BASEBALL HISTORY

Baseball has emerged from lots of ups and down. From the era of dead ball to the modern era, we have seen so many great players reviving this game every year. Until 1920's baseball used to have era known as The Dead Ball Era. During this time teams use to use same ball for whole game. The ball used to get softened and fewer home runs were scored that era. Hitters relied mainly on base hits, single or double for scoring. Since the teams used to use one ball for entire game the people never saw lot of home runs during this era. Baseball saw geat hitter and pitchers during that era. Honus Wagner, Ty Cobb played exceptionally at that time and gave hitting a new life. Cy young, Walter Johnson proved that even the ball is dead after few innings they can still pitch the ball where ever they want to. These greats laid the foundation of baseball which we see today in all its glory. World Series started during this period. It was in 1920 when baseball was going through the scandals that Boston Red Sox sent Babe Ruth to New York Yankees for $125,000. And that was a start of the a exciting era for baseball. Babe Ruth played like a hero in Yankees and became one the best player in Baseball. He hit 54 home runs in his first season in Yankees. During this period of baseball more ball were used during the game. The ball was hard and whiter whole of the game. This helped hitters to score more runs and it made baseball more interesting for people. During this era we saw hitters like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Hank Greenberg. After world was II a new era started for baseball. African Americans started playing in Major league and that pave the way for more talented baseball players in baseball. Jackie Robinson was hired by dodgers from Montreal. The game of baseball changed from stolen bases to hitting home runs. The pitchers had to adjust to the new way of hitting. Baseball was heading to a big boom. Teams started moving to new places. Night baseball was introduced and suddenly lots of people were able to see baseball after work. Baseball was changing for good. New teams were introduced and baseball franchise was expanding. Mets came to New York, Astros to Houston. New teams emerged in San Diego and Montreal. There were modifications done in playoffs and the winner of AL and NL fight for World Series in a 5 game series. Then came an era in which we saw new records being created and old records been broken. From Barry Bonds 73 Home run season to Cal Ripken concsecutive games played streak baseball amazed everyone with its new found glory. With computer being used so much now that people are updated about their teams and players often. There are fantasy leagues and people are the manger of their own baseball team. Baseball was a national pastime and it still is for all of us. With Boston still searching the cure to the curse and Cubs coming close to beating their curse in 2003, we feel baseball is heading to some exciting years which we will never forget.

While the exact origin of baseball is unknown, most historians agree that it is based on the English game of rounders. Rounders become popular in the United States in the early 19th century, where the game was called "townball", "base", or "baseball" but the game had no set of "official" rules. People played the game by their own set of rules, which were decided by local customs or decisions. There were lot of variations in the number of players on a side, how many bases were used, the formation and distance of the bases. Baseball's true father was Cartwright, although popular legend says that Abner Doubleday invented the game. In 1845, Cartwright was playing a version of Rounders with a group of friends and added some new rules to the game. History of Baseball shows that the game that Cartwright came up with was referred to as the New York game or the Knickerbocker game. On June 19, 1846 first organized baseball game took place between two rival clubs at Elysian Field in Hoboken, New Jersey. The game took place between the Knickerbocker club from New York City and the New York Nine. Cartwright's Knickerbockers lost to the New York nine by a score of 23-1.In 1869 first attempt at professional baseball was made. The Red Stockings of Cincinnati, Ohio were the first team that was all salaried and thus was considered the first professional team. They won 72 games in a row before losing to the Excesior Club and then went back to amateur status in 1870. The idea of paid players quickly caught on. As the best players became professionals the amateur teams began to fade away. . In 1871 the first professional baseball league called National Association was formed. However this league was short lived, as it had no control over the movement of its players and the actions of its teams. In 1876, a rival league called the National League of Professional baseball Clubs was formed. The National Association was replaced by National League of Professional baseball Clubs and the NA collapsed in 1876. In the baseball history Chicago White Stockings dominated National League and won championships in 1880, 1881, 1882. In 1882, the American Association started to compete with reduced ticket prices and teams in large cities. This followed the National Agreement in 1883 that had given the American Association major league status. The first professional black player, Moses Fleetwood Walker, played in the American Association until he was banned. The American Association continued to grow, as did the National League. In 1886, the St. Louis Browns defeated the White Sox for a prize of $15,000.In 1903 the American League joined the National League in a joint venture. Major event that took place during this merger was the Baltimore Oriole's decision to move to New York City. They became known as the New York Yankees.

