The first and earliest written evidence of baseball in America is a bylaw written
in 1791 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The document, discovered by Society for
Baseball Research member John Thorn in 2004, offers strong evidence that
baseball is a unique American game, and it casts doubt on the long held
belief that baseball was derived from rounders, a British game. It also raises
the question of the origins of cricket, as it has been widely thought that
baseball followed cricket, which was developed from a folk game known as
stool ball (1085 A.D).
As far back as 2000 B.C. ball and stick type games have been played.
Hieroglyphics depict ancient Egyptians playing a game similar to baseball in
1500 B.C., although there exists some major differences between its depiction
and the modern game.
The 1791 Massachusetts by-law banned the playing of the game within 80
yards of the town meeting house. The first documented formal organization to
play baseball in America was the NY Knickerbockers established on
September 23, 1845. The first rules were written by Alexander Cartwright,
considered to be the Father of modern baseball. However, long before this
time ball playing of one sort or another was noted by many authors and in
many documents.
A May 8, 1844 city Ordinance in New York City prohibits "ball" playing of any
sort. Abner Doubleday was said to have "invented" the game of baseball in
1839, although a later inquiry proved this to be a myth. Cartwrights role in
baseball has also been questioned. Most experts and historians now agree
that he was simply the first to write down the rules that had existed for quite
some time. In addition, there is strong evidence that rule changes were one of
the reasons Cartwright wrote them down.
There has been a lot written about the sport after the founding of the
Knickerbockers, such as articles about the popularity and evolvement of the
"New York Game" rules into the mainstream of baseball. The original
Knickerbocker rules addressed foul lines and deleted the "plug out," which
involved hitting the runner with the ball to gain an out. They also delineated
the tag-out and the force-out. Strangely, they dont provide a pitching distance
or a baseline length. Forty-two paces was the actual written distance from
home to second base, and from first to third. "Innings" were also not
mentioned. Instead, the first team to twenty-one was declared the winner,
given both teams are allowed an equal number of at-bats. The pitching
method was also described as underhand, perhaps similar to town ball,
another early game with English roots.
The rules may have first been written by Cartwright, but there is a long and
involved history of earlier games with similar rules. Many American and
opposing English claims of inventing baseball have tried to argue their
positions by presenting evidence to back their claims. Despite all of this, the
origin of modern baseball still remains a mystery.
After 1845, the history of baseball in America starts to be fairly clear. The rules
were standardized in 1857. In 1858, the first baseball league, the National
Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), emerged. They were not
considered professional players, as they received no money for their
participation. However, the games were public and admission was charged to
witness the games. The first documented college baseball game was played
in 1859 as Amherst defeated Williams 73-32 in 26 innings in Pittsfield,
Massachusetts.
In 1860, the "New York Game" was commonly referred to as "the National
pastime" in many written works. Baseball gained momentum in popularity and
slowly spread throughout the Country during the Civil War. Over 100 clubs
were in existence when the war ended and in 1869, the world's first
professional baseball team was established. The Cincinnati Red Stockings
ended their first season undefeated. The NABBP split into two groups, one for
the amateurs and one for the professionals. The amateur leg of the
association dissolved after only a few years.
The National League, which still exists, was established in 1875 after the
NABBP proved ineffective on several levels. The power shifted to the club
organizations and baseball entered into an age full of conflict, remembered
mostly for the dreaded player reserve clause that oppressed players and held
them as "slaves" to their contracts.
Blacks and Hispanics or any other non-white players were repeatedly forced
out, left out, or sent to the minor leagues. This was a shameful practice that
didnt end until 1947. The Western League of Baseball Players, a minor
league of the Great Lakes States area became the American League in 1899.
A new era in baseball began in 1901. It was known as the "Dead Ball Era",
because of a sharp decrease in offense produced in both leagues. This era
continued until the emergence of Babe Ruth in 1919. |
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