The History of College Baseball
Regarded as a schoolboy's game, it is no surprise that baseball is popular among American college students. From the few competitive games first played in 1859, the sport quickly spread and is now enjoyed by student-athletes in well over a thousand schools nationwide. College baseball is played internationally as well, especially in Japan, where it has existed in some form since the 19th century.
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First Games
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On July 1, 1859, Amherst College defeated Williams College 73-32 in a 25-inning game played under the Massachusetts rules, an early and high-scoring variant of baseball. The first matchup played under the more conventional Knickerbocker rules was held on November 3 of that same year when St. John's College defeated St. Francis Xavier College 33-11.
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First League
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In an effort to formalize intercollegiate play, the Intercollegiate Base Ball Association was formed in December 1879. This league of school athletics featured clubs from Amherst, Brown, Dartmouth, Princeton and Yale. The association prohibited professional athletes from participating, and as a result Yale withdrew from the league. However, they still played competitively against the other schools and won all but one game during the 1880 season.
College World Series
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The first Division I championship game was played between the University of California and Yale University in 1947. California won the first two games in a best-of-three series. Notable players included former president and Yale first baseman George H.W. Bush. The first Division II championship was played in 1968 when Chapman University defeated Delta State University. The first Division III championship was played in 1976 when California State, Stanislaus, defeated Ithaca College.
Japan
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Though not introduced to Japan until the late 19th century, baseball rapidly gained popularity among academic institutions as they became among the first to organize competitive clubs. In his book "Taking In A Game," author Joseph A. Reaves attributes American Albert Bates with bringing baseball to Japan in 1873. Bates, Reaves claims, taught his students the game at what is now Tokyo University. By the turn of the century, student clubs were not only playing other Japanese schools, but they were also hosting touring American clubs. In 1905 a team from Tokyo's Waseda University toured the American West Coast, playing schools like Southern California, Washington and Stanford. Japan took baseball very seriously and victories against American teams were a source of national pride.
College Baseball Today
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U.S. college baseball has grown significantly in popularity. Currently there are 912 NCAA baseball teams, including 300 Division I teams. There are 208 participating schools in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletes and 395 schools in the National Junior College Athletics Association. These are the major athletic associations in the United States, though there are many others representing schools from the United States, Canada, Japan and elsewhere around the world.
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- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of John
