The game of baseball was invented in Cooperstown, New York by Abner Doubleday in 1839. Abner was intrigued by the outdoors so he decided to create a game focused on hitting a spherical-like object with a stick type object with a diamond-shaped field-like area. The game became known as baseball and almost all kids today at some point play either T-ball or little league throughout their early years.
Doubleday was a civil war hero who fought valiantly for the Union Army during the war. Once he came back home to Cooperstown he decided to keep his intrigue in inventing a new sport continue. He invented a game with four bases, first base, second base, third base, and home plate.
There would be nine players in total six in the infield and three in the outfield. These different positions would include the pitcher, the catcher, the first basemen, the second basemen, the shortstop, and the third basemen. The outfield would consist of the center fielder left fielder and right fielder and of course, there would be a hitter from the opposing team out at home plate to try to hit the ball and advance the runners as much as possible.
The game started to grow exponentially during and after the Civil War as soldiers were away from war. The game was originally a release from war but it would soon change a nation and the world.
Major League Baseball was first founded almost four years after the Civil War had ended in 1869. This was a cornerstone in baseball history because this addition would also lead to the creation of many other teams and leagues across the United States. The game would grow dramatically over the next 50 years which would lead to teams like the great white sox of the 1910s that threw the pennant in 1919.
In the 1920s you had teams like the New York Yankees with Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig including others otherwise known as murderous row who would go up against the great Philadelphia A's teams with Jimmy Fox and Max Bishop who could crack the ball out of the park.
These eras created a feel for the game that most of the country would end up falling in love with. The game continued to spread through small communities and towns across the country from rural farms in Iowa to the big cities like New York, Chicago, and L.A. People of all backgrounds loved baseball and wanted to play including those of other races such as blacks, Hispanics, and various Asian groups but they couldn't, players in the majors leagues could only be white. Discrimination was also a big storyline to baseballs history.
During the late 1800's and through the first 40+ years of the 1900's Major League Baseball was only for whites. No man of color was allowed to play. Anyone who was colored had to play in a negro league and they were usually only black Americans and not those of other races. This meant that Latinos had to work there way up to the top through leagues in their own countries such as Puerto Rican Baseball League or the Cuban Baseball leagues.
Many of these great players played for teams like the Pittsburgh Grays and Crawford's such as the pitcher Satchel Paige, Catcher Josh Gibson, and "Cool Papa" Bell who was a great hitter. All of these players never get the same due that major league whites did because they didn't play in the major leagues because they couldn't, it was legal. It was punishable by law if a negro player would even try to interact with a major league coach or scout.
This, however, would soon change when Jackie Robinson would take the field in 1947. He had a lot to live up to and deal with on and off the field. He was hated by many white folks who felt like it was a league only meant for them and not for any outsiders. Many criticized him including his own manager at times.
Through it all though, Branch Rickey the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers had full faith that Robinson would not only excel in Baseball but become one of the best players the game had ever seen, and he was right. Jackie stunned audiences at Dodger Stadium in Brooklyn.
Robinson's hard-play and ferocity could not be matched on the field. Only a few could compete with him on the base paths. He could steal bases with intense speed and power. He would outrun almost any other fielder in the infield. He stole bases more than any other player previously. He could hit and field just as well. He was an all-around great player.
Pee Wee Reece, a player for the Cincinnati Reds actually placed his arm around Jackie and said, "Maybe someday we'll all wear 42, so nobody can tell us apart" and that is indeed what happened. In the present day all major league players where the number 42 annually to commemorate Jackie Robinson's presence and breakthrough as a black man playing baseball. The game would continue to change throughout the ladder half of the 20th century.
During the 1950's and 1060's, the game grew in play throughout the country and more dynasties began to form. Mostly they were New York Yankees dynasties. The Brooklyn Dodgers would soon become the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Athletics would soon become the Athletics of Oakland California. Great Dynasties in New York would dominate most of the next two decades.
With players like Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Marris, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford the Yankees would go on to win more world series than anyone else in the era and all time into 1970. However, they were only stopped and defeated once in this era by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960. Bill Mazeroski stepped up to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the 9th at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh on a warm autumn eve.
With a strike under his belt, Mazeroski crushed a ball over the ivy wall in left field and into the stands to give the Pirates the 10-9 win over the mighty Yankees. The Bronx Bombers were finally defeated. The following year through the New York Yankees would go on a rampage and Mickey Mantle and Roger Marris would break all hitting records in 1961.
From 1970 on baseball would continue to change. Latin Americans started to come to America to compete in the Majors in droves. Players like Roberto Clemente and Juan Marichal would live in lure for generations to come. Roberto Clemente had to deal with a racist press and newspaper coverage throughout Pittsburgh when he first came to the United States. Teams like the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals would dominate the baseball world at this point.
Baseball is a tremendously important sport for our culture and our country. Millions of young men aspire to be future baseball players as kids. The history of baseball might be lengthy it is indeed critical to understand if you want to get to know America.
The beauty of the game should not be underestimated. Playing for many years myself I know the feeling of playing on "clean" dirt and putting yourself out there as a batter. Giving yourself up on the field to play your best and to help your eight fellow men out on the field cannot be matched by any other sport in my opinion.
Baseball players tend to form a special bond throughout the year no matter what level you play at and how good or bad your team is. Baseball is unifying. Baseball is mystic, baseball is a strength, baseball is knowledge baseball is skill, baseball is beauty, and baseball is great.
