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The question of the origin of baseball has been the subject of debate and controversy for more than a century. Baseball (and softball), as well as the other modern bat, ball and running games, cricket and rounders, developed from earlier folk games. This is a list of seasons of Major League Baseball. ... This article is about the sport. ... Soft ball is also a sugar stage Softball is a team sport popular around the world but especially in the United States. ... This article is about the sport. ... For the movie, see Rounders (film). ...

Many of the earlier games were similar to each other, but there certainly were local, regional and national variations, both in how they were played and what they were called: names included "stoolball", "poison ball", and "goal ball". Few details of how the modern games developed from earlier folk games are known. Some think that various folk games resulted in a game called town ball, from which baseball was eventually born. Others believe that town ball was independent from baseball. Stool ball is a historical ball game, originating in southern England, where variants are still played in some schools. ... The game of town ball, sometimes called townball, is a descendant of rounders, and often thought to be a stepping stone from rounders to modern baseball. ...

Folk games in the British Isles

A number of early folk games in the British Isles had characteristics that can be seen in modern baseball (as well as in cricket and rounders). Many of these early games involved a ball that was thrown at a target while an opposing player defended the target by attempting to hit the ball away. If the batter successfully hit the ball, he could attempt to score points by running between bases while fielders would attempt to catch or retrieve the ball and put the runner out in some way. This article describes the archipelago in north-western Europe. ...

Woodcut from "A pretty little pocketbook"

Since they were folk games, the early games had no 'official' rules, and they tended to change over time. To the extent that there were rules, they were generally simple and were not written down. There were many local variations, and varied names. found on loc . ... found on loc . ...

Many of the early games were not well documented, first, because they were generally peasant games (and perhaps children's games, as well); and second, because they were often discouraged, and sometimes even prohibited, either by the church or by the state, or both.

Aside from obvious differences in terminology, the games differed in the equipment used (ball, bat, club, target, etc., which were usually just whatever was available), the way in which the ball is thrown, the method of scoring, the method of making outs, the layout of the field and the number of players involved.

An old English game called "base," described by George Ewing at Valley Forge, was apparently not much like baseball. There was no bat and no ball involved. The game was more like a fancy game of "tag", although it did share the concept of places of safety (for example, bases) with modern baseball. This article is about the American Revolutionary War winter encampment. ...

In an 1801 book entitled The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, Joseph Strutt claimed to have shown that baseball-like games can be traced back to the 14th century, and that baseball is a descendant of a British game called stoolball. The earliest known reference to stoolball is in a 1330 poem by William Pagula, who recommended to priests that the game be forbidden within churchyards. Joseph Strutt (born 1749 in Essex; died 1802) was an English engraver and antiquary. ... Stool ball is a historical ball game, originating in southern England, where variants are still played in some schools. ...

In stoolball, a batter stood before a target, perhaps an upturned stool, while another player pitched a ball to the batter. If the batter hit the ball (with a bat or his/her hand) and it was caught by a fielder, the batter was out. If the pitched ball hit a stool leg, the batter was out. It was more often played by young men and women as a sort of spin the bottle. Spin the bottle is a party game in which several players sit in a circle. ...

According to many sources, in 1700, a Puritan leader of southern England, Thomas Wilson, expressed his disapproval of "Morris-dancing, cudgel-playing, baseball and cricket" occurring on Sundays. However, David Block, in Baseball Before We Knew It, reports that the original source has "stoolball" for "baseball". Block also reports that the reference appears to date to 1672, rather than 1700. For the record label, see Puritan Records. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Thomas Wilson is the name of a number of different people: Thomas Wilson (rhetorician) (1524-1581) Thomas Wilson (puritan) Thomas Wilson (bishop) (1663-1755), Bishop of Sodor and Man. ... Cotswold morris with handkerchiefs A morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied with music. ... This article is about the sport. ...

