Discover how the baseball box score transformed sports journalism, making games easy to compare, follow, and turn into a national obsession.
Early History of Baseball / Professionalization and Business
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Baseball Salaries in the 1870s: What the First Professionals Were Paid
Baseball salaries in the 1870s show when the game became a business—see what the first pros earned and how pay changed teams, players, and winning.
Early History of Baseball / Professionalization and Business
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Baseball Road Trips in the 1860s: Travel, Scheduling, and the Growth of the Game
Explore how Baseball road trips in the 1860s used rails, riverboats, and gate receipts to turn a local game into a thriving regional sport.
Early History of Baseball / Early Players and Innovators
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Lip Pike: The 19th-Century Slugger Who Became One of Baseball’s First Jewish Stars
Discover how Lip Pike became a 19th-century baseball slugger and one of the first Jewish stars, shaping pro baseball and Jewish visibility.
Early History of Baseball / Early Players and Innovators
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William Hulbert: The Executive Who Built the National League
Discover how William Hulbert built the National League, turning chaotic early baseball into a stable, credible sport with lasting national power.
Early History of Baseball / Early Players and Innovators
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Jim Creighton: The Pitching Pioneer Who Changed Early Baseball
Discover how Jim Creighton revolutionized pitching, shaped early baseball, and changed the game forever as its first true strategic star.
Early History of Baseball / Early Players and Innovators
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Henry Chadwick: How the Father of Baseball Writing Shaped the Sport
Discover how Henry Chadwick, the father of baseball writing, created the stats, rules, and language that helped baseball become America’s game.
Early History of Baseball / Early Players and Innovators
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Harry Wright: The Organizer Who Helped Turn Baseball Professional
Discover how Harry Wright shaped the early history of baseball by organizing talent, enforcing discipline, and helping make the sport professional.
Early History of Baseball / Early Players and Innovators
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George Wright: Baseball’s First Great Shortstop and a Star of the 1869 Red Stockings
Discover how George Wright became baseball’s first great shortstop, starring for the 1869 Red Stockings and helping shape pro baseball.
Early History of Baseball / Early Players and Innovators
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Dickey Pearce and the Origins of the Modern Shortstop
Discover how Dickey Pearce and the origins of the modern shortstop changed baseball defense, positioning, and infield strategy forever.
Early History of Baseball / Early Players and Innovators
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Candy Cummings and the Curveball: Separating Baseball Legend from Evidence
Did Candy Cummings invent the curveball? Explore the evidence, myths, and what baseball history really shows about one of the game’s biggest legends.
Early History of Baseball / Early Players and Innovators
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Albert Spalding: From Star Pitcher to Baseball Business Pioneer
Discover how Albert Spalding evolved from star pitcher to baseball business pioneer, helping transform America’s pastime into a national force.
Bat-and-Ball Origins / Early History of Baseball
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Wicket and Baseball: How an Early American Bat-and-Ball Game Compared
See how wicket and baseball differed in early America and what this forgotten bat-and-ball game reveals about the roots of U.S. sport.
Bat-and-Ball Origins / Early History of Baseball
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What Was Town Ball? The American Bat-and-Ball Game Before Modern Baseball
Discover what was town ball and how this early American bat-and-ball game shaped modern baseball before rules, positions, and gear were standardized.
Bat-and-Ball Origins / Early History of Baseball
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The Mills Commission: How Cooperstown Became Linked to Baseball Origins
Explore how the Mills Commission tied Cooperstown to baseball origins—and why the Doubleday myth shaped museums, tourism, and memory.