-
First Officially Recognized Game in the United States
In Hoboken, New Jersey: the "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings -
Starts to be know as America's "National Pastime" / "National Game"
-
National Association of Base Ball Players Created
The National Association of Base Ball Players was the first organization governing American baseball.The National Association of Base Ball Players folded after the 1870 season. -
First games to charge for admission
In Corona, Queens New York, at the Fashion Race Course, the first games of baseball to charge admission took place.The games, which took place between the all stars of Brooklyn, and the All Stars of New York (Manhattan) -
Putouts made by catching a fair ball on the first bounce are disallowed
Previously if a defender caught the ball in fair territory after one bounce it would result in the batter being out. -
Participation by African Americans was prohibited
-
The first fully professional baseball club, the Cincinnati Red Stockings was formed
The Red Stockings went undefeated against a schedule of semipro and amateur teams. -
National Association of Professional Base Ball Players
National Association of Professional Base Ball Players is considered the first professional sports league; through 1875 it governed professional baseball and practically set playing rules for all. -
Exclusion of Non-White Players From the National League
An informal agreement between clubs prohibited non-white players from professional baseball. It remained until 1947 -
National League Founded
The National League, which was formed after the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players proved ineffective, put its emphasis on "clubs" rather than "players". Clubs now had the ability to enforce player contracts, preventing players from jumping to higher-paying clubs. Clubs in turn were required to play their full schedule of games, rather than forfeiting scheduled games once out of the running for the league championship, as happened frequently under the National Association. -
American Association
The American Association was a professional league, and were the most successful league out of all the rivals to the National League. The American Association existed for 10 seasons from 1882 to 1891. For several years, the National League and American Association champions met in a postseason championship series the first attempt at a World Series. -
Moses Fleetwood "Fleet" Walker
Moses Fleetwood "Fleet" Walker is credited by some with being the first African American to play Major League Baseball. Walker played one season as the catcher of the Toledo Blue Stockings, a club in the American Association. -
The Western League
The Western League of Professional Baseball Clubs, also called the Western League, was a minor league baseball league founded on February 11, 1885, and focused in the Midwestern United States. The league would later become the American League -
Cy Young's Career
Legendary pitcher Cy Young played major league baseball from 1890 to 1911. The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL).The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who died in 1955. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qrz1kidheOM -
Western League Turns Pro
After several failures and reorganizations, the most notable version of the league was organized by Ban Johnson on November 20, 1893. The Western League began play in April 1894 with teams in Detroit (the only league team that has not moved since), Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Sioux City and Toledo. -
Rule Changes
Pitching slab was enlarged to 24 inches by 6 inches.
Bats were permitted to be 2 3/4 inches in diameter and not to exceed 42 inches.
Infield-fly rule was adopted.
A held foul tip was classified as a strike. -
Period: to
The "Dead-ball era"
At this time the games tended to be low scoring, dominated by such pitchers as Walter Johnson, Cy Young,etc. Baseballs costed three dollars apiece, a hefty sum in 1900, would be equal to $86 today; club owners were reluctant to spend money on new balls. By the end of a game, the ball would be in horrible condition.Balls were only replaced if they were hit into the crowd and lost. As a consequence, home runs were rare, singles, bunts, stolen bases, the hit-and-run play, dominated the strategies. -
Period: to
Unprecedented Rise in the Popularity of Baseball
An unprecedented rise in the popularity of baseball increase in attendance at games, resulting in many new stadium and expansion of existing ones. One of the existing stadiums was the infamous Polo Grounds which is know for its ridiculous dimensions of 279 to left field, 257 feet to right field and to 455 feet center field -
American League
Originally a minor league known as the Western League. Prior to the 1900 season, the league changed its name to the American League and moved several franchises to larger, strategic locations. Ban Johnson led the Western League into major league status and soon became the president of the newly renamed American League. In 1901 the American League declared its intent to operate as a major league. -
New York Yankees
The club began play in the AL in the 1901 season as the Baltimore Orioles (not to be confused with the modern Baltimore Orioles.) Frank Farrell and Bill Devery purchased the franchise and moved it to New York City, renaming the club the New York Highlanders.The Highlanders were officially renamed the "Yankees" in 1913. The New York Yankees are the most well know baseball team and you can see people wearing hats with their logo all over the world. The Yankees have the most world series at 27 -
National League, American League and the second version of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues signed a new National Agreement which achieved three things:
-It governed player contracts that set up mechanisms to end the cross-league raids on rosters and reinforced the power of the hated reserve clause that kept players virtual slaves to their baseball masters.
