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The first American account of rounders was in The Book of Sports (1834) by Robin Carver, who credits The Boy’s Own Book as his source but calls the game base, or goal, ball.
The first officially recorded baseball game in North America was played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada, on June 4, 1838.
In 1845, according to baseball legend, Alexander J. Cartwright, an amateur player in New York City, organized the New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, which formulated a set of rules for baseball, many of which still remain.
The first official game played under these rules was on June 19th, 1846 in Hoboken, New Jersey, between the Knickerbockers and the New York Base Ball Club (with the Knickerbockers losing 23-1).
In 1847, American soldiers played what may have been the first baseball game in Mexico at Parque Los Berros in Xalapa, Veracruz.
The National Pastime The first reference to baseball as "the National Pastime" came from the New York Mercury newspaper in 1856, though the title then was a bit premature.
In 1859 Washington, D.C., organized a club, and in the next year clubs were formed in Lowell, Massachusetts; Allegheny, Pennsylvania; and Hartford, Connecticut.
Professionalism began to appear about 1865–66 as some teams hired skilled players on a per game basis.
The first publicly announced all-professional team, the Cincinnati (Ohio) Red Stockings, was organized in 1869; it toured that year, playing from New York City to San Francisco and winning some 56 games and tying 1.
First Pro Team Cincinnati Red Stockings The country's first "all-professional" baseball team emerged in 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, financed by a group of Ohio investors.
The desire of many other cities and teams to win such acclaim guaranteed the professionalization of the game, though many players remained nominally in the amateur National Association of Base Ball Players until the amateurs withdrew in 1871.
The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was formed in 1871.
The more formally structured National League was founded in 1876.
Entrepreneurs enclosed formerly open fields and sold tickets to games, teams began acquiring players from distant regions to boost their chances, and the focus of the sport shifted from healthful recreation to winning at all costs. It was in the midst of these developments that the first permanent major league — the National League — was born in 1876.
One of the first documented cases of gambling in the game occurred only a year later, when, in 1877, four members of the Louisville Grays were found to have thrown games on purpose, paid by gamblers to do so.
The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in Cuba, which maintains a rich baseball tradition.
On opening day, April 15, Robinson officially broke the color barrier in baseball, becoming the second black player ever to play in the majors - Moses Fleetwood Walker had made a short appearance for Toledo of the American Association in 1884.
A century later, Jackie Robinson became the first since 1884 in the big leagues.
In 1887, softball, under the name of indoor baseball or indoor-outdoor, was invented as a winter version of the parent game.
The English football club, Aston Villa, were the first British baseball champions winning the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain.
The National League's first successful counterpart, the American League, which evolved from the minor Western League, was established in 1893, and virtually all of the modern baseball rules were in place by then.
The 1899 Spiders had the misfortune of being owned by Frank DeHaas Robison, who, after purchasing the St Louis Browns, out of spite transferred the best Spiders to his new team.
In 1900, Byron "Ban" Johnson created the American League out of four teams, picking up unemployed ballplayers and raiding National League rosters.
1901: Cleveland begins play in the American League.
The World Series, inaugurated in 1903 and pitting the champions of the American and National Leagues in a postseason play-off, quickly took its place alongside the Fourth of July and Christmas as one of the most popular annual rites.
In 1903, a National Agreement was set up, creating a National Baseball Commission - made up of the president of each league and a permanent chairman - that would govern the game . Major League Baseball was born.
The National Agreement of 1903 formalized relations both between the two major leagues and between them and the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, representing most of the country's minor professional leagues.
Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner The 1909 World Series between Pittsburgh and Detroit was, at the time, thought by many to settle the argument of greatest ballplayer, a contest between two ballplayers named Tyrus Cobb and John Peter Wagner, known today as Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner.
The series was, said Everybody’s Magazine in 1911, “the very quintessence and consummation of the Most Perfect Thing in America.” Each fall it absorbed the entire nation.
Fraternity of Professional Base Ball Players After the 1912 season, a group of ballplayers, including some of the game's biggest stars like Cobb and Walter Johnson (a pitcher for the Washington Senators), formed the Fraternity of Professional Base Ball Players.
The Dominican Republic held its first islandwide championship tournament in 1912.
Babe Ruth George Herman Ruth began his career in 1914 as a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.
In 1916 when Somers was in danger of losing the Indians to the bank, American League President Ban Johnson and a few of Somers' friends met at a Chicago bar to discuss the situation.
The Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series led to the formation of the office of the Commissioner of Baseball.
1920: Indians win first World Series.
When the 1920 season began, other teams began to get closer and closer to gamblers, with widespread rumors of thrown games by players on at least six teams.
First Fatality 1920 saw the game's first fatality; Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indians was hit in the head by a pitch, and died the next day.
Babe Ruth became a casualty of the fire sale in 1920, selling for $120,000, almost $1.3 million today.
