Baseball has been played in the United States since the last decade of the 18th century (earliest mention found- 1791). No other sport evokes so much nostalgia among Americans than baseball. Let's have a look at the history of the sport.

History of baseball

The earliest record that could be of some help to establish the history of the game was found in 1791 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. An ordinance was passed in the year that banned playing of the game within a radius of 80 yards of the town meeting house. Besides this evidence, the origin of the sport could not be established. Some believed that the sport was derived from a game called
‚¬Rounders'played in England. The claim was not accepted by many US experts about the same including Albert Spalding. Spalding claimed that the sport was invented in the USA. A committee was appointed to find the actual origin of the game. The committee found that Civil War hero Abner Doubleday had invented the game. Another written proof of the game is also found in a Maryland newspaper. The report, published in 1823has the mention of the baseball, playedon the outskirts of New York Cityevery Saturday.

The New York Knickerbockers is known as the first organized baseball team. The club played their first game in 1845. The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was founded by 16 clubs of New York in 1857.

History of baseball uniforms

First uniform

The New York Knickerbockers, formed in 1845,was the first organized club in the history of the game. They also became the first team to play the game in an official uniform (uniform adopted on April 24, 1849). The uniform comprised of white flannel shirts, blue woolen pantaloons and a hat made of straw.

Introduction of knickers

The earlier versions of pants used by players were not very comfortable to wear. A significant change was made to the baseball uniform by introduction of knickers by the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1868. This new type of pants exposed red stockings of the players which added an aesthetic value to the attire.

Experiment with colors

In 1882 the National League laid down a set of rules that mandated players of all the teams playing for a certain position to dress in the same color and pattern of baseball pants and jerseys. The only uniform feature that differentiates players of one team from another was the stockings. Stockings worn by players of all the teams were distinct. This experiment was not received well by the fans. The uniform was discontinued midway.

Collarless jerseys

In the 19th century all teams wore jerseys with collars. In 1906, the New York Giants introduced collarless jerseys. Soon other teams copied the trend and by 1914 almost all teams stopped using full collar baseball jerseys.

Numbers on uniform

In 1907 Pennsylvanias Reading Red Roses was the first team to introduce numbers on jerseys. Players were numbers from 1 to 15 (number 13 was missed) as it management thought that there would be no takers for the number.

The above are the significant changes made to baseball uniform from time to time. More modifications were also done to uniform design and concept.