Baseball BeginsAmerica’s

Pastime: How the Game Was

“Played”

What Are We Doing Today?

• This will be our first look into America’s relationship with sports on a social/ political level. Today we are going to look into Baseball and how the battle for its identity arose in the early 1900s.

• Baseball , Ray.

• Assume the Position- When The Legend...

Parentage of the Game

• Cricket Cricket Explained

• Rounders - Irish Kids Explain the Game

• Lapta- Russian Game 14th Century

• Town Ball/ Knickerbocker Rules- on the walls. Walk around. 10 minutes

Quick Reaction Question 5 pointer

• How are these games similar to our present day version of baseball? (2) How are they different? (2) Which is most like baseball? (1)

• You have 6 minutes, go.

• Keep a hold of it, there are more questions coming.

The Doubleday Story

• 1839- Abner Doubleday scribbles down a diagram and rules to keep 11 players from running into each other as they wait to play ball on a Cooperstown, NY field. These are considered the first time that rules for the game were codified and Abner was deemed the “Inventor of American Baseball”

So Why is Doubleday the Founder?

• In a word? Spalding. Yeah that guy from the sporting goods brand.

• In 1900, Baseball was in trouble and needed a makeover.

• Gambling, Prostitution, the Upstart American League all played a part.

So Why is Doubleday the Founder?• 1905 - The Mills Commission, an assortment of

baseball team owners and league presidents as well as a few sporting goods business owners, gathered to restore the image of baseball as a pure sport and a worthy national pastime.

• They decided, based on the testimony of a former neighbor of Doubleday’s, that he was in fact the inventor of baseball. – The man was 71 at the time and recalled seeing the

drawings Doubleday had made. He would have been 5 at the time he allegedly saw this.

The Real Doubleday Story • In all of his diaries, and there were many, he

never mentioned baseball. Here is a short list of reasons he is still an American icon.

- He “started” the Civil War by personally ordering the first return fire as his men were shelled at Ft Sumter.

- He survived the bloodiest single day (Antietam) and battle (Gettysburg) in American history as a combat officer.

- These are more the reason he was chosen to be the face of Baseball.

5 more points.

• After hearing this, does it come as a surprise that the Commission would choose a war hero to be the face of Baseball? Why or Why not? Same piece of paper. (5 points)

• 2-3 sentences

The Hoboken Story • 1845- A group of gentlemen calling

themselves the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club gather in lower Manhattan to play a bat and ball game. Two of their own Alexander Joy Cartwright and Dr. Daniel Adams, wrote 20 rules for games played by the club’s members. By October of that year the team moves its games across to NJ for the more spacious Elysian Fields in Hoboken.

The Knickerbocker Game

• The first game using these rules is played between two clubs, the Knickerbockers lost a 4 inning match to the New York Nine by a score of 23 aces to 1.

• Rules added by Cartwright and Adams in 1857– Runners must advance on a hit– The Shortstop– The 9 inning game– 90 ft between bases– 45 ft from the pitcher to home

By the 1860s

• The New York Game, The Massachusetts Game and North American Cricket are all being played, but the NY game is the one referred to as “The National Pastime and Our National Game”

• The Civil War spreads the NY game throughout the country.

• The one-hop rule is eliminated and only balls caught on the fly are outs.

Last Writing Prompt- 5 pointer

• If we had to pick a new National sport, which would it be?

• 2-3 sentences

Some interesting rules from the early game.

• 1868- “Ball” called for the first time. (9 for a walk)

• 1881- Pitcher stands 50’ away. Underhand still the required way to pitch.

• 1882- # of pitches = walk? 7.

• 1883 Overhand pitching allowed

• 1884- Official Racism- Moses Fleetwood Walker is barred from playing for the Toledo Blue Stockings.

• 1887- Walks considered hits on stats. # of pitches to a walk goes down to 5.

• 1893- 60’6”• 1898- 154 game season

begins, stays until 1961. • 1899- Substitutions

added, infield fly rule and bunted foul strikes.

• 1903- First World Series is played. Boston Americans win best of 9 game series in 8 games.