Many cultures have been culturally isolated from baseball, when in fact they probably had a similar game themselves. Most civilizations have had a stick and ball game, most notably Cricket. So, unsurprisingly Baseball can trace its origins back to other cultures. Many American and English children in the mid and early 1800s had been playing three games to which baseball is most similar, rounders, one o' cat and base.
The first recorded rules of Baseball were written 1845 in Manhattan. A group of young men led by Alexander Cartwright, calling themselves the 'Knickerbockers' wrote down the rules of a game that they were playing. These rules were the basis of baseball and many of the rules are still used. Cartwright truly was the father of baseball.
In the mid-1800s, this game, called 'townball' 'base' or 'baseball' became more and more popular. In 1857, a group of 25 Northeastern clubs sent delegates and standardized the rules. In 1858, they formed the first baseball league, the 'National Association of Base Ball Players'. The league started giving games to the public and charged an admission.
During the American Civil War, soldiers from the Northeast, where baseball was flourishing, spread the game all over the country. After the war ended, baseball had more than 100 clubs.
In 1869, the world's first professional baseball team formed. All previous players were amatuer and unpaid. The Cincinnati Red Stockings recruited the best players and no one beat the Red Stockings that year.
