Baseball
Although the United States hosts the most prestigious baseball
league in the entire world, the history of this sport is centered at the very
heart of Europe; in England. The highest governing body for this sport is the
World Baseball Softball Confederation. Headquartered in Lausanne Switzerland,
the body might have been founded on the 14th of April 2013 but the
history of the sport dates back to the mid years of the 18th century
when it was first played in Europe. Baseball is defined as a bat –and-ball game
that takes place between two teams which comprise of nine players each. During
the course of the game, each team takes turns fielding and batting. The history
of baseball requires extensive analysis and contains extensive events and
occurrences.
The years between 1845 and 1868
contain rich history with regard to baseball. On the 10th day of
September in 1845, there was a baseball game played in the United States which
featured conspicuously in the New York Morning News the following day. 13 days
later, on September 23rd 1845, the New York Knickerbockers drew up
the Knickerbocker rules and these were written by the famous Alexander
Cartwright. The Knickerbocker rules are foundational with regard to the modern
basis of baseball. These rules were formalized by the famous Alexander
Cartwright and have been used since 1845 as the basis through which the New
York baseball style is undertaken. Variants to the Knickerbocker baseball rules
are brought out in other rules such as the Massachusetts baseball rules. On the
22nd day of October in 1845, New York Morning News presented the
first known box score on air. This came only a month after the Alexander
Cartwright laws had been instituted in baseball. One June 19th 1846,
the New York Nine played against the New York Knickerbockers and the game took
place at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey. At the end of four innings
of play, the New Yorks had won by 23 to 1. In 1854, a major development took
place with regard to baseball and this was the establishment of the famous
Excelsior club which was headquartered in Brooklyn. In 1855, another similar development took
place in Brooklyn and this was the establishment of two clubs; the Eckford Club
and the Atlantic Clubs. In 1856, New York played host to the establishment of
the Union of Morrisania. In 1857, sixteen baseball clubs based in the New York
formed the National Association of Base Ball Players. In 1858, the Fashion Race
Course in Corona, Queens New York hosted the first ever all-stars game. During
this course, there was an admission fee charged this was the first to be
charged in any baseball game.
In 1859, Washington D.C. played host
to a major development when the National Club was set up in November. In the
same year, the Potomac Club was formed during the summer and this was part of a
growth in the number of baseball clubs. On the first day of July in the same
yeat, there was a baseball gamed placed in Pittsfield Massachusetts and Amherst
College registed a 73-32 win over the Williams College. This took place in a
background where the number of baseball games – both within and round New York
– was growing at an exponential rate. In 1860, the formation of the
Philadelphia Athletics was not only finalized, the number of games in the NABBP
was growing gradually. The Newark Eurekas was one of the teams that were
actively involved in the NABBP. This year also saw the formation of the Union
Clun of Lansingburgh which later transformed into the Troy Haymakers in the
NABBP. The first recorded baseball game to ever take place in the state of
California was between the San Francisco Red Rovers and the San Francisco
Eagles. This game took place on the 22nd day of February in 1860 and
was played in the modern day city of San Francisco. 28th of
September in 1860 is one of the most important dates with regard to the history
of baseball in the United States. During this day, the first baseball between
two black teams – named and registered – took place in Hoboken New Jersey at
the famous Elysian Fields. During this game, the Colored Union Club played
against the Weeksville of New York and lost 11 – 0. 1862 saw the establishment
of the Summit Cit Club in Indiana during the moth of April. Four years later –
in 1866 – the club changed its name to Kekiongas. In October of 1865, the state
of Wisconsin played host to the formation of the Milwaukee Cream Citys team. At
the end of the Civil War in 1866, the Fort Wayne Kekiongas were formed and
became actively involved in the sport on the state and national platforms. On
the 23rd of June in 1866, the Cincinnati Base Ball Clun was formed
and engaged in four outside matches. A year later – in 1877 – the club went on
to become actively involved in the NABBP.
In 1888, the sport reached an
audience that existed outside the borders of the United States. Here, the
Chicago Baseball Club was involved in overseas matches and this led to the
introduction of the game to countries such as Egypt, New Zealand, Australia,
and Hawaii.
