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The Beginning of Baseball
by Frankie Herban
http://www.fohibaseball.com
No one really knows where the game baseball actually came
from, but all historians agree the game was originally
copied from the English game of rounders. It was introduced
to the U.S. during the 19th century, however, back then it
was called either "townball" or "base". Large cities to as
well as small towns started forming teams to play the game
and in 1845, a man named Alexander Cartwright made a list
of rules that are still being used today. Many believe that
Abner Doubleday was the first to invent baseball but most
buffs know the true father of baseball is Cartwright.
The first recorded baseball game took place in 1846 when
Cartwright's Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball
Club in Hoboken, New Jersey. Baseball continued to grow in
popularity after this game until the Cincinnati Red
Stockings decided to become the first entirely professional
team in 1869. Two years later the first professional
baseball league, the National Association, was formed. This
association was short-lived because the teams were owned
and operated by the players themselves. A group of
businessmen formed the National League in 1875, giving
birth to modern professional baseball. The American League
formed in 1901 and raided many of the National League's
players, causing the National League's commissioners to
turn on each other. A court injunction, which impaneled a
three-man commission to run the league, paved the way for
the two-leagues to peacefully co-exist.
Baseball remained a game of strategy through the first part
of the 20th century however few home-runs were made from
dead balls and most offense was supported by contact hits,
base stealing and bunting. Baseball exploded in 1911 with
the adoption of the cork centered baseball and it changed
the game dramatically. Not everybody was happy with this
change though because this new ball started the fall of
forty years of batting records.
Then came the most popular baseball player in U.S. history,
the great Babe Ruth. He alone changed the way people
watched baseball. Babe started his career as a pitcher for
the Boston Red Sox and then switched to out fielding for
the New York Yankees. Babe's ability to hit a home run
every time he was up to bat drove people crazy for the
game, and he alone contributed to the prosperity of the
game.
Since Ruth's day, baseball has seen its share of great
hitters such as Ted Williams, Hank Aaron, Roger Maris,
Reggie Jackson and Pete Rose. It has also had experienced
ups and downs with numerous labor disputes, work stoppages
and even the cancellation of the World Series in 1994 due
to a strike. The 1998 season hearkened back to the days of
Ruth and helped baseball regain its pre-1994 status with
the race for the single-season home run record between Mark
McGuire and Sammy Sosa. McGuire broke Maris' longstanding
record of 61 home runs by hitting 70 home runs that season.
However, McGuire's glory was short lived as Barry Bonds
knocked 73 balls out of the park during the 2001 season.
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