History of baseball

The question of the origins of baseball has been the subject of debate and controversy for more than a century.Baseball and the other modern bat, ball and running games, cricket and rounders, were developed from folk games in early Britain and Continental Europe (such as France and Germany). Early forms of baseball had a number of names, including "base ball", "goal ball", "round ball", "fetch-catch", "stool ball", and, simply, "base". In at least one version of the game, teams pitched to themselves, runners went around the bases in the opposite direction of today's game, and players could be put out by being hit with the ball. Just as now, in some versions a batter was called out after three strikes.

A number of folk games in early Britain and Continental Europe had characteristics that can be seen in modern baseball (as well as in cricket and rounders). Many of these early games involved a ball that was thrown at a target while an opposing player defended the target by attempting to hit the ball away. If the batter successfully hit the ball, he could attempt to score points by running between bases while fielders would attempt to catch or retrieve the ball and put the runner out in some way.

Folk games differed over time, place, and culture, resulting in similar yet variant forms. These games had no standard documented rules and instead were played according to historical customs. These games tended to be played by working classes, peasants, and children. Early folk games were often associated with earlier religious ceremonies and worship rituals. These games became discouraged and even altogether prohibited by subsequent governing states and religious authorities.

Aside from obvious differences in terminology, the games differed in the equipment used (ball, bat, club, target, etc., which were usually just whatever was available), the way in which the ball is thrown, the method of scoring, the method of making outs, the layout of the field and the number of players involved.

In an 1801 book entitled The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England, Joseph Strutt claimed to have shown that baseball-like games can be traced back to the 14th century, in particular an English game called stoolball. The earliest known reference to stoolball is in a 1330 poem by William Pagula, who recommended to priests that the game be forbidden within churchyards.

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