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The Invention of Baseball
The game itself is said to have been invented around this day, derived from a British game called rounders. Obviously, this is important to the history of baseball because it's where it all began.
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First Professional Baseball Team
The first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was formed on this date. This set the precedent for the abundant number of teams to follow.
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Formation of the National League
The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, with 8 baseball teams, was formed. The National League is still one of two major leagues today.
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Formation of the American League
The American League announced that it would be playing the season as a major league, along with not renewing its National Agreement membership. There were 8 charter teams, and the AL is still one of the two major leagues today.
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Coordinated Schedules
The American and National Leagues met and decided that they would coordinate schedules, though they would remain independent. This kind of allowed for the actual MLB and even the prospect of a World Series.
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First World Series
The Boston Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates faced off in the first ever World Series, a tradition that would shape baseball and the goal that all teams aimed for.
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Official Rules
The "Official Playing Rules of Professional Base Ball Clubs" was adopted, which entailed uniform rules across all leagues. This made baseball easier to play, because everyone followed the same rules.
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First All-Star Game
Ending with the American League beating the National League 4-2, the first All-Star baseball game was played on this day. It was integral in the development of game because it was a change for the country to see all of their best and favorite players come together for one big game.
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Jackie Robinson Joins the Majors
On this day, Jackie Robinson became the first black person to ever play in Major League Baseball. This broke racial baseball barriers across the country, setting the precedent to allow more black people into the major leagues.
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MLB on Strike
Beginning on August 12th, 1994, and ending on April 2nd of 1995, this strike is the longest in MLB history. Players went on strike to the extent that a lot of the season and the entirety of the postseason (including the World Series) were cancelled. The Montreal Expos were most directly affected. Attendance and television ratings all across the MLB plummeted after the strike, for a little while.
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