Sports Chapter 4

American College Base Ball Association

Organization formed by American colleges to govern the rules and eligibility of players.

Reserve Clause

Allowed clubs to reserve the rights of players for their careers. It left players with very little power when negotiating contracts and controlling their futures

Playground Movement

Also designed to keep children out of trouble it began in Chicago in 1903 and was responsible for the jump of cities with supervised playgrounds from 41 to 504 in a little more than a decade

Batting Average

Also devised by Chadwick to compare the batting success of various players not only in one's own time but throughout history. The average is reached by dividing a player's hits by the number of his at-bats.

Barn Ball

An early incarnation of baseball that included bouncing a ball off the side of a barn and allowing another participant to hit it with a stick

Alexander Cartwright

Bank clerk and volunteer firefighter who helped form the Knickerbocker baseball club and devised the game's first rules.

Tom Brown's School Days

Book by Thomas Hughes that helped increase the popularity of cross-country and track and field with young adults.

Caledonian Clubs

Caledonia was the Roman name for Scotland and these clubs revolved around racing and track and field. They sprang up in America in the 1850s by Scottish immigrants and were responsible for setting up races all over the country

Paper Chases

Called "hare and hound" races in England they were essentially cross-country races in which torn up paper would mark the courses

Michael "King" Kelly

Colorful player who started his career in Chicago but was famously sold to Boston for $10,000 in 1887

Mills Commission

Committee that decided Abner Doubleday was the inventor of baseball based on the testimony of one man

National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs

Eight teams made up the original league and made sure none of the teams involved were owned by players. Cities in the league would have to have populations of at least 75,000 and have the approval of existing clubs to join.

Cross-Country

Eventually the torn up paper of the paper chases was replaced with a premarked course that would become known simply as cross-country races.

Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players

First ever sports labor union formed by John Montgomery Ward designed to protect the rights of players

James Gordon Bennett

First generation Scottish immigrant who inherited the New York Herald newspaper

Cincinnati Red Stockings

First recognized all-salary team in baseball. In their inaugural season of 1869 they won 57 while losing none and tying one.

National Association of Base Ball Players

Formed just before the civil war in 1858. It was the first organization that bound players together and codified rules that would be played by all.

Henry Chadwick

Former British cricket player who embraced the game of baseball and became a sportswriter for the New York Clipper writing about the game. He was credited with inventing the batting average and box score and eventually became known as "Father Baseball"

Abraham Mills

Former National League president who served as chairman of the Mills Commission which was assigned to prove the origins of baseball.

Harry Wright

Former cricket player who switched to baseball and was one of the best of the early players. he was the player-manager of the Cincinnati Red Stockings

Albert Spaulding

Former star pitcher for the Chicago White Stockings who would go on to become a sporting goods magnate. He wanted to prove baseball was a uniquely American sport.

Shinny

Game played by native Americans that resembled the game of baseball.

Moses Fleetwood Walker

Known as the last black player to compete in the major leagues before the color barrier set in during the late 1880s

New York Clipper

Newspaper that covered all sports in the New York area but it especially is credited with promoting baseball in its formative years.

One Old Cat

Next incarnation of the game that replaced the barn with a base

Beer and Whiskey League

Officially called the American Association, it was an early rival to the National League. It received its nickname by serving alcohol at games (something the National League did not do)

Town Ball

Once three more bases were added the game was first called Four Old Cat and eventually this. It most closely resembles the modern game of baseball and the name derived from towns fielding teams to play the game.

Cap Anson

One of the earliest superstar players of baseball. He played first base for the White Sox for 22 seasons finishing with a career average of .333 and 3,418 hits

Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA)

One place the Strenuous Life could be practiced was at the YMCA. Initially, when it was founded in England in 1851, it focused more on the Christian part of its name but by the end of the 19th century it had become synonymous with exercise and sports.

Public Schools Athletic League (PSAL)

Organized in New York City by Luther Gulick in the early 20th century to put on competitions between schools and also to keep youth (especially immigrant youth) out of trouble.

Gentlemen's Agreement

Owners agreed (though never in writing) to not allow African Americans to play on their teams.

The Strenuous Life

Phrase coined by Theodore Roosevelt who believed the absence of a recent war had led to feminization of the late 19th century male. The Strenuous Life was designed to toughen up the American male through vigorous exercise and sports.

William Hulbert

President of the Chicago White Stockings who formed the National League in 1876

Knickerbocker Baseball Club

Recognized by many as the earliest organized baseball club. The club was reserved for gentlemen and was more interested in the social aspect of the club than the competitiveness of the games. They played the first organized games in Hoboken, NJ, at the Elysian Fields in 1845.

First-ever International Collegiate Sporting Event

Rowing match between Oxford and Harvard held on the Thames River in London in 1869.

Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletics of America (IC4A)

Stepped in to oversee the running of track and field events for American colleges.

National Association of Professional Base Ball Players

The first ever professional league formed in 1871. It signified the death of the old fraternity.

Luther Halsey Gulick

Was an instructor at the YMCA's headquarters in Springfield, MA, and believed in the importance of balancing physical and mental conditioning.

Box Score

Way of showing how teams scored, first used in cricket but altered by Henry Chadwick to be used for baseball.

Collegiate Way

it was the belief that students would learn better in supervised environments far away from the city and evil temptations