Alexander Cartwright II
| Alexander Joy Cartwright | |
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Cartwright in 1855
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Born: Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr. April 17, 1820 New York City, US |
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Died: July 12, 1892 (aged 72) Honolulu, O'ahu, Kingdom of Hawai'i |
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| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Inducted | 1938 |
| Election Method | Centennial Committee |
Alexander "Alick" Joy Cartwright Jr. (April 17, 1820 – July 12, 1892) is referred to as a "father of baseball".
The rules of the modern game were thought to be based on the Knickerbocker Rules developed by Cartwright and a committee from his club, the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, in 1845, although this is disputed. With the myth of Abner Doubleday inventing baseball debunked, Cartwright was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a pioneering contributor 46 years after his death. Although it has been stated in secondary sources that Cartwright was officially declared the inventor of the modern game of baseball by the 83rd United States Congress on June 3, 1953, the Congressional Record, the House Journal, and the Senate Journal from June 3, 1953 did not mention Cartwright.
Cartwright was born in 1820 to Alexander Cartwright, Sr. (1784–1855), a merchant sea captain, and Esther Rebecca Burlock Cartwright (1792–1871). Alexander Jr. had six siblings. He first worked at the age of 16 in 1836 as a clerk for a Wall Street broker, later doing clerical work at the Union Bank of New York. After hours, he played bat-and-ball games in the streets of Manhattan with volunteer firefighters. Cartwright himself was a volunteer, first with Oceana Hose Company No. 36, and then Knickerbocker Engine Company No. 12. Cartwright's ancestor Edward Cartwright immigrated from Devonshire, England to New England around 1661. Cartwright married Eliza Van Wie, from Albany, on June 2, 1842.
A fire destroyed the Union Bank in 1845, forcing Cartwright to find other work. He became a bookseller with his brother, Alfred.
Cartwright led the establishment of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (after the Knickerbocker Fire Engine Company) in 1842, a breakaway group from the older Gotham Base Ball Club. The Gothams originally played a brand of bat-and-ball game often called "town ball" or "round ball," but in New York more usually "base ball," somewhat similar to but not identical to the English sport of rounders, on a field at 4th Avenue and 27th Streets. In 1837, Gotham William R. Wheaton drew up rules converting this playground game into a more elaborate and interesting sport to be played by adults.
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