A 1744 publication in England by John Newbery called A Little Pretty Pocket-Book includes a woodcut of stoolball and a rhyme entitled "Base-ball." This is the first known instance of the word baseball in print. ^[1] The book was very popular in England, and was later published in Colonial America in 1762. ^[2] In 1748, the family of Frederick, Prince of Wales partook in the playing of a baseball-like game. John Newbery (baptized 9 July 1713 – 22 December 1767) was an English publisher of books who specialized in childrens literature. ... A woodcut from A Pretty Little Pocketbook showing the first referance to baseball, for B A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, intended for the Amusement of Little Master Tommy and Pretty Miss Polly with Two Letters from Jack the Giant Killer is the title of a 1744 childrens book by... Four horsemen of the Apocalypse by Albrecht Dürer Ukiyo-e woodcut, Ishiyama Moon by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1889) Woodcut is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface... This article is about the colonial history of the United States. ... The Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis; 1 February 1707 – 31 March 1751) was a member of the British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II. He was born into the House of Hanover and, under the Act of Settlement passed by the English Parliament in 1701, Frederick...

A 1791 bylaw in Pittsfield, Massachusetts bans the playing of baseball within 80 yards of the town meeting house. Pittsfield redirects here. ...

Les Jeux des Jeunes Garçons is the first known book to contain printed rules of a bat/base/running game. It was printed in Paris, France in 1810 and lays out the rules for "poison ball," in which there were two teams of eight to ten players, four bases (one called home), a pitcher, a batter, and flyball outs. Les Jeux des Jeunes Garçons is the first book known to have rules relating to a game similar to baseball. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ...

Another early print reference is Jane Austen's novel Northanger Abbey, originally written 1798-1799. In the first chapter the young heroine is described as preferring "cricket, baseball, riding on horseback and running about the country to books". ^[3] 1873 engraving of Jane Austen, based on a portrait drawn by her sister Cassandra. ... For films named Northanger Abbey, see Northanger Abbey (1986 film) or Northanger Abbey (2007 TV drama). ...

In 1828, William Clarke in London, published the second edition of The Boy’s Own Book which included rules of rounders. Similar rules were published in Boston, Massachusetts in "The Book of Sports", written by Robin Carver in 1834, ^[4] except the Boston version called the game "Base" or "Goal ball." The rules were identical to those of poison ball, but also added fair and foul balls and strike outs. Sir William Clarke (died 1666) was an English politician. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Boston redirects here. ...

The account by Fred Lillywhite (1829-66) of the first English cricket tour to Canada and the United States in 1859 refers to the "base-ball game [being] somewhat similar to the English game of "rounders"". A day's play was lost during a cricket match in New York due to snow, but a game of baseball was arranged about a mile away between "the players of that game and a portion of the English party" (The English Cricketers' Trip to Canada and the United States, 1860). Frederick (Fred) Lillywhite (1829-66) was a sports outfitter and cricketing entrepreneur, who organised the first overseas cricket tour by an English team and published a number of reference works about cricket. ... This article is about the sport. ...

A unique British sport, known as British Baseball, is still played in parts of Wales and England. Although confined mainly to the cities of Cardiff, Newport and Liverpool, the sport boasts an annual international game between representative teams from the two countries. The origins of the sport known as British baseball, or sometimes (less accurately) as Welsh baseball, date to 1892 when the governing bodies of England and Wales agreed to change the name of their sport from rounders to baseball. ... This article is about the country. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital city of Wales. ... For other uses, see Newport (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ...

Stoolball

Origins of Stoolball: Stool ball is a historical ball game, originating in southern England, where variants are still played in some schools. ...

1. In stoolball, which developed by the 11th century, one player throws the ball at a target while another player defends the target. Stob-ball and stow-ball were regional games similar to stoolball. In stob ball and stow ball the target was probably a tree stump, since both "stob" and "stow" mean stump in some dialects. ( "Stow" could also refer to a type of frame used in mining). What the target originally was in stoolball is not certain. It could have been a stump, since “stool” in old Sussex dialect means stump.
2. According to one legend, milkmaids played stoolball while waiting for their husbands to return from the fields. Another theory is that stoolball developed as a game played after attending church services, in which case the target was probably a church stool.

Originally, the stool was defended with a bare hand. Later, a bat of some kind was used (in modern stoolball, a bat like a very heavy ping-pong paddle is used).

