The Baseball History

Baseball of today just doesn’t quite compare to baseball of yesterday. In the old days, nobody had to worry about steroids ruining the legacies of the game’s greatest players. The players didn’t even think about taking drugs that would help their performance on the field. The game itself was also different for several reasons. The strike zones actually used to be larger than what they are today. The strike zone was made smaller because pitchers started to dominate the game. Baseball is a business, and Read the rest of this entry »

There are a lot of great “Firsts” that happened in baseball before any other sport. Even some of you super fans drunk on the offerings of direct tv nfl Sunday ticket have to admit that some pretty historical things happened in the world of baseball. However, few firsts are probably quite as big as the one Jackie Robinson made when he broke the barrier.

We are referring to the color barrier, to be precise.

It was in 1947, six days before the start of the season. The Dodgers called upon Jackie Robinson and the world was taken aback. Something like this had never happened before and people weren’t sure how to react. Was this some kind of joke?

The world would soon realize old Jackie was serious and even though his debut met with little success in the game, he soon struck back and turned heads everywhere in the world of baseball.

However, after having played 151 games for the Dodgers and achieving 175 hits (125 of which scored runs), it was time for old Jackie close the lid on his first season. And while the man may be gone today, he will never be forgotten as the first African-American to break the baseball color barrier.

The first instance of a baseball team wearing uniforms for a game came in 1849 when the New York Knickerbockers did so. The uniform consisted of pants, a belt and a shirt. Some teams started placing their team logos on their uniforms about 10 years later. About 10 years after that, the Cincinnati Red Stockings started wearing shorter pants, allowing their socks to show. Naturally, the socks were red.

The National League made an interesting move in 1881, telling its teams that each player had to wear a different shirt color. The color would indicate which position that Read the rest of this entry »

Baseball has been played in the United States for over 150 years. Mitts or gloves have been used to help players catch the ball since the 1870s.

The earliest mitts were nothing more than thin, fingerless gloves made out of heavy fabric. However, in the late 1800s, with the help of Arthur “Doc” Irwin, who had broken his thumb and pinky finger playing professional baseball, a glove maker in New Hampshire developed a glove with a small amount of Read the rest of this entry »

The baseball bat is an evolution in and of itself. First making its debut in the 1850s, players could play with any bat without any size or weight restrictions. As the sport took off though, limitations were put on the bat to ensure that all players had equal opportunities. In 1859 The Professional National Association of Baseball Players first voted that a bat that was 2.5 inches in diameter was sufficient in width, but no length restrictions were placed on the bats as of yet. As time progressed, the association Read the rest of this entry »

Baseball caps actually started out as straw hats. These were worn by the New York Knickerbockers of 1849. A few years later, the team switched to a wool cap with a visor. The Brooklyn Excelsiors of 1869 were the initial squad to use a cap with a rounded top. In their first season of 1901, the Detroit Tigers became the first club to have a logo on the cap. It was a tiger.

In the 1940s, the visor portion of the caps was made from more solid material than had previously been the case. Read the rest of this entry »

The sport of baseball dates to at least the 1700s and likely had its earliest origins in the United Kingdom and possibly even France. The first official baseball game played on United States soil took place in 1846 when the New York Nine defeated the New York Knickerbockers, 23-1, in Hoboken, N.J.

Professional baseball dates to the Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869. The first professional league was the National Association. It was formed in 1871, and five seasons were played before the league ceased to exist. At that time, the National League was formed. It started play in 1876 Read the rest of this entry »