BASEBALL' (named from the `bases': see below). An American field-game, which derives its origin from the old schoolboy game of 'round ers.' It has been known in various forms in the Eastern States for nearly a century; but it is only within the past forty years that it has come to be a recognized field game throughout the whole country. The honors of its place of birth arc divided. Philadelphia claims that her 'town ball' was practically 'baseball.' and that it was so played by her Olympic Club from 1833 to 1859. On the other hand. New York claims that her Washington Club, organized in 1843. was the first exponent of the actual game, while cer tainly the Knickerbocker Club of New York, which played, for convenience, on the Elysian Fields of Jersey City (where now Hoboken stands), was the first to establish a code of rules. Baseball, as a national game, really came into existence with the union of all the clubs of New York and vicinity into a 'National Asso ciation of Baseball Players' in 1858.
Professional Baseball.—This association re vised the playing rules at its annual conventions from 1858 to 1870, by which time it was found that the popularity of the game had developed, besides the original amateur class, a number of trained professionals. The organization of the first professional baseball nine (the Cincinnati Red Stockings), in 1868, was followed in 1871 by the formation of two national associations, the one governing the amateur clubs, and the other the professionals. In 1876 the 'National League of Professional Baseball Clubs' was organized, the original professional body of 1871 having become extinct. This new association, which is the present existing major league, made good progress in stamping out some of the abuses which, with professionaliam, had crept into the game, but new abuses were ever developing. By 1882 the time was ripe for the formation of a rival, and the 'American Association of Profes sional Clubs' was formed. The two organiza tions, instead of proving of benefit to the game, created new dangers and discords; so much so that in 1890 the dissatisfied from each combined to form the 'Players' League,' in the hope of get ting control of the game.
In the contest of interests which followed, both the Players' and the Association were dis banded, and the National League, under its present name of 'The National League and Amer ican Association of Professional Baseball Clubs,' was made the governing body, with 12 clubs (afterwards reduced to b). Various cities have been represented in this league, Boston and Chicago from the beginning. The champions have been: Chicago, 1876, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1885, 1886; Boston, 1877, 1878, 1883, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1897, 1898; Brooklyn, 1890, 1899, 1900; Provi deuce. 1879, 1884: Detroit, 1887: Baltimore, 1894, 1895, 1896; New York, 1888, 1889; Pitts burg, 11.101. By a national agreement made in 1887, the minor leagues—Eastern. New England, Interstate, American (formerly Western), At lantic, the various State *agues, the Interna tional, and Canadian—abide by the one profes sional code of rules.
The history of college baseball is not a long one. After some ten years of intermittent life among a few New England colleges, it assumed definite shape with the formation, in 1879, of the Intercollegiate Baseball Association by Harvard, Princeton, Brown, Amherst, and Dartmouth. Yale refused to join because professionalism was not barred, coming in the next year, however, when further restrictions were adopted. In 1887, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale withdrew, and formed, with Columbia, the Eastern College League; Columbia left it a year later. The original Intercollegiate Association underwent various changes by the withdrawal of Brown and Dartmouth, the entrance of Wesleyan, the en trance and withdrawal of Trinity, and now ex ists under the Dame of the Intercollegiate Asso ciation of the New England States, composed only of Amherst, Wesleyan, and Williams. Meanwhile, the Yale-Harvard-Princeton agree ment had been dissolved for trivial reasons, although their contests and comparative records, while not on a championship basis. are still watched with great interest. It is strange that in the national sport there should be no general intercollegiate association or code of playing rules; usually, though not without exception, the rulings of the professional league have been adopted.