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This timespan denotes the early framework of Baseball History in America. As the roots of American culture were developing, so were those of American Baseball. Our Timeline covers the history from 1830-1919.
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Alexander Cartwright is seen as the father of modern baseball. He popularized an English game called “rounders” by implementing a variety of rules that are still used today. Cartwright's legacy ties to his creation of the scoring system that allowed teams to compete. His system consisted of nine innings, three outs per inning, and three strikes per batter. The first documented match between two baseball clubs under these rules occured on June 19, 1846, at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey. -
The creation of the New York Knickerbockers Baseball Club laid the framework for modern baseball today. Prior to its establishment, baseball had very inconsistent rules. The rules depended on who was playing and where. The Knickerbockers popularized the concept of a diamond-shaped field, nine players on each team, three outs per inning, and many more. The Knickerbockers developed a major following and played their first game on June 19, 1846, against the New York Nine, a rival team. -
In 1858, Henry Chadwick invented the "Box Score" and began publishing them in the newspaper. Box scores tracked statistics such as strikeouts, hits, put outs, errors, runs and created statistics like batting averages which remain prevalent today. This let fans compare statistics of players on their local teams as well as opposing teams. This also allowed fans keep up with their team if they could not get to the game. Chadwick later edited guidebooks solely dedicated to baseball statistics. -
The first college baseball game was between none other than Amherst College and Williams College, taking place in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1859. To highlight how much the game has changed, the final score of this game was 73 to 32 with Amherst winning. This game was played with 60 foot base paths instead of 90 and the massive score reflected a lack of modern equipment and the difficulty of the small field. This match sparked the creation of many more scholastic baseball programs. -
The Brooklyn Excelsior, an amateur team, began touring the New York area and created what was later known as “barnstorming,” in which a team would travel and play exhibition games in areas where they did not typically play in, to capitalize on ticket revenues and consumer outreach. Barnstorming later became an issue because the league would look bad if professional teams or players underperformed against amateurs. -
The Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first open professional baseball team, and sought economic benefit from hosting contests. While the league had no official policy on paying players or not, clubs were largely made up of local participants who could be paid based on performance. This club started charging fans for attendance and used the revenue to recruit players from all over. Along with the rise of paid professional baseball, however, came gambling which ushered in a new era of problems. -
In 1877, just one year after the creation of the National League, the first major gambling scandal hit professional baseball. While there was speculation and even some confirmed cases of players throwing games for money in previous leagues, the National League had been founded on anti-corruption principles. However, several members of the club were confirmed to have been throwing games and the NL banned the players to protect integrity of the game, still some public trust was still lost. -
Moses Fleetwood Walker joined the Toledo Blue Stockings as the first African-American professional baseball player in 1884. He was a prolific catcher, but suffered injuries and faced racial prejudice from his teammates, opponents, and fans. In 1887, an opposing player, Cap Anson, refused to play against Walker leading to the league preventing any black contracts. When Walker left baseball in 1889, he stood as the last black player in professional baseball history until Jackie Robinson in 1947. -
The American League was created in 1900 as a competitor to the National League, but despite its youth, the League posed a threat to the National League and was stealing top players like Cy Young. This led to a compromise in 1903 which included the modern day World Series, where the winners of the NL and AL would play a championship series. In this first modern day World Series, the Boston Americans beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the compromise laid the foundation for the modern day MLB. -
In 1909, The American Tobacco Company began selling packs of cigarettes with baseball cards inside. These cards, referred to as the T-206 set, feature some sort of tobacco advertisement on the back. The use of baseball cards for advertising would resurface in the 1950’s when Topps cards and gum became a popular duo. Some of these early tobacco cards are now worth a fortune due to their rarity; a Honus Wagner T-206 card sold 7.25 million dollars in 2022. -
The Black Sox Scandal is one of the most famous scandals in baseball history. It was an early shot at the integrity of baseball on the game's largest stage. Eight players on the Chicago White Sox were charged with getting paid by gamblers to intentionally throw the 1919 World Series. Famous players like Shoeless Joe Jackson and Eddie Cocotte were involved and subsequently banned from baseball for life. Major reforms were enacted to reinstate the integrity of the game for generations to come. -
The history of baseball is marked by significant changes both on and off the field. The game evolved from a simple ball-and-bat game to a fully organized sport with professional leagues, teams, and players. Along the way, it faced various challenges, including issues with player salaries and the integration of African American players. However, despite these challenges, baseball emerged as America's national pastime and remains one of the most popular and beloved sports in the world today. -