In 1903, British sportswriter Henry Chadwick riled America when he claimed that the “nation’s game” of baseball was actually an evolution of the British game called “rounders”. He seemed to have a strong argument. Rounders involved hitting a thrown ball and running to four bases. You were out if the base or you were touched by the ball. There were nine players in basically the same positions. Albert Spalding, the sporting goods magnate, picked up the gauntlet. He and Chadwick agreed to appoint a commission to answer the origin question. Abraham Mills headed the commission. The Mills Commission took three years to declare that the sport had been invented by Abner Doubleday. Until this moment in 1907, Doubleday had been famous for being an average Union general in the Civil War and Robert Anderson’s second in command in Fort Sumter. All the evidence for Doubleday being the inventor was a letter from a Colorado mining engineer named Abner Graves. Graves claimed that he had witnessed Doubleday creating the game in Cooperstown, NY in 1839. In that year, Doubleday was at West Point and there is no evidence he ever visited Cooperstown. Unfortunately, he died before the commission sat. He never mentioned to friends about inventing baseball and there was no mention in his obituary. The fact that Graves ended his life in an insane asylum and Mills was a good friend of Doubleday did not cause the commission to pause. Although the town of Cooperstown would never admit it, Doubleday had nothing to do with the creation of baseball. So, who deserves credit? Well, it’s complicated.
“Base-ball” was first mentioned in a book published in 1744. It first appeared in a dictionary in 1768. In 1786, “baste ball” was written in a diary of an American. In 1796 Germany, there was a game involving three strikes, one out, and a diamond-shaped field. In 1810 France, the game was played with 8-10 players, 4 bases including one called “home”, but the ball was hit with your hand. The first mention of “rounders” was in 1828. Rounders emigrated to the United States in the 18th Century. There were different rules in various states, but the New York version became dominant. It had foul ground and base paths. (In some states, you could run anywhere to avoid being put out.) In 1845, the New York Knickerbocker Baseball Club was created. It was headed by Alexander Cartwright. He got William Wheaton and William Tucket to determine the rules. They arrived at a game played on a diamond, with foul lines, 3 strikes, 3 outs, no more throwing the ball at a hitter to get him out (known at “soaking” or ‘plugging”), it was only a strike if you swung and missed, you can’t advance on a foul, you played to 21 runs, you would be out if the ball was caught on one bounce, no overhand pitching. These became known as the Knickerbocker rules and Cartwright became a claimant to the title “father of baseball”. (In 1953, Congress made this official.) In 1846, the first baseball game under the new rules was played between the Knickerbockers and a cricket team. The Knickerbockers lost 23-1. It took a while for baseball to supplant cricket in America. In 1857, the game decided on 9 players per side, nine innings, and 90 feet between bases. In the 1870’s, gloves were added. The Civil War nationalized the game. The game took off when gambling was added. This attracted adults and gamblers. The first fixed games were as early as 1865. The first professional team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings which was formed in 1869. Major league baseball considers this to be the start of the national pastime. That is no longer accurate as football and probably basketball have surpassed it. Bring back hitting runners with the ball!
https://www.npr.org/2011/03/16/134570236/the-secret-history-of-baseballs-earliest-days
https://www.history.com/news/who-invented-baseball
https://www.britannica.com/story/who-really-invented-baseball
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_baseball#Rounders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_baseball_in_the_United_States
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