- It led to the playing of a "World Series"
- It established a system of control and dominance for the major leagues over the independents. Players developed in independent leagues would sign with the National or American leagues without any form of compensation to the club. -
First "World Series"
the playing of a "World Series" in 1903 between the two major league champions (National League and American League). The first World Series was won by Boston of the American League. -
Baseball At the Olympics
Olympic baseball first appeared at the 1904 St. Louis games. Since then baseball has been in and out of the Olympics with the most recent being the 2008 Beijing Olympics -
Babe Ruth's Career
Babe Ruth probably the most famous baseball player of all time played from 1914 to 1935.Babe Ruth helped bring an end the the "dead-ball era" with his amazing ability at the plate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkEX0eb2eBo -
Rule Changes
All freak deliveries, including the spitball, were outlawed.
The failure of a preceding runner to touch a base would not affect the status of a succeeding runner.
The batter was given credit for a home run in the last of the ninth inning if the winning run was on base when the ball was hit out of the field.
The number of runs batted in were to be included in the official score.
Frivolous ninth-inning uncontested steals in one-sided games were discarded. -
First Baseball Game in the Radio
The first baseball game ever broadcast on radio was a Pittsburgh Pirates versus Philadelphia Phillies game on August 5, 1921. -
First Baseball Game on TV
The first-ever televised baseball game was on May 17, 1939, between Princeton and Columbia; Princeton beat Columbia 2–1 at Columbia's Baker Field. The contest was aired on W2XBS, an experimental station in New York City which would ultimately become WNBC-TV. -
Period: to
Joe DiMaggio Hit Streak
Joe DiMaggio holds the Major League Baseball record with a hit streak of 56 consecutive games in 1941 which began on May 15 and ended July 17. DiMaggio hit .408 during his streak (91-for-223), with 15 home runs and 55 runs batted in. -
Jackie Robinson Brakes the Colour Barrier
Robinson broke the color barrier, which had been tacitly recognized for over 50 years, with his appearance for the National Leagues Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field. -
Larry Doby Brakes the Colour Barrier in the American League
Larry Doby was signed by the Cleveland Indians and became the first African American in the American League -
Period: to
MLB Moves West
The Major League Baseball relocations of 1950s–1960s is the move of several Major League Baseball franchises to the Western and Southern United States. Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and St. Louis were two-team towns, while New York City had three. This effectively had baseball confined to the Northeast and Midwest, with no teams located west of St. Louis or south of Washington, D.C. -
Pitcher Dominance
In 1968 Carl Yastrzemski won the American League batting title with an average of just .301, the lowest in history. That same year, Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McLain won 31 games – making him the last pitcher to win 30 games in a season. St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Bob Gibson achieved an equally remarkable feat by allowing an ERA of just 1.12. -
Rule Changes to Benefit Hitters
Major League Baseball implemented certain rules changes in 1969 to benefit the batters. The pitcher's mound was lowered, and the strike zone was reduced. -
Rule Changes
The pitcher's mound was dropped five inches.
The strike zone was shrunken to the area from the armpits to the top of the batter's knees.
The save rule was added to the official rules for the first time. -
Helmets Become Manditory
All major-league players were ordered to wear protective helmets -
Designated Hitter Rule
In 1973 the American League, which had been suffering from much lower attendance than the National League, made a move to increase scoring even further by initiating the designated hitter rule. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-PhyFUjbYk -
Period: to
"The Steroid Era"
"The steroids era" refers to a period of time in Major League Baseball when a number of players were believed to have used performance-enhancing drugs, resulting in increased offensive output throughout the game. -
MLB Bans Steroids
-
Official Merger of National League and American League
The leagues merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball in 2000. The organization also oversees Minor League Baseball, which comprises about 240 teams affiliated with the Major League clubs. -
Steroid Testing Begins
-
Red Sox End the Curse of the Bambino
The Boston Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 ending 86 year drought and the Curse of the Bambino .The Curse of the Bambino was a superstition evolving from the failure of the Boston Red Sox baseball team to win the World Series in the 86-year period from 1918 to 2004. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCBFjmtLgSI -
Barry Bonds Breaks the Home Run Record
Barry Bonds broke the home run record Hank Aaron's career home runs record with his 756th and currently holds the record with 762 Though his legacy is tainted by steroid use. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL3vNXIsEPM -
-
MLB gets Twitter
The MLB uses twitter and other social media as a way to advertise themselves and to announce news regarding the MLB -
MLB Network
The MLB Network allows people to watch any MLB games they want helping advertise the game to people anywhere. -
MLB Fan Cave
The MLB Fan Cave grew out of our desire to address three specific areas in which we saw opportunity for growth engaging with fans via social media, both at the league level and through players; reaching younger fans and converting casual baseball fans into more avid followers; and raising the profile of our players by showcasing their off-field personalities. On February 9, 2015, it was reported that the Fan Cave would cease existence, and the building would be used for other promotional events. -
Cubs Break Curse
The Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series ending an 108 year drought and breaking the curse of the Billy Goat. The Curse of the Billy Goat was a sports-related curse supposedly placed on the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball franchise in 1945 by Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis that lasted in a 71-year period from 1945 to 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOp8w2PgHlM