From 1903-1920 baseball history is commonly referred to as the "Dead Ball Era". The batting averages went down. Pitchers were using new pitches such as curveballs and knuckleballs. The game relied on contact-hitters, bunting, and base stealing for its offense. Forty years of batting records began to fall, and the popularity of the game began to explode.

From 1921-1931 came the second golden age of baseball. There was a big push to clean up the scandals that had rocked the game. George "Babe" Ruth had been a successful pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, but in 1920, Ruth was traded from the Red Sox to the New York Yankees and became a superstar. During the roaring twenties, Ruth became perhaps the biggest celebrity in the nation. He was a part of a Yankees team that has been called the greatest of baseball history. From 1935-1945 came difficult period for baseball.

In 1935 Babe Ruth retired and when the war broke out large percentage of baseball players joined armed forces during the world war two. In 1940 baseball took another hit when Lou Gehrig, one of the best players of baseball was diagnosed with a degenerative muscle disease The forties were a difficult time for baseball, but a new era beckoned. Although it was not a written rule, baseball had always been racially segregated. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. But integration was a very slow process. Other teams were slow to adopt African-American and other minority players. It was another ten years before all of the teams had integrated, and it wasn't until the early sixties that professional baseball could truly call itself integrated. In 1946, the American Baseball Guild was formed. This organization had very little power and soon was replaced. The Major League Players' Association that is still active today replaced it in 1953. This group sought to represent players and their best interests. It tried to give the players some power through collective bargaining. This group did experience success as salaries began to increase. During the 1960's, baseball faced a problem that it had not encountered until this point: competition. For the first time in 1967, the Super Bowl overtook the World Series in ratings. The last twenty years of baseball have continued to be marked by money and offense. As revenues continue to increase, so did players salaries.

From 1903-1920 baseball history is commonly referred to as the "Dead Ball Era". The batting averages went down. Pitchers were using new pitches such as curveballs and knuckleballs. The game relied on contact-hitters, bunting, and base stealing for its offense. Forty years of batting records began to fall, and the popularity of the game began to explode.

From 1921-1931 came the second golden age of baseball. There was a big push to clean up the scandals that had rocked the game. George "Babe" Ruth had been a successful pitcher with the Boston Red Sox, but in 1920, Ruth was traded from the Red Sox to the New York Yankees and became a superstar. During the roaring twenties, Ruth became perhaps the biggest celebrity in the nation. He was a part of a Yankees team that has been called the greatest of baseball history. From 1935-1945 came difficult period for baseball.

In 1935 Babe Ruth retired and when the war broke out large percentage of baseball players joined armed forces during the world war two. In 1940 baseball took another hit when Lou Gehrig, one of the best players of baseball was diagnosed with a degenerative muscle disease The forties were a difficult time for baseball, but a new era beckoned. Although it was not a written rule, baseball had always been racially segregated. In 1947, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, joining the Brooklyn Dodgers. But integration was a very slow process. Other teams were slow to adopt African-American and other minority players. It was another ten years before all of the teams had integrated, and it wasn't until the early sixties that professional baseball could truly call itself integrated. In 1946, the American Baseball Guild was formed. This organization had very little power and soon was replaced. The Major League Players' Association that is still active today replaced it in 1953. This group sought to represent players and their best interests. It tried to give the players some power through collective bargaining. This group did experience success as salaries began to increase. During the 1960's, baseball faced a problem that it had not encountered until this point: competition. For the first time in 1967, the Super Bowl overtook the World Series in ratings. The last twenty years of baseball have continued to be marked by money and offense. As revenues continue to increase, so did players salaries.