Clear regional variation:

There were several versions of stoolball. In the earliest versions, the object was primarily to defend the stool. Successfully defending the stool counted for one point, and the batter was out if the ball hit the stool. There was no running involved. Another version of stoolball involved running between two stools, and scoring was similar to the scoring in cricket. In perhaps yet another version there were several stools, and points were scored by running around them as in baseball.

Because of the different versions of stoolball, and because it was played not only in England, but also in colonial America, stoolball is considered by many to have been the basis of not only cricket, but both baseball and rounders as well.

Cat and Dog

Another early folk game was cat and dog (or "dog and cat"), which probably originated in Scotland. In cat and dog a piece of wood called a cat is thrown at a hole in the ground while another player defends the hole with a stick (a dog). In some cases there were two holes and, after hitting the cat, the batter would run between them while fielders would try to put the runner out by putting the ball in the hole before the runner got to it. Dog and cat thus resembled cricket. This article is about the country. ...

Cricket

The history of cricket prior to 1650 is something of a mystery. Games believed to have been similar to cricket had developed by the 13th century. There was a game called "creag", and another game, Handyn and Handoute (Hands In and Hands Out), which was made illegal in 1477 by King Edward IV, who considered the game childish, and a distraction from compulsory archery practice. This article is about the sport. ... The text below is generated by a template, which has been proposed for deletion. ...

References to a game actually called "cricket" appeared around 1550. It is believed that the word cricket is based either on the word cric, meaning a crooked stick possibly a shepherd's crook (early forms of cricket used a curved bat somewhat like a hockey stick), or on the Flemish word “krickstoel", which refers to a stool upon which one kneels in church.

There was at least one official Cricket Club open to membership, established in 1846 in the US at New York. However it appears the popularity of the sport waned during the US civil war, leaving baseball to become the more popular sport.

Cat, One Old Cat

A game popular in colonial America was one hole catapult, which used a catapult like the one used in trap-ball. Old Cat or Ol Cat or Cat-ball games were 19th century bat-and-ball, safe haven games played in played in North America. ...

The game of cat (or "cat-ball") had many variations but usually there was a pitcher, a catcher, a batter and fielders, but there were no sides (and often no bases to run). A feature of some versions of cat that would later become a feature of baseball was that a batter would be out if he swung and missed three times.

Another game that was popular in early America was one ol' cat, the name of which was possibly originally a contraction of one hole catapult. In one ol' cat, when a batter is put out, the catcher goes to bat, the pitcher catches, a fielder becomes the pitcher, and other fielders move up in rotation. One ol' cat was often played when there weren't enough players to choose up sides and play townball. Sometimes running to a base and back was involved. Two ol' cat was the same game as one ol' cat, except that there were two batters.

The Abner Doubleday legend/myth

The story that Abner Doubleday invented baseball in 1839 was once widely promoted and widely believed. There was and is no evidence for this claim, except for the testimony of one man decades after the fact, and there is more persuasive counter-evidence. Doubleday left many letters and papers, but they contain no description of baseball or even a suggestion that he considered himself a prominent person in the history of the game. His New York Times obituary makes no mention of baseball at all, nor does an encyclopedia article about Doubleday published in 1911. Contrary to popular belief, Doubleday has never been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, although a large oil portrait of him was on display at the Hall of Fame building for many years. Abner Doubleday Abner Doubleday (June 26, 1819 – January 26, 1893), was a career U.S. Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. ... The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 62 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, is a semi-official museum operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of baseball-related...

