition game and another game held at Carillon Park in September 2009, Reed worked to recruit a full team of players and captained the team from 2009 to 2012. Shawn Sugden took over in 2012, serving as the Canal Jumpers captain through 2026.
The Canal Jumpers hosted visiting clubs and traveled across the region to face other vintage teams, including opponents such as the Columbus Buckeyes, the Blackbottom 9, the Red Stockings, and the Dayton Clodbusters, as well as clubs from Indiana and Kentucky. They also appeared at multi‑team festivals and historic venues, reinforcing their reputation as committed ambassadors for vintage base ball and for Tipp City.
Through their home event, often known as the Tipp Cup or Canal Jumpers Cup, the club brings multiple teams to Tipp City for a day of 19th‑century‑style base ball and camaraderie. This gathering showcases the town’s hospitality and strengthens the Canal Jumpers’ role as both a heritage project and a promotional arm for the community.
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