19th Century Baseball

One Stop Shopping for All Your 19th Century Baseball Knowledge Needs!

"The players may change, the stadiums may change, but on the field, the game of baseball never changes."

To whom can this quote be attributed? Well, technically, only to me, as I just made it up off the top of my head! However, change a word here and there, and the paraphrase can be credited to countless baseball fans who love baseball in great part because its the same game as the one they remember from their childhood.  A strike is still a strike, a stolen base is still a stolen base, a pair of spikes is still a pair of spikes.

Or is it?

The fact is, while the on-the-field modern game has changed relatively slowly, it is markedly different from the earliest forms of American baseball played in the mid and late 1800s.  Precursors like rounders and townball laid the groundwork for the modern game but included rules that ball fans of the 20th and 21st centuries would scarcely recognize.

Collage of modern day rule book describing the rules and regulations
of baseball's earliest days - 19 C. Baseball

One of the best resources on the web to learn more about the 19th century baseball is "19th C. Baseball".  The site includes a great amount of information about early teams, players, and rules, and sprinkles a wonderful collection of period photographs and images throughout the site.  You'll be sure to leave the site with a new appreciation for the origins of our national game.

Unidentified college baseball team photo circa 1878 - 19 C. Baseball

View the 19th Century Baseball website