Alexander Cartwright

Alexander Cartwright.

Alexander Cartwright II (April 17, 1820–July 12, 1892) was officially credited by the United States Congress on June 3, 1953, with inventing the modern game of baseball.

Cartwright likely played a key role in formalizing the first published rules of the game, including the concept of foul territory, the distance between bases, three-out innings, and the elimination of retiring baserunners by throwing batted baseballs at them.

Many attribute the invention to Abner Doubleday, a story considered a myth by sports historians. Cartwright was a bookseller in Manhattan, and a volunteer fireman. Cartwright founded the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (after the Knickerbocker Fire Engine Company) in 1842. They played a brand of stick-and-ball game called the town game. In 1845 Cartwright and a committee from his club drew up rules converting this playground game into a more elaborate and interesting sport to be played by adults. He and other firemen played on a field at 47th and 27th Streets. The rules of the modern game are based on their by-laws, and Cartwright is thought to be the first person to draw a diagram of a diamond shaped field.

The Knickerbockers participated in the first competitive game (as opposed to intramural) under these rules on June 19, 1846. The Knickerbockers lost 23–1 to the New York Nine.

Questions

New York City librarian Robert W. Henderson documented Cartwright's contributions to baseball in his 1947 book Bat, Ball, and Bishop, which Congress cited in recognizing Cartwright as the inventor of the modern game. Although there is no question that Cartwright was a prominent figure in the early development of baseball, some students of baseball history have suggested that Henderson and others embellished Cartwright's role. The primary complaint is that touting Cartwright as the "true" inventor of the modern game was an effort to find an alternative single individual to counter the clearly mythical "invention" of baseball by Abner Doubleday.

Some authors have also questioned the supposed "first game" under the new rules. The Knickerbockers' score-book shows games during 1845 also. Those who have studied the score-book have concluded that the differences in the games of 1845 and 1846, compared with the specifications of the Knickerbocker rules, are minimal, such as fielding teams of 7 players instead of 9.

Later years

In 1849, at the apex of the California gold rush, Alexander Cartwright headed west in search of fortune. Along the way to California, Cartwright stopped and taught the game of baseball to all interested. Upon reaching California, he became sickened with dysentery and decided that California was not for him.

He decided to move to Honolulu, Hawaii where he introduced the island to the sport of baseball. During his stay in Hawaii, Cartwright became a notable citizen. He founded the library and fire department. In Honolulu, there is a street named in his honor as well as a ballpark.

See also

• History of baseball
• New York Knickerbockers

External links

• Template:Bbhof
• BaseballLibrary - biography
• Open-Site - biography
• Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr.

Template:1938 Baseball HOF

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Alexander Cartwright  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Alexander Cartwright"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.