In 1920, his first season with the Yankees, Ruth hit 54 home runs, more than all but one team in the entire league.
The first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, was elected in 1920.
Businessman and president of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, Alva Bradley became the front man for a group of investors that bought the team in 1928.
That year also saw the founding of the Negro National League; the first significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931.
A new Negro National League was organized in 1933; four years later, it was joined by the Negro American League.
National Baseball Hall of Fame Around the same time, in 1936, baseball (and notably National League president Ford Frick) set about establishing a National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.
The first elections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame took place in 1936.
In 1939, Little League Baseball was founded in Pennsylvania.
He changed managers so often that Cleveland became known as 'the Graveyard of Managers.' Only once under Bradley's ownership, in 1940, did the Indians seriously threaten to win the American League.
Following the 1941 season, the Indians were once again in need of a new manager.
The 'Boy Manager' took over the team in 1942 and wasted no time in showing that he had a lot to learn.
The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white-controlled professional ball occurred in 1945: Jackie Robinson was signed by the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal.
1946: Franchise sold to Bill Veeck, Jr.
Jackie Robinson On April 9, 1947, after spending a year on Brooklyn's minor league squad, the Montreal Royals, Jackie Robinson signed a contract to play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African-American player in the modern major leagues.
Although the Indians would remain one of the top teams in the American League for the next several seasons, 1948 would prove to be the pinnacle of achievement for the Cleveland Indians in the twentieth century.
1948: Indians win second World Series.
Other European countries have seen professional leagues; the most successful, other than the Dutch league, is the Italian league, founded in 1948.
After the 1949 season Veeck was sued for divorce by his wife and was forced to sell the team to pay for the settlement.
One of the years when two New York teams played in the series, 1951, was more famous for its National League championship play-off series.
In 1951, two Chicago White Sox, Venezuelan-born Chico Carrasquel and black Cuban-born Minnie Miñoso, became the first Hispanic All-Stars.
The Confédération Européene de Baseball (European Baseball Confederation), founded in 1953, organizes a number of competitions between clubs from different countries.
After having provided more than 600 women an opportunity to play baseball and to entertain several million fans, the league folded in 1954.
The team advanced to its first World Series since 1954, but lost to the Atlanta Braves.
During the World Series in 1961, Whitey Ford of the Yankees threw 33 2/3 scoreless innings in a row, eclipsing the Babe's mark.
The Washington Senators moved to Minnesota and became the Twins in 1961.
Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, respectively of the Chicago Cubs and St Louis Cardinals, spent the year engaged in a home run race seen only once before, in 1961 between Maris and Mantle.
In 1971, the Pittsburgh Pirates fielded MLB's first all-Black lineup, and a little more than three years later, Frank Robinson became the majors’ first African-American manager.
1972 Players Strike Still, the players had had enough, and in 1972, every MLB player went on strike, the first players strike in sports history.
During these years, the Indians could boast of one achievement, at least: in 1974 it became the first major league team to hire an African-American manager, Frank Robinson.
On Opening Day 1974, playing in Cincinnati, Aaron hit the record-tying home run in his first at-bat of the season.
Hank Aaron Beats Babe Ruths Record As the 1974 season began, Hank was one home run shy of tying Babe Ruth's career home run record.
Then came the 1975 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox.
In 1975, the union's power—and players' salaries—began to increase greatly when the reserve clause was effectively struck down, leading to the free agency system.
His Yankees won the AL in 1976 and the World Series in '77 and '78.
In 1977, the expansion Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League.
Pete Rose Record With two championships under his belt (winning again with Philadelphia in 1980), Pete Rose could easily have retired after a monumental 17-year career.
A New Beginning in 1986
1986: Indians sold to Richard Jacobs.
With the next ten years, every ballclub in the nation would have lights (with the exception of the Chicago Cubs, who wouldn't install lights in Wrigley Field until 1988). Additionally, McPhail started having games broadcast live on the radio.
The player's union, now headed by Donald Fehr, went on strike in August of 1994, causing the cancellation of the rest of that season, and, for the first time in history, the World Series.
Baseball Factory was founded in 1994 by CEO Steve Sclafani to provide a service that would advise and educate players on the college recruiting process.
In 1994 the Public Broadcasting System released Ken Burns’s nostalgic Baseball, arguably the most monumental historical television documentary ever made.
Since moving into a new stadium, Jacobs Field, in 1994, the Indians have become one the most successful teams in baseball, and boast a record for consecutive regular-season sellouts.
1994: Jacobs Field opens for play.
The two sides still couldn't agree when the 1995 season began, but a judge issues an injunction, putting the players back on the field under the old contract.
After play resumed in 1995, non-division-winning wild card teams became a permanent fixture of the post-season.
He was named the Most Valuable Player in the American League as he led the Indians to their first World Series title in 28 years. It was a magical year for the team, as it drew more than 2.6 million fans, a Cleveland record that would not be broken until 1995.
