The Kent Base Ball Club was formed on April 4, 1867 after two earlier attempts to form a club had failed. The founding officers were Silas Perkins, president; D.K. Hulburt, vice president; artist Lawrence Earle, secretary and A.P. Sinclair, treasurer. The team’s first game was played against the Custer Base Ball Club of Ionia, with the Kent club losing the game by lopsided scores before a crowd estimated at two thousand.

The Kents were just one of many Grand Rapids base ball clubs. Other clubs included the Dexters, the Centrals, the Young Americans, the Stars, the Hickorys and the Peninsulars. The Kents also played games against the Wolverines of Muskegon and the base ball club of Grand Haven.

On the fourth of July in 1867, the Kents defeated the Centrals 88-39 winning the silver ball. As the score suggests, the rules of the game differed from the rules of modern baseball. Overhand pitching and leading off were not allowed, balls caught after the first bounce were recorded as outs, and a hitter could watch an unlimited amount of pitches before swinging. Umpires enforced a no-profanity rule by issuing a 25 cent fine. The club lasted only two seasons but sparked enough interest in the sport for baseball to continue in Grand Rapids.