Right after the national anthem ends, the national pastime begins. Americans love all things baseball. Most men own at least a few baseball caps and collector cards. More than 350,000 people each year make the pilgrimage to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Millions of people attend games every year, but few know how it all started. The History of Baseball is interesting, murky, and controversial.
Baseball Hall of Fame
Henry Chadwick was one of the first sportswriters. He did a lot for the game, including coming up with the modern box score, ERAs, and batting averages. However, in 1905, Chadwick wrote an article claiming that an English game called rounders was the origin of baseball.
What? America’s favorite game came from the Brits? A.G. Spalding was outraged. He was a former pitcher for the Chicago White Stockings. In fact, as pitcher, he took them to the first ever National League Championship. After his playing career, he opened a sporting goods store. Yes, the baseball gloves you had a kid originated from his store. After the Chadwick article, Spalding wanted a commission to be appointed to determine once and for all the history of baseball.
This was the beginning of the Mills Commission, named for Colonel A.G. Mills, a former player and president of the National League. The commission was comprised of seven former players and/or presidents of the league. It took them almost three years to come up with their answer.
A mining engineer from Denver named Abner Graves started writing letters claiming he knew where baseball started. He went to school in Cooperstown, New York, with a man named Abner Doubleday. Graves claimed Doubleday changed all the rules of the “town ball” everyone played at the time. He said Doubleday drew a diamond in the dirt, set the number of players, and added the four bases.
This was good enough for the committee (they were baseball fans, not historians), so in their final report in December 1907, they determined that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in 1839 in Cooperstown, New York.
In 1934, an old, homemade ball was found just three miles from Cooperstown. The ball became the “Doubleday baseball.” A man who lived in Cooperstown, Stephen Clark, bought the baseball for $5 (what would be about $125 today). He was proud that baseball started in his city, and he wanted to share this historical artifact with other people. The ball and other artifacts soon became the National Baseball Museum.
In 1936, the first players (including Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth) were elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1939, there was a big ceremony at the new National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.
…Or Maybe it Wasn’t Doubleday
The commission overlooked something pretty important. They concluded that Doubleday came up with baseball in 1839. What they didn’t realize is that in 1834 in Boston, The Book of Sports was published. In this book, there are pictures of young boys “playing ball” on the Boston Common. In the picture, there’s definitely a diamond field. Also, some of ‘Doubleday’s Rules’ were mentioned. For a mere $7000, you can obtain one of the three known copies of this book to see for yourself.
Recently, even earlier mentions of baseball have been found. In the 1820’s, there was an advertisement for a baseball game in a New York newspaper. Early baseball has been documented in several New England states in the 1820’s and 1830’s.
Just in the last decade, letters and documents dating back to the 1790’s have been found. They were German, and they called the sport “English base-ball.” These references have caused many to speculate that the history of baseball is indeed English in origin.
The Real Father of Baseball
Most people (even spokespeople at the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown) now give a bank clerk named Alexander Cartwright credit for shaping baseball into what it is today. On September 23, 1845, Cartwright published “Rules and Regulations of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club.” These 20 rules are the basis of the rules of Major League Baseball (MLB) today. The Knickerbockers became the first team to wear uniforms.
More club teams formed, and in 1857, they all got together and formed the National Association of Baseball Clubs. Baseball continued to be played under Cartwright Rules, but it was mainly a Northeastern game.
The National Spread of Baseball
In the 1860’s during the Civil War, formal baseball clubs weren’t as important anymore. Although the war was a horrible time for our country, it can be credited with making baseball the American game.
Union soldiers from the Northeast shared the game with others. More people than ever before now knew the rules of baseball. When the NABC held its convention in 1868, there were delegates from almost 100 teams across the country.
Baseball was still just a hobby. Many of the truly talented players couldn’t afford to play on a regular basis. They couldn’t afford the baseball equipment (there were now metal cleats on baseball shoes) or travel to play other teams. Some teams had wealthy owners, though, and it was rumored that they paid their players in order to win consistently.
In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first to openly pay salaries. They traveled the country and recruited the best players. Other teams saw how great the Red Stockings were with paid athletes, and they followed suit. To raise the money, teams charged admission to see their games and held fundraisers.
In 1871, the first professional league was formed. It included nine teams. May 4, 1871 was the first official professional baseball game. About 500 people turned out for the game.
By 1875, there were thirteen teams, but attendance was falling because of gambling and liquor served at the games. In 1876, the National Association became the National League. Instead of the players owning the teams, businessmen now ran everything. On April 22, 1876, the Red Stockings played the Athletics in the first National League game.
Baseball was becoming big business. In 1882, the American Association formed to rival the National League. They were like the Walmart of baseball. They offered tickets for lower prices, and they had their games in big cities. The games were more convenient and affordable for more people, so the National League got nervous. They negotiated with the American Association and made a deal. They were to honor each other’s contracts, but they also made it almost impossible for players to negotiate with the other teams for more money.
The players didn’t like that. They tried to form their own league in 1884 and again in 1890, but couldn’t afford to play more than one season with either league (many were having their baseball bats custom made by this time – equipment costs were skyrocketing). The only thing the 1890 Players League did was bankrupt the American Association. The National League was once again the only league.
In 1901, the American League formed by bribing all of the best National League players to join them. The National League owners were furious, and this is the first time that a commission is appointed to run the league. The two leagues learned to live with each other.
In 1914, the new Federal League actually sued the two other leagues, claiming they were a monopoly. The league only lasted two seasons. After years of arguing, in 1922, the US Supreme Court decided that baseball was exempt to anti-trust laws. (And we can’t forget to mention that in 1915, the Yankees wore their pin-striped jerseys for the first time.)
Modern Baseball History
During World War II, the history of baseball changed dramatically. Women finally got their chance to pick up baseball bats. The Negro League also became popular during the war. In 1947, Jackie Roosevelt Robinson was the first black player in the 20th century to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers in the modern major leagues (Moses Walker was the first black player in the majors in 1884). Other teams slowly followed and started hiring African-Americans. In 1948, the last Negro League game was played. Women were not integrated into the majors. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League only lasted through 1954.
In 1960, the threat of yet another league forced the expansion of Major League Baseball. By the 1970s, there were 24 teams.
From the 70s into the 90s, baseball players continued to thrill their crowds. There were now 30 teams, but the players weren’t happy. They were almost constantly fighting with owners over salaries. In August 1994, the baseball union actually went on strike. The World Series was cancelled for the first time, and fans were furious. There was a serious backlash in many cities. 1996 sales were less than expected, and baseball began to fall far behind other sports in popularity.
Baseball is again gaining popularity. Little League, college baseball, and the majors all have World Series games that are watched by millions. Amateurs still play baseball as a hobby and even at the Olympics. It’s safe to say that the history of baseball is still being written, as the national pastime is here to stay.
About The Author
James Martell is a successful freelance writer offering guidance and suggestions for consumers. His many articles give information and tips to help people save money and make smarter decisions.
This article on the "History of Baseball" reprinted with permission.
