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Baseball's humble beginnings

Broadcast Date: July 17, 1964

Rounders, town ball, one old cat...there have been dozens of ball and stick games over the centuries. So how exactly did we end up with baseball? And how did baseball itself evolve from a polite game played by wealthy New York socialites into Major League Baseball with its 30 teams and 1,200 wealthy professional players? In this clip, CBC Radio's Miller Stewart follows the development of baseball in Canada and the United States from 1845 onwards.

Baseball's humble beginnings

• "Rounders" is an English game developed in the 1700s (the first published reference to it was in 1744.) It is similar to baseball and many experts believe modern baseball is derived from rounders. In rounders, a small hard ball is hit with a round wooden or metal bat and runners run around four bases or posts to score a "rounder." The game is still played in England and elsewhere.

• In parts of the United States the game was called "town ball," with rules resembling both modern baseball and cricket. The "giver" throws the ball over the right shoulder of the batter, who tries to hit it with a short bat (either round or flat.) The batter runs around three or more "corners" while fielders attempt to "burn" or "sting" the runner by throwing the ball at him or her.

• "One old cat," "two old cat," "striking out" and "feeder" are variants on town ball played when only three or four players are available.
• The first recorded game of baseball in its modern form is said to have taken place in Cooperstown, N.Y. in 1839. It was organized by a local businessman named Abner Doubleday. For this reason, Cooperstown is home to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

• Some experts believe the first documented baseball game actually took place in Beachville, Ont. on June 4, 1838, a year before Cooperstown. Players from Beachville took on neighbouring Zorra Township on a holiday commemorating the overthrow of the Rebellion of 1837 a year earlier. It was later documented in a letter by Dr. Adam E. Ford to Sporting Life magazine.
• The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is located in nearby St. Mary's, Ont.

• Several other towns, including Hoboken, N.J., also claim to be the birthplace of baseball.

Baseball's humble beginnings

Medium: Radio

Program: Over the Hill

Broadcast Date: July 17, 1964

Guest(s):

Reporter: Miller Stewart

Duration: 13:26

Last updated:
Oct. 27, 2003