is there a documented "first" professional baseball player?

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Posted By: <b>andy becker</b><p>while i collect baseball issues, i am more a football guy. <br />in football, town teams were very popular in the later 1800's. eventually the competition among those teams got so intense that the teams started to pay the better players to join their team (hiring "ringers"). <br /><br />this may not be as historically important to baseball where the town teams were not completing with the college game.<br /><br />my question is: did professional baseball evolve in the same fashion? common sense would lead me to answer yes. if so, is there someone who was considered the first professional baseball player? <br /><br /><br />i've been curious for a while and i thought i throw it out there.....<br />

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Posted By: <b>Scott Sarian</b><p>James Creighton is often considered the first professional, around 1860...<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Creighton,_Jr" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Creighton,_Jr</a>.

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Posted By: <b>jay wolt</b><p>I heard awhile ago that the 1st pro player was <br />Lipman Pike<br />Don't know anything about him or if that's even true<br />But I still remember that name

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Posted By: <b>jay wolt</b><p>Just googled his name....<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />LIPMAN "LIP" PIKE <br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /><br />Sport: Baseball <br />Inducted: 1985<br />Country: United States<br />Born: May 25, 1845 in New York City<br />Died: October 10, 1893 <br /><br />--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br /> <br /> <br />Accepting twenty dollars a week to play third base for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1866, Lip Pike became baseball's first professional player. Other top players soon followed suit, and within three years, the first all-pro team was born in Cincinnati.<br /><br />In 1871, the National Association— the first professional league— was founded, and "Lip" Pike played and managed the N.A. Troy Haymakers, batting .351. His six-year National Associa*tion batting average was .321. His five-season National League average was .306, with 5 home runs, 36 doubles, 16 triples, and 88 RBIs.<br /><br />Pike was also baseball's first homerun champion. Although the exact number of roundtrippers is not known, it is recorded that he hit six homers in one game in July 1866.<br /><br />Primarily an outfielder, Pike played every position and batted and threw left-handed. His career spanned the years 1865 to 1887, as a player, player-manager, or managing numerous teams in six different leagues. Among his teams were the Brooklyn Atlantics, Philadelphia Athletics, Lord Baltimores, Troy Haymakers, St. Louis Brown Stockings, Cincinnati Red Stockings, Hartford Nutmegs, and the original New York Mets.<br /><br />Pike's athletic career was not confined to baseball. Known for his remarkable speed, he ran competitively, often running for cash purses in chal*lenge races. He once raced and beat a famous trotting horse named "Clarence" in a 100-yard sprint (in 10 sec*onds flat), winning a $250 prize. <br />

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Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>I believe Scott is correct that Creighton is considered the first baseball player to be paid to play. However, since it was considered taboo to pay ballplayers, and there was secrecy surrounding their compensation, it is difficult to know for sure who was first.

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Posted By: <b>andy becker</b><p>thanks guys, i appreciate the responses.<br /><br />interestingly enough, the paying of football players was also considered taboo. <br />i understand that from a football standpoint as college football was "in" and professional football was considered rough....uneducated. <br /><br />i guess people wanted baseball to stay pure as well. interetsing.

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Posted By: <b>Richard L.</b><p>Barry,<br />I just read his story from Wikipedia and his family lived at 307 Henry Street, Brooklyn. Perhaps you could swing by and ask to check the attic for artifacts <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>. Unfortunately he died at 21 years of age, which is a bit of a mystery.<br /><br />

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Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>Richard- 307 Henry Street is 3 blocks from my apartment. It's still the original brownstone his family lived in, although clearly renovated. But artifacts...I don't think so.

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Posted By: <b>Rhys</b><p>It has been speculated that Albert Reach was already a paid player by the time Creighton received compensation for the first time, but it is all theory and conjecture since they would never have put anything in writing.<br /><br />Rhys

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Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>There is a debate whether Creighton or Reach was the first to be paid. Reach joined the Eckford club in 1861, Creighton joined the Excelsiors in 1860, and that was already his third team (Niagaras and Stars).<br /><br />That may give Creighton the slight edge in theory, but we don't know.