History of Baseball

So many people love to play and watch baseball, it only makes sense that they would want to know the history of baseball. But, there seems to be some debate as to actually who invented baseball and when. Baseball’s roots are in the English game called Rounders. This game evolved into what we know today, but was often called by different names including townball, base then finally baseball.

It is said that baseball was first referred to in print in the July 13, 1825 edition of the Delhi, NY Gazette. There were also teams in Rochester and Geneso New York in the early 1820’s and Philadelphia by the 1830’s. These teams played a different version of the game we know today as there were no set rules.

It is often believed that Abner Doubleday invented baseball, but even that is not known for sure. The belief that he invented baseball is based on a letter by an old classmate saying Doubleday invented it in 1839 in Cooperstown, NY. However, the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame officially recognizes that Alexander Cartwright developed the rules of the modern day game in 1845. Cartwright was a banker who led his baseball team, the New York Knickerbockers. The history of baseball changed forever when the first professional team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869. Before that, there were teams playing baseball, but none of the players were receiving salaries. By 1871, the National Association of Professional Baseball Players league was formed. The National League (what is now a part of the Major Baseball League) was not formed until 1876 and the American League was formed in 1903. Before 1947, black players had to play in the Negro Leagues. But in an important moment in the history of baseball, in 1947, Jackie Robinson signed on to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He opened the door for blacks to begin playing in Major League Baseball.

While the history of baseball is a little muddled, the fact remains that it is America’s favorite pastime.