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.

Alexander Cartwright was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938 in a “pioneers" category for the Veterans' Committee ballot.

While many attributed the invention of baseball to Abner Doubleday, the story is now considered a myth by sports historians.

Early years

Alexander Joy Cartwright was born on April 17, 1820 in the city of New York. He was the son of Alexander Joy Cartwright Sr., a merchant sea captain, and his wife Esther Burlock Cartwright. He was one of seven children.

Cartwright began work in 1836 as a clerk at the age of sixteen in Coit & Cochrane, a broker's office on Wall Street. He later earned his living as a clerk for Union Bank of New York. Banker's hours permitted bank employees the opportunity to spend more time outdoors before heading home by nightfall. Accordingly, it was common during the early part of the nineteenth century in New York to see men gathering in the street or vacant lots for a game of ball after their work was done for the day. One such vacant lot was on 27th Street and 4th Avenue (Madison Square at the time) and later at 34th Street and Lexington Avenue (Murray Hill).

Alex married Eliza Van Wie of Albany on June 2, 1842. Three children were born to them: DeWitt (May 3, 1843, in New York), Mary (June 1, 1845, in New York), and Catherine (or Kathleen) Lee—who was known as "Kate Lee" (October 5, 1849).

While working at the Knickerbockers fire station, Alexander became involved in playing town ball (an early version of baseball) on a vacant lot in Manhattan. In 1845, the vacant lot in Manhattan became unavailable for use. The group was forced to look for another location to play ball. They found a playing field, Elysian Field, across the Hudson River in Hoboken New Jersey that charged $75 a year to rent.

In order to pay the rental fees, Cartwright organized a ball club so that he could collect fees for the rental of Elysian Field. The club was named the 'Knickerbockers,' in honor of the fire station where Cartwright worked. The Knickerbockers club was organized on September 23, 1845.

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 formality of creating a club for the ball players called for a formal set of rules for each member to adhere to. Cartwright formalized a set of 20 rules for the Knickerbockers. The club rules he wrote included: making the distances between the bases equal; three strikes and a batter is out; three outs to an inning; the addition of an umpire; and the creation of fair and foul territory. These rules went on to become the backbone of modern day baseball.

It is likely that Cartwright picked some of his 20 rules based upon his previous experience in town ball play at Manhattan. The original rules of play at the vacant lot in Manhattan were not documented so it cannot be said which rules of the 20 were Cartwright's own invention. Most likely, Cartwright's rules are based upon the Manhattan rules that he twisted at his own personal discretion.

The formation of the Knickerbockers club across the Hudson River created a division in the group of Manhattan players. Several of the players refused to cross the river on a ferry to play ball because they did not like the distance away from home. Those players staying behind formed their own club, the 'New York Nine.'

The first baseball game between two different teams was played on June 19, 1846 at Elysian Field in Hoboken, New Jersey. The two teams, the 'Knickerbockers' and the 'New York Nine,' played with Cartwright's 20 rules. Cartwright’s team, the Knickerbockers, lost 23 to 1 to the New York Nine club in four innings. Some say that Cartwright's team lost because his best players did not want to make the trip across the river. Cartwright was the umpire during this game and fined one player 6 cents for cursing.

Over the next few years, the rules of baseball spread throughout the country. Baseball was becoming the preferred sport of American adults and was drawing spectators by the thousands. Cartwright's rules would soon become part of The National Association Baseball Players Rules in 1860. The National Association Baseball Players Rules slowly evolved into today's rules of baseball.

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

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