Students play water baseball at Michigan State College in Lansing, Michigan.

In this film, Michigan State College students play “flood ball” in canoes with rubber balls, canoe paddles instead of bats, and anchored down bases. Narrator Hugh James notes the game’s high frequency of strikeouts.

This game was invented by Michigan State students on May 12, 1948, when the Red Cedar River overflowed and flooded the baseball field, as well as much of the campus. Hits were reportedly rare, but capsizings were common. When the river flooded again the following year, flood ball resumed, and other interested colleges began playing the sport.