Mesesan: The forgotten Romanian national sport that may have inspired baseball
From Diana Mesesan at Romanian Insider on January 16, 2017:
Despite a long history, Romania’s national stick and ball game oina, similar to the American baseball, is almost forgotten and only kept alive by a handful of amateur players.
Not any kind of amateurs, though; fierce, madly passionate players. This is what Romanian photographers Sorin Vidis and Bogdan Baghitoi discovered when they started documenting oina in 2014, when it officially became the country’s national sport.
Back then, the state attempted to revive the old tradition and promote oina in Romania’s schools and public space. The game also has a national federation representing its interests. But the sport lacks sponsorships. Those who still play it also fund it.
First documented in the 14th century, the oina is now almost entirely forgotten. According to some, oina is the precursor of baseball, brought to the US by Romanians from Transylvania who emigrated there.
Read the full article here: http://www.romania-insider.com/forgotten-romanian-national-sport-oina-baseball/
Originally published: January 17, 2017. Last Updated: January 17, 2017.