A Brief History of Baseball

The game of baseball is said to have begun in the early 19th century, but that's just half the truth. The game was played much before but the first baseball clubs were formed around that time. An Englishman named Alexander Cartwright in the year 1845 devised the first set of rules baseball. In fact, many of the rules listed out then are still used in the game.

In the year 1858, a group of amateur players came together to form the first baseball league - known as the National Association of Baseball Players. Right from the first year, the National Association of Baseball Players began charging for admission to baseball games.

Baseball hit its stride in 1868. After the Civil War was over the Union had carried the game of baseball to other parts of the country and created quite a sensation. There were delegates from more than a hundred clubs from across the country in 1868 in the National Association of Baseball Players.

The American League of Baseball came into being at the beginning of the 20th century. The league began playing in the year 1901. The game of baseball used a lot of application of the strategy. This period also saw the invention of the cork-centered baseball that went on to change a lot of things. This baseball allowed for more home runs resulting in the surging popularity of the baseball.

Throughout the early 20th century, the game of baseball depended more and more on the hitting of home runs, and less on strategy. Great baseball players like Babe Ruth completely revolutionized the game with his prowess at hitting home runs. Indeed, it is largely due to the 'Babe' that baseball became one of the most popular sports in America. And it was thanks to Babe Ruth that the tradition to pay to see Babe Ruth play started.

Regan Shaors is the creator and editor of Fleer Baseball one of the leading information resources on the subject of baseball available on line.For more insight, and immediate access to his articles library, visit http://www.fleerbaseball.com

Related Sites:

www.mlb.com
www.baseball-almanac.com

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