- The origins of baseball are a contentious subject.
- Abner Doubleday is generally considered the founder of the sport.
- Baseball was the first professional sport in the U.S.
The first professional sport in the U.S. and referred to as the “National Pastime,” baseball is a huge part of North American culture.
Interest in the sport has fluctuated over the decades, but audiences have always been significant, dating back to the days of Babe Ruth to Willie Mays, Barry Bonds, and various other modern greats.
Tradition and history are a large part of baseball. Records go back well over a century, and certain traditions around the sport have existed for decades. The origins of the sport are inevitably very important.
Where Was Baseball Invented?
It is generally accepted that baseball was invented in Cooperstown, New York, by Abner Doubleday.
In 1905, Albert Spalding set up the “Mills Commission” to learn about baseball’s origins. The commission concluded that Doubleday founded the sport in 1839, but evidence to back this up was very limited.
Sites like History.com and Britannica have claimed Doubleday did not invent baseball.
There is no evidence that Doubleday was in Cooperstown, nor is there any written documentation of the rules. Of course, Doubleday has long been considered the founder of the sport and led to the Hall of Fame being built in the village of Cooperstown in the first half of the 20th century.
Alternatively, History.com argues baseball evolved from games similar to rounders and cricket being played across the U.S. in the 19th century. The first official baseball game was played in 1846 between the New York Knickerbockers Baseball Club and a team of cricket players.
According to this version of events, Alexander Joy Cartwright developed the rules for the sport, including three strikes, foul territory, and the diamond-shaped field.
Cartwright’s blueprint for baseball differentiated the sport from cricket and increased the speed of the game to make it a unique pastime. Vitally, players could no longer get a runner out by throwing the ball at them on the basepaths.
Hank Aaron and Willie Mays at Cooperstown’s Doubleday Field, 1976. 💙 pic.twitter.com/ZEniCbPMeH
— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ⚾ (@baseballhall) June 19, 2024
Ultimately, baseball was not founded by an individual. It was about a group of people, which included Daniel Adams, who became Knickerbockers club president. Adams was a driving force in the growth of the game by providing equipment and creating new teams. In 1857, Adams wrote up the Laws of Baseball.
By the time the sport became professional in 1869, baseball betting was already a large part of the experience for players, fans, and bookmakers.
Even before professionalization, a reported crowd of 20,000 people watched the Mutual Club of New York and the Atlantic Club of Brooklyn at the iconic Elysian Fields in Hoboken.
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was founded in 1876. This is the oldest professional sports league in the world (the English Football Association was not professional until 1885) and represents one of MLB’s two leagues to this day.
