1. The Rise of America’s National Game

2. 19 th Century Baseball Three Stages: 1. Bat-and-ball games played by boys 2. The club-based (fraternal game) 3. Commercial Spectator Sport  National League was formed in 1876- Baseball became a business.

3. 1845- New York Knickerbockers Base Ball Club was formed. Influenced by Alexander Cartwright. Knickerbocker- Descendants from Dutch settlers who wore funny looking pants.

4. Early Baseball Played on a diamond-shaped infield. Three strike rule No umpires to call balls and strikes Umpires sat at a table along the first base line, acquiring more responsibility. Fielders wore no gloves Pitchers got a running start and threw the ball underhanded from 45 feet.

5. Competitions Winning team received the game ball Outcome inscribed on the ball and put in the club’s trophy case. Home club frequently provided the visitors with a gala dinner.

6. Henry Chadwick Known as father Chadwick Edited baseball’s first annual guidebook Invented the box score and batting averages

7. America’s National Pastime Mid-1850s was being called “the national game”  Baseball Club Names: Young America, Union, Eagle, American and National.

8. Compatible with Victorian values??? Encourage manliness/ Self control. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, baseball kept youngsters “out of a great deal of mischief… (Baseball) keeps them from hanging around fire engine houses, stables and taverns.

9. Beginning of Professional base ball playing William H. Cammeyer, built a fence around some land that he owned and charged admission to spectators. Teams: 1. Played more games 2. Practice more 3. Hand long summer tours 4. Recruited athletes (Some even got paid)

10. “Cranks” or Kranks Fanatics who cheered, heckled umpires and opposing players and even rioted at times.

11. Respectability of the Game Tainted by gambling and game dumping. Fans felt that some games were fixed. On several occasions, bettors even mobbed playing fields to prevent the competition of games in which they stood to lose money.

12. Cincinnati Red Stocking Nation’s first publicly announced, all-salaried team. 1869- Record was 58-0-1

13. President Ulysses S. Grant welcomed the team to Washington D.C. Grant had a horse named Cincinnati. In September of 1869 the Reds crossed the U.S. by railroads to play games in California.

14. The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871-1875) was baseball’s first professional league. This league was not very professional. 1. $10.00 entry fee to compete for championship 2. Teams scheduled own matches 3. Players free to move from one team to the next after each season

15. The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs Founded by William A. Hulbert and Albert Spalding. Teams could only be owned by join-stock companies of cities of 75,000 or more residents.

16. Seeking approval from Victorians Clubs wishing to join the league: 1. Be approved by existing clubs 2. Ban Sunday games 3. Prohibit liquor sales in ball parks 4. Charge 50 cents admission fee