Baseball

2 Pages 448 Words

Forms of baseball have been popular for many centuries. The English game

of rounders, the children’s game of one-old-cat, and townball are all very similar

to baseball and have been popular since the 1700s. In the 1840s, Alexander

Cartwright of the New York Knickerbocker Club created the general field

dimensions that are in use today. Henry Chadwick, a sportswriter, wrote the first

rule book in 1858. The rules continued to change slightly, but by the early 1900s

the rules were almost exactly the same as they are today.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, baseball was primarily popular in

local clubs in the northeast United States, with the members of the local clubs

usually being of the same occupation. Competitions between these clubs

eventually led to the creation of organized baseball leagues. An organization

created to set standardized rules and playing schedules, the National Association

of Baseball Players, was formed in 1858 to be baseball’s first official governing

body. The travel of soldiers from the Northeast during the Civil War led to the

spread of the game throughout the West, East, and South United States. After the

Civil War, there were more opportunities for leisure, and the increased ability of

travel allowed leagues to be wider spread, which lead to more competition.

In 1869, Harry Wright organized the Cincinnati Red Stockings and called

them the first professional team. They went on a 57-game national tour, and they



were undefeated throughout the tour. Because the Cincinnati Red Stockings were

successful on their tour, in 1871 the National Association of Baseball Players

created 9 different teams in 8 cities to form the first professional baseball league.

Several competing leagues were formed in the 1870s, including the National

League, which became the most popular of the competing leagues.

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