There is evidence that people played games involving a stick and a ball since the early days of civilization. Ancient cultures in Persia, Egypt, and Greece played stick-and-ball games for recreation and as part of certain ceremonies. Games of this type had spread throughout Europe by the Middle Ages, and became popular in a variety of forms. Europeans brought stick-and-ball games to the American colonies as early as the 1600s. Through the 1700s, however, they were widely considered children’s games.

By the early 1800s, a variety of stick-and-ball games had become popular in North America. Most of these games originated in England. Many people in northeastern cities such as Boston, New York, and Philadelphia played cricket, a traditional game of English aristocrats. However, an English game called rounders, which was eventually played in rural and urban communities throughout North America, most resembled modern baseball.

Rounders called for a batter to strike a ball and run around bases without being put out. Balls that were caught on the fly, or in some cases after one bounce, were commonly outs. Rounders also involved the practice of plugging, in which fielders could put runners out by throwing the ball at them as they ran between bases. The rules of rounders varied widely from place to place, and people used various names to describe it, including town ball, one o’ cat, and, eventually, baseball.

By the 1830s baseball had become a common form of recreation throughout America. People in some communities formed clubs especially to play the game. But elements of rounders, such as plugging the runner, remained common, and baseball lacked official rules or formal organization.

The first organized baseball club was formed in 1842 by a group of young men in New York City. This group, led by Alexander Cartwright, called their club the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club. The Knickerbockers developed a set of 20 rules, first published in 1845, that became the foundation of modern baseball. The Knickerbocker rules called for nine-player teams and defined the playing field with a home plate and three additional bases set apart at specific distances. They abolished plugging and replaced it with the practice of tagging runners or forcing them out at a base.

The Knickerbockers also established foul lines, which became one of the most significant developments in baseball. In previous versions of the game, the ball could be struck in any direction. By drawing foul lines from home plate, the Knickerbockers added focus to the game. Perhaps more significantly, they created an area close to the action where spectators could gather and watch the game without interfering. There were few baseball spectators in the early days of the Knickerbockers. The creation of foul territory contributed to the popularity of the Knickerbocker style of play and to baseball as a sport.

On June 19, 1846, the Knickerbockers played in what is widely considered the first official modern baseball game. They met another organized baseball team called the New York Club in what is now Hoboken, New Jersey, and played a complete game according to the Knickerbocker rules. The Knickerbockers lost, 23-1.

The Knickerbockers style of play spread rapidly during the 1850s, when baseball clubs formed throughout New York City and adopted the new rules. By the late 1850s, the game’s popularity had spread beyond the city, and it became known as the New York Game.

The New York Game spread more rapidly during the Civil War, as thousands of Union soldiers from New York City introduced the game in places where they traveled. By the end of the war in 1865, the game had become the most popular variety of baseball throughout the country. Soon after, the name New York Game disappeared—it became simply baseball.

As baseball’s popularity grew, many people began to see its potential for financial profit. By the 1850s, landowners were regularly maintaining baseball parks to rent to baseball clubs. Baseball teams customarily collected donations from fans to cover costs. The first fully enclosed baseball park, the Union Grounds in Brooklyn, was completed in 1862. This style of park soon became popular because owners could sell food and drink to spectators without competition from street vendors.

The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), an organization formed in 1858, restricted members from taking payment for playing baseball. During the early 1860s, ballpark owners earned large profits while the amateur ball players provided free entertainment. Pressure from players eventually forced the NABBP to change its policy in 1868 and allow players to accept payment. This ruling marked the birth of professional baseball.

The first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, began play in 1869. They traveled the country in that year, playing before thousands of fans and winning 60 games without a loss. Soon baseball’s promoters began forming professional baseball clubs in cities across the northeastern and midwestern United States. By 1870 professional players out numbered amateurs in the NABBP and the remaining amateurs withdrew. In 1871 the organization became the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players.

The new National Association represented players from ten clubs. In effect, these clubs made up the first professional baseball league. They introduced the practice of league competition and concluded their regular season with a pennant race and championship. However, the National Association suffered from poor management and by 1876 it had folded completely.

In 1876 representatives of eight baseball clubs, led by Chicago White Stockings director William Hulbert, sought to replace the National Association with a more structured organization. They created the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, known as the National League, which consisted of clubs from Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; Cincinnati, Ohio; Hartford, Connecticut; Louisville, Kentucky; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; New York City; and St. Louis, Missouri. They adopted a constitution that regulated club activities, required players to honor their contracts, and banned gambling completely.

A rival league, the American Association, was founded in 1882. American Association clubs charged lower admission prices and, unlike National League teams, played on Sundays and allowed the sale of liquor. Tension between the two leagues increased as they competed for the best players. In 1883 the leagues formed an agreement that established exhibition games between the leagues’ best teams following the regular season. In addition, the American Association agreed to adopt the reserve clause, which required players to obtain permission from their club’s owner before joining another club.

Attendance at baseball games expanded during the late 1880s, as clubs built larger ballparks and the quality of play improved. The leagues added new rules, which included permitting the overhand pitch. Previously, pitchers were required to use an underhand or sidearm delivery. The use of baseball gloves gained general acceptance and new standards for the design of balls and bats were adopted. John Montgomery Ward, captain of the New York Giants, founded the first players’ union, the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players, in 1885.

The American Association folded after the 1891 season. Its four best teams joined the National League, which remained the only major league through the end of the 1800s. Public interest in baseball decreased during this period, and many clubs experienced financial difficulty.

Baseball entered a new era in 1901, however, when the American League opened its first season. It was founded by Ban Johnson, president of the Western League, a successful minor league organization that he renamed the American League in 1900. In 1903, the National League agreed to recognize the American League, and championship teams from each league met in the first World Series.

Major league baseball enjoyed widespread popularity during the early 1900s. Attendance at games swelled, and the World Series became one of the leading annual events in sports. Outstanding players such as CY Young, Christy Mathewson, and Ty Cobb emerged as national stars. Owners responded to the prosperity by building larger, more modern ballparks.

Baseball’s success also brought difficulties. Many players argued that their salaries were too low, and the players’ union tried unsuccessfully to change the reserve clause and other major league policies. But baseball faced its greatest challenge following the 1919 World Series, in which the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Chicago White Sox. The following year, seven Chicago players were banned from baseball for intentionally losing the series in exchange for bribes from professional gamblers. An eighth Chicago player was banned because he knew of the plan but did not report it. This scandal severely damaged baseball’s public image.

Baseball’s reputation recovered, however, under the leadership of its first commissioner, a federal judge named Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Several other factors also contributed to baseball’s renewed popularity during the 1920s. A ban on trick pitches such as spitballs and shineballs, and the development of the livelier cork-centered ball led to an increase in home-run hitting. Babe Ruth, who joined the New York Yankees in 1920, became one of the greatest home-run hitters of all time. Many hitters imitated Ruth’s style, and baseball developed into a higher scoring and—to many fans—more exciting game.

The growth of baseball continued into the 1930s, when radio broadcasts of games became common. The first major league night games were also held during the 1930s, enabling fans to attend games after work. In 1939, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was opened in Cooperstown, New York, to display baseball memorabilia and honor the game’s greatest players.