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A brief history of Baseball
by Regan Shaors
http://www.fleerbaseball.com
The beginning of baseball is usually traced to early
nineteenth century with the formation of the first baseball
clubs in 1845. Therefore, even though technically baseball
came into existence around the early 19th century, it's
probably been there a lot longer. In 1845, an Englishman
named Alexander Cartwright laid down the first list of rules
for what is now called baseball. Many of Cartwright's rules
are still applicable in baseball today.
The first baseball league was formed by a group of
amateur players in 1958, It was called the National
Association of Baseball Players. And yes, in their very
first year, the National Association of Baseball Players
began charging admission to its baseball games.It was in
1868, however, that baseball hit its stride. The Civil War
was over and the Union had carried the game of baseball to
other parts of the country where it created quite a
sensation. In 1868 the National Association of Baseball
Players had delegates from well over 100 clubs across the
country.
At the turn of the century, the American League of baseball
came into being and began playing in 1901. The game of
baseball was still very much a game of strategy. The game
depended on bunting, base stealing and contact hitters. With
the invention of the cork centered baseball, all that
changed. Because the new baseball allowed for more home runs
baseball's popularity took off--and so did the cost of
admissions.Throughout the early 20th century, the game of
baseballrelied more and more on the hitting of home runs,
and lesson strategy. This was thanks to great baseball
players like Babe Ruth, who completely revolutionized the
game with hisprowess at hitting home runs. It is largely
due to the "Babe" that baseball became one of the most
popular sports in America. And it didn't hurt future
baseball players that people were willing to pay to see
Babe Ruth play.
In the beginning of the twentieth century, the American
League of baseball was formed and it started playing in
1901. The game of baseball was still very much a game of
strategy. It depended on bunting, base stealing and contact
hitters. However, with the invention of the cork centered
baseball, things changed. Now, the new baseball allowed for
more home runs. This took the popularity of baseball to
dizzy heights. As a natural consequence the cost of
admissions also soared.
In the early 20th century the concentration was more on
hitting the home runs. Babe Ruth changed the course of the
game with his magical abilities to achieve home runs. It was
due to sportsmen like Babe Ruth that baseball achieved the
levels of popularity that it did. The popularity of Babe
Ruth also helped in improving the money in the game, since
people just went to watch Babe Ruth in action.
Rival leagues kept trying to break into American baseball
even as late as 1960. Of course, they all failed to leave
any significant mark, and could not challenge the supremacy
of the National and American leagues that rule the game till
date. Baseball became a game of strategy and hitting
throughout the last part of the 20th century. However,
pitching and home run hitting are the baseball benchmarks of
today. Depending on the strength of their bullpens and their
home run hitters, baseball teams are either big winners or
big losers. The one thing that is consistent is that the
cost of admission still continues to rise.
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