The legend of Doubleday’s invention of baseball was itself baseball's invention, in a sense that of Al Spalding, a former star pitcher, then club executive, who had become the leading American sporting goods entrepreneur and sports publisher. Debate on baseball origins had raged for decades, heating up in the first years of the 20th century. To end argument, speculation and innuendo, Spalding organized a panel in 1905. The panelists were his friend Abraham G. Mills, a former National League president; two United States Senators, ex-NL president Morgan Bulkeley and ex-Washington club president Arthur Gorman; ex-NL president and lifelong secretary-treasurer Nick Young; two other star players turned sporting goods entrepreneurs (George Wright and Alfred Reach); and AAU president James E. Sullivan.^[5] Al Spaldings sporting goods company made a lasting impact on baseball. ... Abraham Gilbert Mills (March 12, 1844 – August 26, 1929) was the fourth president of the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (1883-1884), and is best known for heading the Mills Commission which controversially credited Civil War General Abner Doubleday with the invention of baseball. ... For other uses, see National League (disambiguation). ... Type Upper House President of the Senate Richard B. Cheney, R since January 20, 2001 President pro tempore Robert C. Byrd, D since January 4, 2007 Members 100 Political groups Democratic Party Republican Party Last elections November 7, 2006 Meeting place Senate Chamber United States Capitol Washington, DC United States... George Wright (January 28, 1847 - August 21, 1937) was one of the earliest stars of professional baseball. ... Alfred James Reach (May 25, 1840 – January 14, 1928) was an Anglo-American sportsman who, after becoming one of the early stars of baseball in the National Association, went on to become an influential executive, publisher, sporting goods manufacturer and spokesman for the sport. ...

The final report published in 1908 included three sections: a summary of the panel’s findings written by Mills, a letter by John Montgomery Ward supporting the panel, and a dissenting opinion by Henry Chadwick. The research methods were, at best, dubious. The Mills Commission probably looked for and found the perfect story: baseball was invented in a quaint rural town without foreigners or industry, by a young man who later graduated from West Point and served heroically in the Mexican-American War, Civil War, and U.S. wars against Indians. Monte Ward on a 1887-1890 Goodwin & Company baseball card (Old Judge (N172)). John Montgomery Ward (March 3, 1860 – March 4, 1925) was a 19th century Major League Baseball star pitcher, shortstop and manager. ... Henry Chadwick (October 5, 1824 – April 20, 1908), often called the father of baseball, was a sportswriter, baseball statistician and historian. ... USMA redirects here. ... Combatants United States Mexico Commanders Zachary Taylor Winfield Scott Stephen W. Kearney Antonio López de Santa Anna Mariano Arista Pedro de Ampudia José Mariá Flores Strength 78,790 soldiers 25,000–40,000 soldiers Casualties KIA: 1733 Total dead: 13,271 Wounded: 4,152 AWOL: 9,200+ 25,000... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total...

The Mills Commission concluded that baseball had been invented by Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York in 1839; that Doubleday had invented the word "baseball", designed the diamond, indicated fielder positions, written down the rules and the field regulations. However, no written records from 1839 or the 1840s have ever been found to corroborate these claims; nor could Doubleday be interviewed for he had died in 1893. The principal source for the story was a letter from elderly Abner Graves, a five-year-old resident of Cooperstown in 1839. But Graves never mentioned a diamond, positions or the writing of rules. Graves' reliability as a witness has also been questioned because he was later convicted of murdering his wife and spent his final days in an asylum for the criminally insane. Further, Doubleday was not in Cooperstown in 1839. Doubleday may never have even visited Cooperstown. ^[6] He was enrolled at West Point and there is no record of any leave time. Mills, a lifelong friend of Doubleday, had never heard him mention inventing baseball. Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York and is the County Seat. ... USMA redirects here. ...

As noted previously, versions of baseball rules have since been found in publications that significantly predate the alleged invention in 1839.

Jeff Idelson of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York has stated, "Baseball wasn't really born anywhere," meaning that the evolution of the game was long and continuous and has no clear, identifiable single origin. The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 62 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, is a semi-official museum operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of baseball-related... Cooperstown is a village in Otsego County, New York and is the County Seat. ...

Alexander Cartwright

The first published rules of baseball were written in 1845 for a New York (Manhattan) base ball club called the Knickerbockers. The author, Alexander Joy Cartwright, is one person commonly known as "the father of baseball". Evolution from so-called "Knickerbocker Rules" to the current rules is fairly well documented. The New York Knicks (or New York Knickerbockers) are a National Basketball Association team based in New York, New York. ... Alexander Joy Cartwright (April 17, 1820 – July 12, 1892) was an American engineer who has as good a claim as any as the inventor of baseball. ... The so-called Knickerbocker Rules were the 20 general guidelines to the rules of the game of baseball and of the organization itself that drew up those rules: The early 1840s New York ball club called the Knickerbockers. ...

