The History of American Baseball

America loves baseball.

From the major leagues to Little League to backyard games of catch with dad, baseball is so important in American culture that it is known as the "national pastime." As John P. Rossi notes in an online article for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, "Unlike other sports baseball truly grew up with America."

First Days of Baseball

In his book, "Baseball," published in 2000 by Dorling Kindersley, James Kelley writes that baseball probably grew out of the English game of "rounders," which also involves a "ball, a bat, and four bases on a field." This eventually developed into many variations of a game called "base ball" that was played by clubs of American sportsmen in the Northeast.

A Moneymaking Venture

Kelley says the birth of the sport as we know it today occurred in 1845 when the first set of rules for baseball was created. According to Sports KnowHow, another important event occurred in 1858 when the first organized league formed—the National Association of Base Ball Players. After the U.S. Civil War, Kelley writes, ball players were lured from club to club with "secret payments." In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings--which were not related to the current Cincinnati Reds, which were founded in 1882--were the first professional team to form, and baseball became a moneymaking venture.

Birth of the Major Leagues

Bats are made of wood or aluminum.

Sports KnowHow says numerous leagues came and went until 1871 when nine teams from Boston to Indiana formed what eventually would become the National League. The website says that although other rival leagues formed, "only one would last--the Western League, which in 1901 became the American League." Two years later, the first World Series baseball tournament was organized. Today, there are 30 major league teams--29 in the U.S. and one in Canada.

Bats and Balls

The first baseballs "quickly became soft and mushy," Kelley writes. This was improved by winding yarn tightly around an inner core of rubber, then covering it all with stitched leather. Until the early 1970s, when aluminum bats were developed, wood was the only choice for baseball bats. Professional teams still only use wooden bats, but high school, college and recreational teams use aluminum ones because they last longer and allow players to hit the ball longer. Kelley says mitts, which started as gloves with little padding, have changed the most.

Babe Ruth and the Great Depression

George Herman "Babe" Ruth, also known as the "Sultan of Swat," dominated the sport from 1914 to 1935, making 714 home runs in that time and cheering up America during the Great Depression. The previous record holder, Roger Connor, had only 138 home runs.

Jackie Robinson and Integration

Baseball always has attracted immigrants and groups once considered "outsiders," Rossi writes, who "used baseball to proclaim their American identity." Such was the case for African Americans. While baseball has produced many legendary players, one who had a tremendous impact on paving the way for racial integration in America was Jackie Robinson. In 1947, Robinson was the first African American to play major league baseball.

Minority and Female Players

From the beginning, African Americans were barred from major league ball. But blacks formed their own "Negro Leagues." However, after Jackie Robinson joined the majors, the Negro Leagues began to disappear, and blacks increasingly began to join the major leagues. Rossi says after the major leagues integrated, "Latin Americans began to enter the game in large numbers." Women briefly gained their own baseball league--the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League--during World War II, when many major league players were drafted to fight in the war.

References

• Historical Society of Pennsylvania: Baseball and American History
• Sports KnowHow: History of American Baseball
• "Baseball"; James Kelley; 2000