The Birth of Baseball
Baseball. The American Pastime. A true love of mine and of many Americans. The game's objective is to outscore your opponent by having more baserunners come across the final of four bases, called home plate. It's ironic in a way. The more these athletes "go home," the more successful they are. There is a reward in a "walk" and batters can be among the game's greats by failing seven out of 10 times.
Although baseball is usually traced to the mid-19th century, games involving bats and balls started long before that. In fact, the first recorded "batting contests" began more than 5,000 years ago when Egyptian priests engaged in mock combat with bats. Balls which sometimes symbolized the sun and other deities, eventually found their way into the game. These games were gradually brought to Europe and eventually America.
When these games reached England, they became classified as "stoolball." The "pitcher" attempted to hit an upturned stool with a ball before a "batter" could bat it away with a "stick." Legend has it that when this game moved out of the churchyard and into the countryside, more "stools" or "bases" were added. These bases had to be circled after the ball was struck. This led to the creation of English game "rounders," and a rule was added. A base runner could be put "out" by being struck with a thrown ball. Imagine that ruled had stayed. You'd have Roger Clemens firing fastballs at rookie infielders, who would run for their lives.
Posts called "goals" or "bases" were driven into the ground.
Baseball is an integral part of American pop culture. Many Americans grow up with baseball, playing it before they can even count all the bases. It is glorified, taught, and fed to us. When we play baseball, we find a respect for the game. The respect we gain from playing it has turned the game into a tradition of American culture. It has formed itself into the business of professional baseball, namely major league baseball. Professional players have become recognized all over the world. They are sought out and admired by fans. Because of their popularity, these players have written books, endorsed commercial products, and found successful and rewarding careers by playing a game. According to Wallup, author of Baseball: An Informal History, baseball has been apart of our culture since the mid to late nineteenth century(Wallup, p16). Our great grandparents, grandparents, and parents have been brought up with it and our parents teach the sport to us.
Baseball has been of the longest living sports in our world today. The game started with the idea of a stick and ball and now has become one of the most complex sports known in our society. Several rules and regulations have been added to help enhance the game for everyone. Although baseball has endured several issues during its history and development of the game the game has still been a success throughout the world.
[1] Baseball is America’s favorite pastime. When people hear the word "America," they think of apple pie, meat and potatoes, July 4th, and inevitably the everlasting love of this country, baseball. The credit is given to a man named Alexander J. Cartwright, who drew up a set of rules for a game played with a bat, a round ball, and a glove. Along with the rules came a sketching of a diamond-shaped field on which the game was to be played. The rules that Cartwright wrote up in 1845 may have very well changed somewhat, but the game of baseball has remained remarkably constant throughout history into today.
In America, it all began in the industrial age, which brought long work weeks and boring jobs. The employees across the nation were in need of a break. Ever since the mid-nineteenth century, white American settlers began to participate in organized sports such as baseball, football, basketball, curling, and bowling. In as early as 1820, a game involving a bat, bases, and a ball was evolving in the
I have played softball ever since the tee ball days. It has been a sport that I have grown to love and couldn’t imagine not playing. The way I have grown up playing softball has changed tremendously from the time it was 1st created in 1887 on Thanksgiving Day. The first time this game was even thought of was when a group of excited men threw a boxing glove to another man who swung a broom trying to hit the boxing glove, like a bat hitting a ball. This group of men, who were all apart of the Farragut boat club, decided they would turn this into a game of their own and softball was born. Although the name softball was not finally decided on until 1926. It was first called indoor baseball. Kitten baseball, or pumpkin ball. Softball didn't grow rapidly until 1933 a softball tournament was set up at the world fair. There were 55 teams in the invent and over 350,000 watching. The game of softball went crazy. Not just in the U.S., but all around the world.
Baseball is a unique sport in many different ways. It is the only major competitive sport that has no time limit. The success of a player is determined on how well he can play as an individual and how well the team plays along with him. There are many rules that determine the success of a player’s performance. A baseball game is played with two teams and each team is permitted 25 players per team; however this is only true for professional teams. There are three parts to baseball: offense, pitching, and defense.
It was Thanksgiving Day in 1887, and just like men would today, they were watching football. The alumni of Harvard and Yale got together to cheer on their former schools. After the game, a man from Yale, in celebration, picked up a boxing glove and tossed it across the room at the Harvard graduates. Using a broom handle one of the Harvard men hit the glove away. This gave George Hancock, one of the men who was gathered there for the game, an idea. He took two boxing gloves tied them together and made a large ball. Then he chalked out a small diamond, like the ones in baseball, and broke a broom handle to use as a bat (History). The group of twenty played the first game of what would become known as softball. After an hour, the game ended with a score of 41-40 (History). At the time the game was called indoor baseball, and became a popular sport in the city of it’s creation, Chicago (History).
If baseball had relatives, town ball would be its first cousin. It was so similar , and by 1800 townball was played everywhere. The only difference was that town ball did not have rules, and people were getting away with more than they would if they was playing baseball. Someone thought that not having rules for a game was not fair, so he sat down and thought of some rules and that’s how baseball came about. His name was Albert Doubleday. Baseball is a competitive sport, and so many people that play this sport wants to be in the spotlight all the time. 1744, the ball flies in the air and the boy runs to the home plate and they have scored a point. Of course, he feels that he is great at that sport, and so does his friends around him. When a team feels as though they are doing well, it brings great joy to them.
Baseball has for a long time been a staple in the American sporting culture as baseball and America have grown up together. Exploring the different ages and stages of American society, reveals how baseball has served as both a public reflection of, and vehicle for, the evolution of American culture and society. Many American ways including our landscapes, traditional songs, and pastimes all bear the mark of a game that continues to be identified with America's morals and aspirations. In this paper I will be addressing the long residuals of baseball as it specifically relates to the emergence of the American nation and its principles of nationalism. This is a particularly important issue because baseball seems to be a perfect representative system having many comparative analogies to the larger system of development, America. Since the sport first emerged, baseball and America have shared the same values, responded to the same events, and struggled with the same social and economic issues. To learn of the ideals concerning the sport of baseball in America, is to know the heart and mind of America.
Attention Getter: “Take me out to the ball game” in the united states Baseball has become America's favorite pastime.
Baseball dates back all the way to the late 1830's. It is thought to be originated from a game called rounders. Also, there is many
Americans began playing baseball on informal teams, using local rules, in the early 1800s. By the 1860s, the sport, unrivaled in popularity, was being described as America's "national pastime." Alexander Joy Cartwright of New York invented the modern baseball field in 1845. Alexander Cartwright and the members of his New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club devised the first rules and regulations for the modern game of baseball.
For most sports fans there is nothing like opening day and a baseball field. In recent years I have over heard several people say Baseball is not the National Pastime or National Game any longer. When I query these people the typical response is Football is our new National pastime/game. Frank Deford (Nov 7, 2012) a writer for Sports Illustrated said, "Baseball is what we used to be. Football is what we have become." I refuse to believe this based on my knowledge of both games. In this paper we will exam the facts and I would submit to you that Baseball is still the National Pastime/Game and it cannot be disputed.
Many historians believe that the lawn games date back to ancient Egypt. "Bat and ball" games are said to be what the lawn games evolved from, and images of these games can be found on the outside of tombs from as far back as 3000 years ago.
Many people may not know that baseball and cricket both originated in England. Cricket was always the favorite sport out of the two up until the