THE HISTORY OF BASEBALL
Like most sports, exactly when and where baseball started is not known. Many of the games and sports that we have today have evolved from varieties of ancient folk games. But, it is known is that the game has international roots.
Many ancient cultures had stick and ball games that they played. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics dating back to 1500 B.C. have been found that show a game that is similar to baseball. Proving that even early Egyptians loved to both play and watch live baseball.
In it's early forms and even today, baseball has been called by many names. But, no matter what they've called it, baseball has been around for hundreds of years. Many of our ancestors probably played the game or liked to watch live baseball.
A small book, "A Little Pretty Pocket-Book" that was published in England in 1744, talks about baseball. In 1776, American soldiers played the game at Valley Forge and it was banned from Princeton's campus in 1787!
In 2004, a 1791 law was found in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The law prohibited baseball playing within 80 yards of the new meeting house. It is the earliest known recorded reference to baseball in America.
A long lived American myth was that baseball was invented in 1839 by Abner Doubleday. The baseball centennial celebrations in Cooperstown, Massachusetts were attributed to Doubleday's invention. And, a National Baseball Hall of Fame was opened in the city.
Few of the historians actually believed that Doubleday invented the game. It's even said that Doubleday himself never claimed to have invented the game! Although, it is believed that he did like to play and watch live baseball.
In June of 1953, the United States Congress officially gave credit for the invention of baseball to Alexander Cartwright. Cartwright a volunteer fireman and bookseller from Manhattan established the Knickerbocker Baseball Club in 1842, named for the Knickerbocker Fire Engine Company!
The game they played was called the town game, but it was very similar to baseball. In 1845, Cartwright and some members of his club, devised rules and changed the game into a more interesting sport for adults.
Some of the rules that were instated by the Knickerbocker's no longer exist. However, many of those same rules are still used in the modern game! Cartwright also drew the first known diagram of a baseball field with the famous diamond shape!
Before the Knickerbocker Baseball Club, the game had been more casual, it had been played for fun and entertained those that liked to watch live baseball. The Knickerbockers played in their first baseball competition in June of 1846.
Cartwright then left New York to mine gold in California in 1849. He then settled in Hawaii and founded the first baseball league that was composed of many teams he'd help create in the Hawaiian Islands.
The league Cartwright established in Hawaii became the model for both the National and American Leagues that are in existence today! He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.
The Knickerbocker Club, inspired the formation of many baseball clubs in New York City. And, in March of 1958, 22 of these clubs joined together to establish the National Association of Base Ball Players, the NABBP.
In two short years, the association included more than 60 teams! And, The National Association of Base Ball Players membership had grown to include over 300 clubs by 1867.
The popularity of baseball spread quickly throughout the United States, it had became a favorite game to play and many liked to attend the games just to watch live baseball.
Baseball rapidly became the first widely popular spectator sport. The teams had many fans that loved to watch live baseball, they cheered for their teams, but gambling also became a problem both with the fans and the players!
Some of the baseball clubs began charging fans an admission fee in the late 1850's. But, the first person to actually realize that the sport could be a money making venture was most likely William Cammeyer.
Cammeyer was responsible for the construction of the first baseball field that was enclosed in Brooklyn in 1862. Although, he let the teams use the facility free, he charged the fans a ten cent admission fee to watch live baseball.
For several years, Cammeyer got to keep all of the money received at the games for himself. But, in 1864, he had to start giving a share to some of the players on the better teams!
Many of the players had come to realize that they should get a percentage of any money made from their games. This was the beginning of baseball's evolution into a professional sport!
The National Association of Base Ball Players actually had a strictly enforced rule against professionalism in the sport. At the same time they freely allowed teams to charge fans for admission to watch live baseball!
By the late 1850's many of the players were receiving payments. But, it was normal for teams to make payments in lump sums and this allowed a player to take the payment and then move on to join another team and receive another payment!
Another major problem that had arisen was gambling! Several of the teams were famous for playing fixed games! Many people felt that if the players could actually make a decent living playing baseball, they wouldn't be tempted to take bribes!
Two separate classes of membership in the National Association of Base Ball Players was instated in 1868, it now separated the amateur and professional players.
In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first all professional ball team. Although, only one player was actually from Cincinnati, their salaries went from $600 up to $1,400!
Due to bitter arguments between the amateur and professional members, the 1870 convention marked the end of the NABBP. The following year ten of the clubs joined to found the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players!
There was still problems with members not playing out their scheduled games. There were also still problems with gambling and players jumping to other teams to make more money.
Eight baseball teams joined together in 1876 to form the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs. The name alone indicated a significant change, this league placed the owners and promoters in charge instead of the players!
Throughout the early years there were many leagues and associations that came and went. But, The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs still exists today!
During the depression in the early 1930's everything and everyone suffered including baseball. The fans didn't have the money to spend on tickets and many of the teams closed.
The end of the depression saw the popularity and the profit in baseball return. Many players today get millions of dollars for playing a game they love!
Baseball has withstood the test of time and survived all the obstacles it faced in the early years. It's became on of America's favorite pastimes and earned it's place as an American tradition! |