On June 3, 1953, Congress officially credited Cartwright with inventing the modern game of baseball, and he is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. However, the role of Cartwright himself has been disputed. His authorship is sometimes called a significant exaggeration, a modern attempt to identify a single "inventor" of the game, thereby akin to the Doubleday myth. He was at least secretary for a group effort. One point undisputed by historians is the direct evolution from amateur urban clubs of the 1840s and 1850s, not the pastures of the small Cooperstowns of America, to the modern professional major leagues that began in the 1870s.

Before 1845

Evolution of the game that became modern baseball is unknown before 1845. The Knickerbocker Rules describe a game that they had been playing for some time. But how long is uncertain and so is how that game had developed.

There were once two camps. One, mostly English, asserted that baseball evolved from a game of English origin (probably rounders); the other, almost entirely American, said that baseball was an American invention (perhaps derived from the game of one ol' cat). Apparently they saw their positions as mutually exclusive. Some of their points seem more national loyalty than evidence: Americans tended to reject any suggestion that baseball evolved from an English game, while some English observers concluded that baseball was little more than their rounders without the round.

Cricket and Rounders

That baseball is based on English and Gaelic games such as cat, cricket, and rounders is difficult to dispute. On the other hand, baseball has many elements that are uniquely American. The earliest published author to muse on the origin of baseball, John Montgomery Ward, was suspicious of the often-parroted claim that rounders is the direct ancestor of baseball, as both were formalized in the same time period. He concluded, with some amount of patriotism, that baseball evolved separately from town-ball (rounders) out of children's safe haven ball games.^[7] This article is about the sport. ... For the movie, see Rounders (film). ... Monte Ward on a 1887-1890 Goodwin & Company baseball card (Old Judge (N172)). John Montgomery Ward (March 3, 1860 – March 4, 1925) was a 19th century Major League Baseball star pitcher, shortstop and manager. ...

Certainly baseball is related to cricket and rounders, but exactly how, or how closely, has not been established. The only certain thing is that modern cricket is much older than modern baseball.

People have been playing games with balls or bats or bases for millennia, probably, and playing games with two of those elements for centuries before the Knickerbockers, certainly. Games played with bat-and-ball together may all be distant cousins; the same goes for base-and-ball games. Bat, base, and ball games for two teams that alternate in and out, such as baseball, cricket, and rounders, are likely to be close cousins. They all involve throwing a ball to a batsman who attempts to "bat" it away and run safely to a base, while the opponent tries to put the batter-runner out when liable ("liable to be put out" is the baseball term for unsafe). Bat and Ball Games are games that are played using a wooden bat and a ball. ...

Elysian Fields

In 1845, the Knickerbocker Club of New York City began using Elysian Fields in Hoboken to play baseball due to the lack of suitable grounds on Manhattan. In 1846, the Knickerbockers played the New York Nine on these grounds in the first organized game between two clubs. A plaque, and baseball diamond street pavings at 11th and Washington Streets commemorate the event. By the 1850s, several Manhattan-based members of the National Association of Base Ball Players were using the grounds as their home field. The New York Knicks (or New York Knickerbockers) are a National Basketball Association team based in New York, New York. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey is believed to be the site of the first organized baseball game, giving Hoboken a strong claim to be the birthplace of baseball. ... Map of New Jersey highlighting Hoboken Image of Hoboken taken by NASA (red line shows where Hoboken is). ... This article is about the sport. ... For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ... The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was founded in 1857 by sixteen baseball clubs located in the New York metropolitan area. ...

Early baseball game played at Elysian Fields, Hoboken (Currier & Ives lithograph).

In 1865 the grounds hosted a championship match between the Mutual Club of New York and the Atlantic Club of Brooklyn that was attended by an estimated 20,000 fans and captured in the Currier & Ives lithograph "The American National Game of Base Ball". Image File history File links Baseball1866. ... Image File history File links Baseball1866. ... The Mutual baseball club of New York City was a 19th century ball club. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn (Atlantic or the Brooklyn Atlantics) was baseballs first champion and its first dynasty. ... This article is about the borough of New York City. ... Currier and Ives was a firm headed by Nathaniel Currier (1813-1888) and James Merritt Ives (1824-1895). ... Lithography is a method for printing on a smooth surface, as well as a method of manufacturing semiconductor and MEMS devices. ...

