Despite this current adversity, baseball will always occupy an important place in American culture. This column starts a three part look at the history of baseball.
Most cultures have some sort of stick and ball game, cricket being the most well-known.
While the exact origins of baseball are unknown, most historians agree that it is based on the English game of rounders. Throughout the early part of that century, small towns formed teams, and baseball clubs were formed in larger cities. In 1845, Alexander Cartwright wanted to formalize a list of rules by which all team could play. Much of that original code is still in place today. Although popular legend says that the game was invented by Abner Doubleday, baseball's true father was Cartwright.