August 26, 1869: Cincinnati Red Stockings: Unbeaten, But Tied
By August 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings had become the top…
June 15, 1869: A cunning play saves Cincinnati’s streak
Tuesday dawned gray and damp in New York City. But the sun broke…
October 7, 1867: Candy Cummings debuts the curve
One of the oldest, most venerable weapons in the pitcher’s…
October 3, 1867: “The First Colored Baseball Championship”
"Championship” is often a fluid concept when applied to 19th-century…
July 25, 1867: The most important game in baseball history?
After the famous tour of the Brooklyn Excelsiors in 1860, which…
October 1866: A return on their investment
The Brooklyn vs. New York All-Star series held in Flushing during…
July 16, 1866: Lipman Pike’s home run record
On July 16, 1866, the Athletics of Philadelphia played a ballgame…
September 28, 1865: The first fixed baseball game
The crowd at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, assembled…
October 14, 1862: The Martyrdom of Jim Creighton
He has been called baseball’s first superstar, its first professional,…
September 18, 1862: The ‘Silver Ball’ Game
By 1862, the unofficial title of “champion” senior club in…
July 4, 1862: The Civil War POW Game
The ballfield was surrounded by stately oak trees, sweet-water…
September 1860: The Grand Excursion, part 2: Excelsiors of South Brooklyn
Following the success of their July 1860 swing through upstate…
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…
July 1860: The Grand Excursion of the South Brooklyn Excelsiors
In the spring of 1860, the Excelsior Club of South Brooklyn laid…
October 11, 1859: Upton Excelsiors become the Massachusetts champions
HURRAH FOR THE EXCELSIORS!Come my lads and listenTo what I now…
July 1, 1859: Baseball goes to college
Amherst College was founded when Zephania Swift Moore, president…
June 30, 1859: Caught on the fly: Knickerbockers vs. Excelsiors
In the May 29, 1859 issue of The Sunday Mercury, a weekly New…
September 9, 1858: The New York rules in New England
Baseball before the Civil War was very much a regional game,…
Summer 1858: The Brooklyn-New York baseball rivalry begins
The baseball rivalry between Brooklyn and New York, made famous…
June 3, 1851: Match play, Knickerbockers vs. Washington Club (NY)
Some baseball games are historic even though few details of the…
October 1845: The first recorded baseball games in New York
Three games between rival clubs were played in October 1845.…
Circa 1840: The legendary Doubleday Game
By 1905, pitcher-turned sporting goods entrepreneur Albert Spalding…
July 4, 1833: In the beginning, Olympics vs. Camden
On Independence Day of 1833, two groups of town ball players…