July 4, 1833: In the beginning, Olympics vs. Camden

On Independence Day of 1833, two groups of town ball players…

Circa 1840: The legendary Doubleday Game

By 1905, pitcher-turned sporting goods entrepreneur Albert Spalding…

October 1845: The first recorded baseball games in New York

Three games between rival clubs were played in October 1845.…

June 3, 1851: Match play, Knickerbockers vs. Washington Club (NY)

Some baseball games are historic even though few details of the…
New York Clipper, May 29, 1858

May 31, 1858: Winthrop tops Olympic in first match game played under ‘Massachusetts’ rules

Imitation, as the expression goes, is the sincerest form of…

Summer 1858: The Brooklyn-New York baseball rivalry begins

The baseball rivalry between Brooklyn and New York, made famous…

September 9, 1858: The New York rules in New England

Baseball before the Civil War was very much a regional game,…

June 30, 1859: Caught on the fly: Knickerbockers vs. Excelsiors

In the May 29, 1859 issue of The Sunday Mercury, a weekly New…

July 1, 1859: Baseball goes to college

Amherst College was founded when Zephania Swift Moore, president…

October 11, 1859: Upton Excelsiors become the Massachusetts champions

HURRAH FOR THE EXCELSIORS!Come my lads and listenTo what I now…

July 1860: The Grand Excursion of the South Brooklyn Excelsiors

Asa Brainard, Excelsiors right fielder and leadoff hitter.   In…

July 24, 1860: The first enclosed ballpark

Determining the first enclosed baseball field is a matter for…

August 23, 1860: No gentlemen’s game, Excelsior vs. Atlantic

The unofficial concept of a local “champion” among the senior…

September 1860: The Grand Excursion, part 2: Excelsiors of South Brooklyn

Following the success of their July 1860 swing through upstate…

February 4, 1861: Brooklyn Atlantics win a baseball game on ice

“Yesterday the hazardous feat of playing a match of base ball…

September 21, 1861: Harry Wright plays his first base ball game as a professional

In the early 1860s, issues of the New York Clipper, the self-proclaimed…

July 4, 1862: The Civil War POW Game

The ballfield was surrounded by stately oak trees, sweet-water…

September 18, 1862: The ‘Silver Ball’ Game

By 1862, the unofficial title of “champion” senior club in…

October 14, 1862: The Martyrdom of Jim Creighton

He has been called baseball’s first superstar, its first professional,…

September 28, 1865: The first fixed baseball game

The crowd at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, assembled…

May 12, 1866: Atlanta’s first recorded game of base ball

Photo entitled “Famous Gate City Baseball Club of 1867”…

July 16, 1866: Lipman Pike’s home run record

On July 16, 1866, the Athletics of Philadelphia played a ballgame…

October 1866: A return on their investment

The Brooklyn vs. New York All-Star series held in Flushing during…

July 25, 1867: The most important game in baseball history?

After the famous tour of the Brooklyn Excelsiors in 1860, which…