With the construction of two significant baseball parks enclosed by fences in Brooklyn, enabling promoters there to charge admission to games, the prominence of Elysian Fields began to diminish. In 1868 the leading Manhattan club, Mutual, shifted its home games to the Union Grounds in Brooklyn. In 1880, the founders of the New York Metropolitans and New York Giants finally succeeded in siting a ballpark in Manhattan that became known as the Polo Grounds. This article is about the borough of New York City. ... Elysian Fields may refer to: In mythology: Elysium, a section of the underworld from Greek mythology In geography: Elysian Fields, Hoboken, New Jersey, site of the first organized baseball game Elysian Fields Avenue, New Orleans Avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris In the arts: Elysian Fields (band), an American Dream... For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ... The Mutual baseball club of New York City was a 19th century ball club. ... Union Grounds is a former baseball ground located in Brooklyn, NY. The ground was home to the New York Mutuals of the National Association from 1871 to 1875 and of the National League in 1876, the Brooklyn Eckfords of the National Association in 1872, the Brooklyn Atlantics of the National... This article is about the borough of New York City. ... The Metropolitan Club (the New York Metropolitans or the Mets) was a 19th century professional baseball team that played from 1880 to 1887. ... Major league affiliations National League (1883–present) West Division (1969–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers NY, NY, 3, 4, 11, 24, 27, 30, 36, 42, 44 Name San Francisco Giants (1958–present) New York Giants (1885–1957) New York Gothams (1883–1885) Other nicknames Jints, Gigantes, G-Men Ballpark AT... The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Manhattan, New York City used by baseballs New York Giants from 1883 until 1957, New York Metropolitans from 1883 until 1885, the New York Yankees from 1912 until 1922, and by the New York Mets in their...

After 1845

In 1857, sixteen clubs from modern New York City sent delegates to a convention that standardized the rules, essentially by agreeing to revise the Knickerbocker rules. In 1858, twenty-five including one from New Jersey founded a going concern but the National Association of Base Ball Players is conventionally dated from 1857. It governed through 1870 but it scheduled and sanctioned no games. New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... The National Association of Baseball Players, or simply the National Association, was an organization of (originally) strictly amateur baseball teams, mostly in and around the cities of New York, Boston and Philadelphia. ...

By 1862 some NABBP member clubs offered games to the general public in enclosed ballparks with admission fees.

During and after the American Civil War, the movements of soldiers and exchanges of prisoners helped spread the game. As of the December 1865 meeting, the year the war ended, there were isolated Association members in Fort Leavenworth (Kansas), St. Louis, Louisville, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, along with about 90 members north and east of Washington. Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... In 1827, Colonel Henry Leavenworth established a post on the bluffs overlooking the western bank of the Missouri River to protect the fur trade, safeguard commerce on the Santa Fe Trail and maintain the peace among the inhabitants. ... “Chattanooga” redirects here. ...

In 1869 the first openly professional baseball team formed. Earlier players were nominally amateurs. The Cincinnati Red Stockings recruited nationally and effectively, toured nationally, and no one beat them until June 1870. Major league affiliations National League (1890–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 1, 5, 8, 10, 13, 18, 20, 24, 42 Name Cincinnati Reds (1958–present) Cincinnati Redlegs (1953-1958) Cincinnati Reds (1882-1953) Cincinnati Red Stockings (1876-1882) Other nicknames The Redlegs, The Big Red Machine... See also: 1869 in sports, 1871 in sports and the list of years in sports. Boat race Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race - Cambridge Births January 16 – Willie Simms, Hall of Fame jockey (d. ...

Already in the 19th century, the "old game" was invoked for special exhibitions such as reunions and anniversaries — and for making moral points. Today hundreds of clubs in the U.S. play "vintage base ball" according to the 1845, 1858, or later rules (up to about 1887), usually in vintage uniforms. Some of them have supporting casts that recreate period dress and manner, especially those associated with living history museums. The following are the baseball events of the year 1887 throughout the world. ... This article is about the term as used among historical reenactors. ...

See also

• 1791 Pittsfield by-law

Pittsfield redirects here. ...

External links

• Block, David. Cleveland, OH: Society for American Baseball Research. 2001. (checked 5 August 2006).
  • English Base-Ball (1796) - intermediate modern translation of J.C.F. Guts Muths, Ball mit Freystaten
  • 1796 diagrams - by J.C.F. Guts Muths for Ball mit Freystaten
  • 1796 caption - intermediate modern translation
• BBC article on the Pittsfield, Mass. by-law
• Chronology of early references to baseball and related games
• Good, short video on Google about town ball and some modern-day reenactors keeping history alive in Cooperstown, NY
• Evolution of 19th Century Baseball Rules
• Welsh Baseball Union

Notes

1. ^ Lloyd, J & Mitchinson, J: "The Book of General Ignorance". Faber & Faber, 2006.
2. ^ Lloyd, J & Mitchinson, J: "The Book of General Ignorance". Faber & Faber, 2006.
3. ^ Lloyd, J & Mitchinson, J: "The Book of General Ignorance". Faber & Faber, 2006.
4. ^ Lloyd, J & Mitchinson, J: "The Book of General Ignorance". Faber & Faber, 2006.
5. ^ The list of panelists and the organization and publication dates follow "The Mills Commission" in "The Origins of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum" by that institution. The Hall and Museum owes its Cooperstown location and its 1839 birth date, at least, to the Mills Commission finding.
6. ^ Lloyd, J & Mitchinson, J: "The Book of General Ignorance". Faber & Faber, 2006.
7. ^ Base-Ball: How to Become a Player by J.M. Ward

John Lloyd (born 1951 in Dover, England; birth name: John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd), British comedy writer and producer. ... John Mitchinson is the head of research for the British television panel game QI, and co-author of The Book of General Ignorance with QIs creator John Lloyd. ... QI: The Book of General Ignorance (UK cover) The Book of General Ignorance is a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. ... John Lloyd (born 1951 in Dover, England; birth name: John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd), British comedy writer and producer. ... John Mitchinson is the head of research for the British television panel game QI, and co-author of The Book of General Ignorance with QIs creator John Lloyd. ... QI: The Book of General Ignorance (UK cover) The Book of General Ignorance is a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. ... John Lloyd (born 1951 in Dover, England; birth name: John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd), British comedy writer and producer. ... John Mitchinson is the head of research for the British television panel game QI, and co-author of The Book of General Ignorance with QIs creator John Lloyd. ... QI: The Book of General Ignorance (UK cover) The Book of General Ignorance is a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. ... John Lloyd (born 1951 in Dover, England; birth name: John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd), British comedy writer and producer. ... John Mitchinson is the head of research for the British television panel game QI, and co-author of The Book of General Ignorance with QIs creator John Lloyd. ... QI: The Book of General Ignorance (UK cover) The Book of General Ignorance is a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. ... John Lloyd (born 1951 in Dover, England; birth name: John Hardress Wilfred Lloyd), British comedy writer and producer. ... John Mitchinson is the head of research for the British television panel game QI, and co-author of The Book of General Ignorance with QIs creator John Lloyd. ... QI: The Book of General Ignorance (UK cover) The Book of General Ignorance is a series of books based on the final round in the intellectual British panel game QI, written by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. ...

References

• Block, David (2005). Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 0-8032-1339-5. 
• Block, David (2001). "Baseball's Earliest Rules?" http://forums.sabr.org/htdocs/dcforum/User_files/3c08097500f21711.html (consulted 5 August 2006).
• Henderson, Robert W. ([1947] 2001). Ball, Bat, and Bishop: The Origin of Ball Games, paperback, Urbana: University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06992-7. 
• Hoerchner, Martin. "Stoolball is Alive and Well in Sussex." The Examiner 11 (1999 July). Cleveland, OH: SABR. 2002 reprint? http://www.sabruk.org/examiner/11/stoolball.html (consulted 5 August 2006).
• National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "Origins of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum." http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/about/history.htm (consulted 5 August 2006).