Elementary history of baseball

The history of baseball can be broken down into various aspects: by era, by locale, by organizational-type, game evolution, as well as by political and cultural influence. The game evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the midth century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed.

By the late 19th century, baseball was widely recognized as the national sport of the United States.

Baseball history

References to baseball date back to the s when in England it was referenced in in the children's book A Little Pretty Pocket-Book by John Newberry, though he was actually referring to the game " rounders ". In the early s "baseball" and a game first mentioned in as the aforementioned "rounders" may have been the same or very similar.

While Canada invented the version of baseball we know today, innovations made by New York City clubs became the basis for the modern game, far removed from its English ancestor, but extremely similar to the Canadian version. These clubs formed a national governing body with uniform rules in , the National Association of Base Ball Players.

Five years later, the National League was created; it was followed by the American League in The first World Series between the champions of the two major leagues was held in , and by it became an annual event.

When was baseball invented

Baseball early in the 20th century was characterized by low-scoring games, but the dead-ball era ended in the early s with rule changes and the rise of power hitter Babe Ruth. The major leagues had a color barrier that lasted until , when Jackie Robinson made his debut. The major leagues began the process of expansion in and attendance increased from the mids to , when a work stoppage led to the cancellation of the World Series.

Professional baseball leagues featured teams from Canada as early as , and the sport spread to numerous countries in the s and s. It was played in the Olympics as a medal sport from to Other competitions between national teams include the Baseball World Cup and the World Baseball Classic , which was first held in The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision.