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They say that baseball is America’s past time, and once you understand some of its history, you might see why. For one thing, baseball was invented in the early 19th century by a fellow named Alexander Cartwright. He took a little influence from the British game of cricket, and combined it with the basic tenants of rounders, another British stick and ball game. Cartwright came up with a list of rules, most of which are still in place today.

Cartwright formed a team called the Knickerbockers, who played against a group of players named the New York Baseball Club in 1846. This game, played in the Elysian Fields of Hoboken, New Jersey, is said to have been the first baseball game ever recorded. (For the record, the Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball Club.)

By 1857, the game had gained enough popularity that a convention of twenty-five amateur teams was called together to discuss rules and other baseball related issues. They soon formed the National Association of Base Ball Players which became the first organized baseball league. However, as the 1860’s rolled around, the Civil War took precedence over baseball in a very real way. The country was divided between North and South, and though baseball was popular exclusively among northerners, by 1868, the National Association of Base Ball Players attracted members from over 100 clubs. You see, the Union soldiers took the spirit of baseball with them as they traveled the war-ravaged country, and it began to bring people together much like it does today.

Once the league began to expand, expenses for traveling and players made demands on the league. Spectators only rarely paid entrance admission to games, and players were not on a multi-million dollar pay roll as they are today. Rather, because the games were formed of amateur players, they were not supposed to be paid, otherwise they would be called professional players. So, unbeknownst to the spectators, or even some of the other players, many players were secretly paid or had sponsors. All of this sneaking around the issue of money changes in 1869 when two brothers named Harry and George Wright decided to gather the best players from all of the amateur teams and offer them a salary to play ball on their team. This team, formed of the crFme de la crFme of all players, naturally beat all of the other teams, and thus the idea of professional baseball was born. The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first entirely professional baseball team in the history of the sport. Soon, the National Association of Baseball Players became the first professional baseball league in 1871.

By 1875, thirteen teams made up the league, and things began to heat up once again. Gamblers dominated the spectator stands, and liquor was sold in large quantities at the games. Regular folks stopped showing up at the games, and the National Association folded. Something had to change; for one thing, the players had owned the teams, which was not working out very well. Thus, the National League was formed by a group of businessmen who set standards in ticket sales policies, schedules and players’ contracts. Other leagues came and went during the turn of the century, but eventually settled on the two major leagues that we know now.

Since it is a true American sport, expect that baseball will change even more as the high salaries get higher, and bigger teams keep growing. Who knows what the future will hold for America’s pastime. Rest assure, though that it will continue to bring people together on long summer evenings as it has for more than one hundred years of this country’s history.