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,…
This 1865 photograph of the Atlantics of Brooklyn by Charles H. Williamson depicts the “Champion Nine” of 1864 and was given to opposing teams who played The Atlantic Club. (Library of Congress)

August 18, 1865: Eurekas almost strike gold against the champion Atlantics

This 1865 photograph of the Atlantics of Brooklyn by Charles…

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…