Alexander Cartwright

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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. 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. ^[1] Cartwright founded the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (after the Knickerbocker Fire Engine Company) in 1842. ^[2] 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. ^[3] 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.^[4]

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Alexander Cartwright in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii)

Alexander Cartwright settled on the Island of Maui in 1851 after debarking from the Peruvian bark Pacifico. He set up a baseball field on the island at Maliki Field. As advisor to King David Kalakua and Queen Emma the founder of baseball encouraged the growth of baseball on the islands until his death a year before the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893 by American heritage missionary and sugar plantation owners. (History of Hawaiian Sport)

[edit] See also

• History of baseball
• New York Knickerbockers

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Baseball Hall of Fame – Member biography
• BaseballLibrary - biography
• Open-Site - biography
• Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr.