The origin of baseball

The game of playing ball with a stick is reflected in the cultural relics and images of ancient China, Greece, Egypt and Rome. It is generally believed that baseball originated from "rounders" in England. According to historical records, this movement originated in France and Spain in the mid-12th century. As a custom at that time, during the Easter celebration, everyone flocked to the street and happily each held a stick and hit a ball. The game spread to England and developed into "bench ball." Its form was similar to today's cricket, and its name came from the milkmaid's bench used in the game. Over a period of time, the number of small benches increased from one to four, and offense and defense also took turns at each "base". After gradual development and evolution, it was called "rounders baseball" and became a ball game popular in the UK and loved by teenagers.

The earliest information about this sport is a print published in the "Pocket Album" published hundreds of years later in 1744. The revised print shows a scene of children playing baseball. The book also mentions "rounders baseball." The early British immigrants who settled in the Americas also brought rounders, cricket and equipment to the Americas.

About the early 18th century, players abandoned the old-fashioned bats and balls and buried wooden stakes in the ground as "bases." The gameplay is a combination of rounders and cricket, with new tricks devised by the players. This primitive baseball was popular in the New England region of colonial America at the time, but the fields varied in shape and size. There are also many names, such as "Town Ball", "One Old Cat", "Massachusetts Game", "Goal ball", also known as "baseball" ( Base ball). This also sparked a debate about whether baseball originated in Britain or the United States. In 1905, the United States established the Baseball Origin Investigation Committee to investigate this issue and concluded that baseball was invented by American Abner Debordi in Cooperstown, New York in 1839 (strictly speaking) , should be the invention of modern baseball). This conclusion has been generally accepted. In 1845, the world's first baseball club was established in New York, and Alexander Cartwright determined the specifications of the official playing field and formulated detailed competition rules. The first official game according to the established rules was on June 19, 1846, when the New York Baseball Club invited the New York 9ers to be held in Elisian, New Jersey. The baseball game record system was invented by Henry Chedwick, and the fan-shaped baseball field was designed by Alexander Carter. In 1869, the United States established the world's first professional baseball team. Baseball game apparel is designed by the New York Baseball Club. In 1910, baseball was approved as the national sport of the United States by President Taft. Baseball was listed as a performance event in the 3rd, 5th, and 11th Olympic Games. It was only listed as an Olympic event in 1992. However, on July 8, 2005, the International Olympic Committee voted at its 117th Session in Singapore to exclude baseball and softball from the 2012 Olympic Games.