The History of Baseball By eo20022 Jan 1, 1839 Abner Doubleday is credited with inventing the game of baseball Jun 19, 1846 first recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place Apr 12, 1861 Civil War begins Jan 1, 1865 official start to growth of baseball May 9, 1865 Civil War ends May 14, 1869 the MLB is founded with its first major league team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings Jan 24, 2016 Current-baseball is still being played professionally with re-ocurring rules set ot the game