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When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Old Judge Collectorwhen did basbeall very start was it 1744 when it was mentioned in a 1744 Book By John Newbery A Little Pretty Pocket Book???

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Frank WakefieldAfter base ball. And before baseball. Base-ball was kinda jammed in there in between the two.

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: ItsOnlyGilIm afraid that you gotta read up on some beisbol to understand that.

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Eric BLet's start very simple now. All sentences should start with a capital letter. My 1st grader learned that this year.

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Cobby33Here we go again.

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Gilbert MainesMine did.

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: prewarsportsBaseball did not "start", it evolved. It would be like watching a game of Football in 1876 and watching a game today, they are not even close to the same game but both are a version of Football. Baseball has been played in more or less the same way with little rule differentiation since the 1830's when clubs started to adopt the New York game as opposed to the Massachussetts (I always misspell that word) game. What we call baseball today is an evolved version of the New York game. Go buy Harold Seymours first volume of "Baseball" and read it and you will know everything you could want to know about the birth of baseball. You see it all the time at used book stores in paperback for around $7.

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Gilbert MainesFrom the October 31, 1875 Philadelphia Sunday Mercury: "The game of base ball is said to be very ancient. The earliest astronomers evidently knew it, and it probably had its origin in shooting stars, which the superstitious ancients looked upon as a game of the gods hurling and batting these luminous bodies through a space, and like many other godlike things, tried to imitate. The game was in great favor among the Egyptians, whose level plains afforded fine grounds for base balling; but it was left to the Greeks to bring the game to its earliest perfection. At first it was a source of healthful and vigorous recreation for this wonderful people, and furnished their first mathematicians with illustrations of parabolic curves, arcs and lines. It was to their fondness for the exercise of base ball that the Spartans owed their endurance and invincibility as fighters. But after a time the game was allowed to go into the hands of a few athletes, who made a business of it, and the people forgot their manly share in the exercise in looking on and betting upon the result. While, therefore, Greece owed much of her greatness to base ball, the game had an important influence in her decline, and (though historians are reticent about the matter) it is not at all unlikley that the Greeks, instead of drilling and equipping their hosts to resist the Roman legions, preferred to go out and witness a game of base ball between the Thermopylaes and Atticas, and leave their cities an easy prey to the conquerors of the world. But they had their revenge, for they introduced the game into Italy, and so strongly did the Romans take to it that it is related of Nero that he sent an expedition into Africa to get a supply of lilliputian people, so that their heads could be used by the cruel emperor in his games--and he was said to be as famous a pitcher as he was a singer. Rome dates her decline from the introduction of base ball; but even in their chains the captive Romans subdued Goths and Vandals by the charm of the great game. Base ball has evidently taken a fast hold upon our great republic, but we have this in our favor that may enable us to resist its pulling down effects. We have the vitality that is rising superior to bad government and the dishonesty of supreme factions. Who shall say, then, that having survived all these, we may not hope to survive even that gloriously demoralizing game--base ball."

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Enright, DanielI wonder at what point Sean stopped reading your post Gil?

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Old Judge CollectorVery Funny i actually read the whole thing it was kinda weird i dont really get it actually put it in simpletrer words

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Enright, DanielCool J&C, lets chat. It's 12:00 AM - where's the rest of the family? Daniel

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Old Judge Collectormy sister just got back from taste of chicago and my mo is watching tv brother sleeping and dad sleeping and dog playing with towel

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Enright, DanielSo, what do you think of what people have been saying about the way you chat on this board?

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Old Judge Collectorwhy would you want to know

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: DJHA! (because your like trying to be his friend and he's like wondering why you care) Edited: To delete original post. Wasn't that big of a deal and I don't you.

