When Did Base-Ball Start??

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Posted By: barrysloate

Hey guys- I think Sean actually asked a good question, and although it does not have an easy answer, I think you are all ragging on him and that is not fair. So I will try to help him with a brief answer.
Baseball was never invented, but evolved from various other bat and ball games. There is evidence that a game close to what we know as baseball was played in Europe in the late 1700's, as well as by American youth in the early 1800's. As best as we know, in the early 1840's, a group of men who exercised daily in Manhattan decided that they needed some structured activity for their daily workouts. Among them was Alexander Cartwright, who knew the children's game of baseball and thought that if the rules were improved it could be played and enjoyed by adults (we don't exactly know how much Cartwright had to do with this, but he appears to have been instrumental). He helped organize the first team who called themselves the Knickerbockers, and they began playing matches among themselves and shortly thereafter with newly formed clubs in the mid-1840's. By the 1850's the game was gaining popularity in this country, and by 1858 the first amateur league was formed. Matches were scheduled and spectators came to the games to watch. By the late 1860's, it appeared that better teams could be formed if the players were paid, and in 1869 the first professional team, the 1869 Reds, was formed. They toured the country beating all their opponents before large crowds. Once baseball became professional, the game as we know it today was formed. Sean, hope this answers your question. You asked a good one and it deserved a response. Keep up the good work.