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Begining of Professional Baseball (MLB)
One summer afternoon in 1839, at Coppertown, on the shore of Otsego Lake in upper New York, the boys of the Otsego Academy were playing a game of town ball against Green's Select School. The rules of town ball were so loose that every hit was fair, and boys sometimes ran headlong into one another. That day, a resourceful young Otsego player named Abner Doubleday sat down and, on that spot, drew up the rules for a brand new game, and called it baseball. -
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History of Baseball
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The Creation of the National League (NL)
William Hulbert formed the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs to replace the National Association, which he believed was mismanaged and corrupt. The National League had eight original members: the Boston Red Stockings (now the Atlanta Braves), Chicago White Stockings (now the Chicago Cubs), Cincinnati Red Stockings, Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Mutual of New York, Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Brown Stockings -
Formation of the American League (AL)
In 1901, the National League’s rival, the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, was founded. -
First World Series is played
With the American League proving its legitimacy as a professional baseball league and rival to the incumbant National League, the two leagues organize a series between the two league champions. The Pittsburgh Pirates met the Boston Americans in 1903, with Boston prevailing 5 games to 3 to win the series, making the Boston Americans of the American League the first world series champions. -
First World Series boycott
One year after the original World Series was played, the growing animosity between the two Major Leagues, the American and National League, came to a spearhead when the National League champtions the New York Giants refused to play. Giants manager John McGraw did not want to play because he did see the American League as a true major league. The world series would be played every year after this until 1994. -
Curse of the Bambino
Flamboyant Boston Red Sox owner Harry Frazee sells his star outfielder George Herman 'Babe' Ruth to the New York Yankees for $100,000 in order to finance a production on Broadway. Babe Ruth goes on to become one of the greatest players of all time while the Red Sox fail to win a World Series until the curse was broken nearly 100 years later. -
Formation of the Negro league
As per an agreement between the owners of both the American and National League, Black baseball players were not allowed to player in either Major League. In 1923 the black players formed the National Negro League and barnstormed around the United States proving that black players were as talented and world class as their white counterparts. -
Lou Gerrig begins his historic career
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Babe call his shot
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First night game in MLB history
The first night game is played between the Cincinnati Reds vs the Philadelphia Phillies. Owners of the clubs saw a great possibility to increase attendance to games by holding them at night when people were not at work. Though there was some hesistation to accept night games initially, it quickly became the norm and baseball grew greatly in popularity because of it. -
Joe Dimaggio Sets all time hitting streak record
On June 2nd, 1925 a young New York Yankee first baseman Lou Gherig replaced slumping first baseman Wally Pipp. Gherig would go on to play 2,130 consecutive games earing the nickname the Iron Horse of baseball and would lead one of the most successful careers in baseball history. -
Jackie Robinson joins MLB
On April 9, 1947, after spending a year on Brooklyn’s minor league squad, the Montreal Royals, Jackie Robinson signed a contract to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers. On opening day, April 15, Robinson officially broke the color barrier in baseball, becoming the second black player ever to play in the majors – Moses Fleetwood Walker had made a short appearance for Toledo of the American Association in 1884. But Robinson was the first to make it in Major League Baseball, and the game never -
AL introduces the designated hitter
For the 1973 season the American League enacts the Designated Hitter (DH) rule allowing a player to hit for the pitcher. The National League does not follow suit and the DH rule remains the largest difference between the leagues to this day. -
Hank Aaron sets new homerun record
Henry “Hank” Aaron Amidst all the labor negotiating going on behind the scenes and in public, on the field, one man was turning heads: Henry “Hank” Aaron. Aaron had come into the league in 1954 for the Milwaukee Braves, moving with the team to Atlanta. When he retired, he had played 23 seasons, and ended up with the most RBIs in major league history (2297), a record he still holds. But the record he held that truly drew the attention of the nation was his run at a record held by the Babe. -
FIrst World Series in Canada
For the first time in World Series history, a non-american team, Canada's Toronto Blue Jays win the championship. They would repeat the year after, but the World Series has not returned to a Canadian team since. -
FIrst World Series played in the month of Novemeber
The World Series was first played in the month of Novemer due to the Attacks of 9/11 in New York. MLB was put to a stand still while things were resolved. There was talk of cancelling the series but that would change baeball history forever -
The Curse is Broken
For the first time since Babe Ruth was sold to the New York Yankees in 1920, the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, breaking the Curse of the Bambino. Entering the playoffs as a wild card team, Boston managed to come back from a 3 game to 1 deficit in the ALCS and beat the Yankees to advance to the World Series where they beat the St. Louis Cardinals in 4 straight games. -
Barry Bonds Breaks Homerun record
San Franciso Giants slugger Barry Bonds breaks Mark McGwire's single season home run record hitting 73 over the course of the 2001 season. Bonds would end up breaking Hank Aaron's career home run mark as well, finishing with 762 total. Bond's and McGwire's record would soon be tainted with allegations of steriod use begin to arise.