Spread of baseball project

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A history of the early playing of baseball and the locations and people involved. This project is associated with the Origins research committee. To learn more about the committee, visit the committee info site and the committee resources site.

Modern baseball is first seen in the Knickerbocker Rules, which were written in 1845 in New York City. By the late 1860s, “baseball fever” had carried the “New York game” far and wide in North America, and the worldwide spread began. We hope that a community effort to dig up facts on its arrival in many local areas will allow us to see how (and eventually, why) baseball reached some areas early and others only later on. In each locality, we hope to learn:

  • When the first game occurred that used modern rules
  • When the first local baseball club formed
  • What game or games preceded modern baseball

Even in the mid-1850s, US newspapers were reporting much more cricket and horse-racing than baseball. That all changed, and dramatically. We’re asking when, how, and why, baseball so suddenly ensconced itself as America’s national pastime.

Where early baseball was played

United States

California Connecticut Georgia Hawaii Illinois Indiana Iowa Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Missouri New Hampshire New Jersey New York City New York (state) Ohio Pennsylvania Vermont Wisconsin United States (exact location unclear)

Other countries

Australia Canada
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