The collective bargaining agreement finally went into place in 1997, putting in place revenue sharing and a luxury tax, both of which were intended to curtail runaway spending by teams, as well as lessen the gap between the highest spending and lowest spending teams.
The Games highest team salary in 1997 belonged to the New York Yankees, with a total number of $73.4 million spent on its players.
Regular-season interleague play was introduced in 1997 and the second-highest attendance mark for a full season was set.
Broadcast revenues for 1998 were only $19 million, compared to the Yankees' $50 million.
After Jacobs announced in May 1999 that he intended to sell the team, the stock rose to a level above $20.
In November 1999 the club announced that the team had been sold for $323 million to Ohio lawyer Lawrence J. Dolan.
The sale was approved in January 2000 by Major League Baseball.
On February 15, 2000, Dolan and family trusts assumed ownership of the team, delisted it from the NASDAQ, and took the company private once again.
2000: Indians sold to Lawrence J. Dolan.
In 2000, the National and American Leagues were dissolved as legal entities.
In 2001, Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season.
As of 2004, these showcases produced more than 80 Major League players and more than 400 College World Series participants.
Team One Baseball In 2004, Baseball Factory acquired Team One Baseball, a company renowned for organizing elite showcase events across the country.
In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the Olympic Games.
Acquiring Team OneBaseball Factory and the National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF) exercise a two-year option to extend their exclusive partnership through 2005.
However, with the release of the 2005 book Juiced by former major leaguer Jose Canseco.
The inaugural Classic, held in March 2006, was the first tournament involving national teams to feature a significant number of MLB participants.
Ten years later, in 2007, the Yankees still had the highest total salary, now at $189 million dollars, and the lowest salary belonging to the Tampa Bay Rays, with a total salary of $24 million.
In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing Hank Aaron, as total major league and minor league attendance both reached all-time highs.
21 first round draft picks from the 2008 MLB First Year Player Draft were involved with Baseball Factory, from scouting to player development to showcasing.
Baseball Factory alumni take home the bronze medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Baseball University is sponsored by Baseball America and endorsed by the NABF. Baseball Factory and Baseball Express renew their partnership for an additional two years, extending the relationship through 2008.
Baseball Factory alumni represent four countries at the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Since 2009, Baseball Factory has served as the Official Player Development Partner of Little League Baseball.
100+ scouts and college coaches attend the 2010 Under Armour All-America Game, powered by Baseball Factory.
A total of 40 Baseball Factory and Team One alumni represent the eight MLB teams in the 2010 postseason.
349 Baseball Factory alumni are selected in the 2011 Draft, including nine of the top picks inside the Top 15.
For the first time in Little League Baseball® history, players are filmed participating in pre-event workouts during the 2011 Little League Baseball® World Series.
The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after its 2011 edition in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic.
The 2013 Red Sox proved "Boston Strong" with a World Series win in the shadow of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Factory players accounted for 25% of the total number of players selected in the 2013 Draft.
46 Baseball Factory alumni, including four players from the World Champion Boston Red Sox, represent Major League Baseball in the 2013 postseason.
324 Baseball Factory alumni are selected in the 2014 MLB Draft, including 20 in the first round, highlighted by Brady Aiken and Tyler Kolek going #1 and #2 respectively.
74 former Baseball Factory players make the trip to Omaha for the 2014 College World Series, including 16 players from Vanderbilt University who won their first National Championship.
90 former Baseball Factory players participate with their team at the 2015 College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
13 Baseball Factory alumni are selected to the 2015 All-Star Game, including Bryce Harper, Zack Greinke and Mark Teixeira.
Former Baseball Factory coach and current assistant coach for Coastal Carolina, Matt Schilling wins College World Series Championship during the 2016 Men’s College World Series Explore 17
As the region crawled back from the destruction of Hurricane Harvey, the 2017 Houston Astros claimed their first-ever World Series championship.
Baseball Factory and the Pittsburgh Pirates extend their partnership in Bradenton, FL through 2017, providing an outstanding experience for top baseball talent from all over the country.
Overall, 372 former Baseball Factory players are selected in the 2017 Draft with 46 selected on the first day.
2022 Draft Preview with first three rounds' history and previous top picks.
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Baseball competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 1925 | $9.5M | 291 | - |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 1960 | $26.1M | 567 | 34 |
| Phoenix Mercury | 1997 | $18.0M | 350 | 1 |
| IHSAA | 1903 | $11.6M | 20 | - |
| Rochester Youth Soccer League | 1979 | $5.0M | 9 | - |
| Maryland State Youth Soccer Association | 1976 | $5.0M | 49 | 3 |
| Manhattan Soccer Club | 2008 | $5.0M | 125 | - |
| Carolina Rapids Soccer | 1991 | $2.5M | 19 | - |
| Palo Alto Soccer Club | 1977 | $5.0M | 30 | - |
| Carolina Elite Soccer Academy | 2004 | $550,000 | 5 | - |
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