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Enright, DanielBecause, it would show if there is any hope that you could change the way you participate in this forum. If you get it, then you'll slowly find a way and a voice that works well on this site. What is not going to go away, is the requirement by most of the people who meet on this site to have real, serious, sometimes amusing, enlightening conversations about sportscards, and other topics that seem to flow from that. There was a recent post about people's ages on this forum, with the vast majority being in the 30's, 40's and older. There are younger people of course, but not many. So, you just really want to consider that when you want to get involved, just picture people older than your folks - and that they like to hear other older voices - not just your own. I know I'm a downer on this topic, but this isn't your friends or classmates and how you might talk with them......... Sincerely Daniel

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Enright, DanielOh, DJ....how so? Maybe you want to speak your mind a little more fully. Daniel

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: John SAgain Sean, your local public library should have plenty of information regarding this question. I really cannot blame you for expecting quick answers for every single question. Information in the age of the internet has become a cheap commodity. The high school where I teach, in an attempt to appear progressive, no longer has books in the library. We have an e-library with computer terminals linked to the interenet. Why make the students read those silly dusty old books when answers to most questions are just keystrokes away? Sean, as many of us have stated before, we would be more than happy to help with your collecting endeavors. The question that you pose is a complex one with no concrete answer. Most books on the history of baseball devote at least a chapter to the origins of the game. Check one out of your local library.

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: barrysloateHey guys- I think Sean actually asked a good question, and although it does not have an easy answer, I think you are all ragging on him and that is not fair. So I will try to help him with a brief answer. Baseball was never invented, but evolved from various other bat and ball games. There is evidence that a game close to what we know as baseball was played in Europe in the late 1700's, as well as by American youth in the early 1800's. As best as we know, in the early 1840's, a group of men who exercised daily in Manhattan decided that they needed some structured activity for their daily workouts. Among them was Alexander Cartwright, who knew the children's game of baseball and thought that if the rules were improved it could be played and enjoyed by adults (we don't exactly know how much Cartwright had to do with this, but he appears to have been instrumental). He helped organize the first team who called themselves the Knickerbockers, and they began playing matches among themselves and shortly thereafter with newly formed clubs in the mid-1840's. By the 1850's the game was gaining popularity in this country, and by 1858 the first amateur league was formed. Matches were scheduled and spectators came to the games to watch. By the late 1860's, it appeared that better teams could be formed if the players were paid, and in 1869 the first professional team, the 1869 Reds, was formed. They toured the country beating all their opponents before large crowds. Once baseball became professional, the game as we know it today was formed. Sean, hope this answers your question. You asked a good one and it deserved a response. Keep up the good work.

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Mike (18colt)Gil -- any chance that article was from the "Pottstown" Mercury? The Mercury still exists today as the daily newspaper for Pottstown and the surrounding area. Pottstown is roughly 45 minutes to an hour WNW of Philly. I'm not a newspaper historian - just wondering if there were two Philly-area papers called the Mercury at the same time (I'm from that area originally and never considered researching my local paper for baseball history, as Pottstown's finest have been Bobby Shantz, the 1952 AL MVP, and Howie Bedell, who ended Drysdale's scoreless inning streak and also by using a baseball picture from his youth, ended up on a line of coasters and plates from Pottery Barn a few years back). Sean -- really, I appreciate the enthusiasm, as when I was your age, I probably irked dealers with my questions, too, but I didn't have the internet to make answer finding easy. You could spend a long time researching the origins and evolution of the game of baseball. I'd recommend for a fun summer project to research the game until school starts for you in a month and a half. Oh, and brush up on grammar (again). This isn't an IM service with your classmates. We all don't know what you're asking half the time (or your writing style bugs us to the point whereby we don't read your posts). Please, for the sanity of some board members, do some of your own research first before asking. If you don't research things on your own, you'll just be rehashing someone else's research, and you won't question things as a scientist (or anyone seeking knowledge) should. Two examples of good research and data collection are the EPDG thread and Piedmont primacy threads still ongoing. And, Sean, no, the Greeks and Romans and Egyptians or whoever was in Gil's research did not market baseball cards. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> Mike (18colt)

When Did Base-Ball Start??

Posted By: Gilbert MainesMike: I do not know the origin of that Mercury file. I came across it accidentally - a floppy labeled "origin bbl/1st bbl cards/what is bbl card" was staring at me when this topic came up. I wish it had useful info. I think that I got most of that stuff here, but maybe not that one. It is at least one year old in my files. Probably two.