baseball history :: essays research papers

A Brief History of Baseball Part I Origins of the GameUnlike victor basketball and football, interest in baseball game has not been sweeping the globe . Declining charactericipation at the amateur level and protracted labor problems at the skipper level have thrust "Americas Pastime" into an era of uncertainty. Despite this current adversity, baseball will always occupy an important place in American culture. This column starts a three part look at the history of baseball. Most cultures have some sort of stick and ball game, cricket creation the most well-known. While the exact origins of baseball are unknown, most historians agree that it is based on the English game of rounders. It began to become quote popular in this country in the early 19th century, and many sources report the growing popularity of a game called "townball", "base", or "baseball". Throughout the early part of that century, small towns formed groups, and baseball clubs were formed in larger cities. In 1845, Alexander Cartwright wanted to formalize a list of rules by which all team could play. Much of that original code is still in place today. Although popular legend says that the game was invented by Abner Doubleday, baseballs true father was Cartwright. The first recorded baseball contest took place a year later, in 1846. Cartwrights Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball Club in a game at the providential Fields, in Hoboken, New Jersey. These amateur games became more than frequent and more popular. In 1857, a convention of amateur teams was called to discuss rules and other issues. Twenty five teams from the north-east sent delegates. The following year, they formed the National Association of Base Ball Players, the first organized baseball league. In its first year of operation, the league back up itself by occasionally charging fans for admission. The future looked very bright. The early 1860s, however were a time of great turmoil in th e United States. In those years of the polished War, the number of baseball clubs dropped dramatically. But interest in baseball was carried to other parts of the country by Union soldiers, and when the war ended there were more people playing baseball than ever before. The leagues annual convention in 1868 drew delegates from over 100 clubs. As the league grew, so did the expenses of playing. Charging admission to games started to become more common, and teams often had to seek out donations or sponsors to make trips.