In 1900, the American League was
created and this was one of the greatest developments in this sport especially
for the professional teams that existed in the various states. The first world
series in baseball took pace in 1903, three years after the establishment of
the American League. During this match, the Boston Pilgrims faced the Pittsburg
Pirates in a match that attracted a great audience. In the same year, the
famous Wright brothers made their first flight. In 1904, there was a squabble
between Ban Johnson and John McGraw that negatively impacted the World Series.
In that Year, Jon McGraw, the manager and player at Giants, confronted Ban
Johnson, the American League president and this led to a cancellation of the
World Series.
In 1905,
Christy Mathewson pitched, for the first time, in the Major Leagues. Ty Cobbs
also played his first Major League in the same year. Albert Einstein developed
the theory of relativity in the same year as well. While the infamous San
Francisco earthquake was taking place in 1906, the Chicago Cubs had a cause of
celebration. They had won a total of 116 games and lost only 36 games. In 1907,
a historical event took place when the first woman participated in professional
baseball in the United States. This historic figure is the famous Alta Weiss.
In the same year Walter Johnson – for the first ever – pitched in the Major
Leagues. In 1908, Fred Merkle made an error with regard to base running that
made the Giants miss out on the pennant. Ty Cobb reportedly stabbed a hotel watchman
who was African American in 1909.
In 1910, President William Howard
Taft attended opening day and two years later – in 1912 – the first ever
player’s strike in the Major League took place. In the same years, the Fenway
Park was opened and Fed Snodgrass dropped the ball; a move that cost the Giants
the prestigious World Series title. The Federal League was created in 1913 and
the Ebbets Field was opened. A year later, the Panama Canal Opens. In 1916,
Jimmy Claxton was fired from the 20th century organized white
baseball due his African American ancestry. In 1917, the United States began
its World War 1 campaign and many players in the Major League served in the war
a year later. In 1918, for the first time in history, the Star-Spangled Banned
was sung during a baseball game. The year 1919 played host to one of the most
famous scandals with regard to baseball history. Here, the Chicago White Sox
were accused of throwing the famous World Series against another team; the
Cincinnati Reds.
In 1920, the
National Prohibition Act was instituted into the legal system and the New York
Yankees bought Babe Ruth. In the same year, the death of Ray Chapman – a player
of the
Cleveland Indians – by a bean ball hit the news. A year later, in
1921, the historic broadcasting of baseball on radio took place. In 1922, Babe
Ruth was slapped with a 39 days ban due to disregarding an order from an acting
commission; Kennesaw Mountain Landis. 1923 was a year of great success in the
Negro National League experienced exceeding success and the Yankee Stadium was
opened during the course of this year. The Washington Senators won the World
Series in 1924 and Lou Gehrig came in as a replacement for Wally Pipp with regard
to the Yankee lineup. In 1927, the Yankees were considered one of the greatest
baseball teams and a year later, Ty Cobb retired from professional baseball. In
1929, Babe Ruth registered his 500th career home run.
In 1930, Babe Ruth signed a contract
that would have him get paid an annual salary of $80,000. The following year
Josh Gibson, one of the best players in the Negro League hit over 70 home runs
in his games. In 1932, Lou Gehrig registered four home runs in a single game.
While playing against the Chicago Cubs, Babe Ruth hit the legendary called shot
home run in the same year. The first ever All-Start game in the Major League
Baseball was played in 1933. In 1934, Brother Daffy and Dizzy Dean recorded 49
wins. In 1935, the first ever night game in the Major League was played. Babe
Ruth bowed out of professional baseball by hitting an impressive three home
runs in his last game. In 1936, the first five players to be inducted in the
Baseball Hall of fame were presented formally. At the age of 17, Bob Feller
made his debut in professional baseball in the same year. In 1938, Johnny
Vander Meer is reported to have pitched two consecutive no-hitters. 1939 marked
the debut by Ted Williams in the Major League.
References
Proops, G., & Ritter, L. S. (2003). A
history of baseball. Minneapolis, MN: HighBridge Audio.
Babe Ruth. (2014, October 12). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babe_Ruth
Baseball History 1900-1920. (n.d.).
Retrieved December 7, 2014, from https://prezi.com/udymcvhjckg8/baseball-history-1900-1920/
A History of Baseball. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://www.randomhistory.com/2008/10/13_baseball.html#
Babe Ruth:
George Herman "Babe" Ruth, Jr. was an American baseball outfielder and pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1914 to 1935.
