History Of Baseball

The earliest mentions of baseball came about in 1791 in Massachusetts.  Derivatives of the game came to during the Civil War era such as Cricket. The first team to play under modern rules were the New York Knickerbockers. This occurred in 1845. There was Amateurs and Professionals and these were the two groups that players were generally split up into. It was around 1870 when thoughts of forming the Major Leagues flourished.

• 1845: Alexander Cartwright published a set of baseball rules for the Knickerbocker Club of New York, and his rules were widely adopted.
• 1869: The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first openly-salaried team and are thus considered the first professional team.
• 1871: The first professional baseball league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, was established.
• 1876: The first major league, the National League, was formed.
• 1878: Frederick Winthrop Thayer of Massachusetts (captain of the Harvard University Baseball Club) received a patent for a baseball catcher's mask on February 12.