The Sport Of Baseball In The Late 19th Century

Baseball today, as a sport, is vastly different than it was in the late 19th century. Everything from the rules, leagues and even what days games could be played. Competition helped baseball make the shift from an amateur event, to a professional game. Baseball underwent drastic changes in the late 19th century while dealing with gambling, and anything to do with money. Money, it seemed, corrupted the sport of baseball. The development of baseball from an amateur to a professional sport was shaped by the corruption because of the money. The rising middle class wanted to distinguish themselves from the lower class. Therefore, Professional leagues started emerging. These conflicts and events is what shaped baseball into what it is today. Before
The National Association of Base Ball Players eventually recognized that were two classes of baseball player, amateurs and professionals (Thorn 142). The created a separation in the sport and player fell of their designated side of the line. The first professional club was the Cincinnati Red Stockings. Harry Wright established the club in 1869 (Thorn 143). There were no other professional teams to play so they ended up playing amateur teams and ended up going 57-0. This showed the divide between amateurs versus professionals as well as division between classes. According to George A. Wiltsee, “Professional ballplayers were under a social ban, and the amateurs were not supposed to associate with them or even recognize them off the field” (Thorn 144). There was such a large divide between the two classes of players during this time. The Red Stocking eventually lost to the Brooklyn Atlantics, which lead to the club’s collapse. Once the team lost, people lost interest because they were no longer undefeated. Therefore, the team relocated to Boston and became the Boston Red Sox we know today. The NABBP had its downsides. It was a loosely held league and struggled financially. That is where the formation of the national league comes into play. Formed by William Hulburt, the National League was a more constructed league. The national league prohibited black baseball players and this created a separation. They had to play in leagues other than the National League, once again creating a divide. Many talented African-American ballplayers tried to play in the National League, but had no success. Before the National League, white and African-Americans played with one another more freely then after the league was established. In 1869, there was an interracial contest between The Olympics of Philadelphia and the Pythians, who were led by Octavius V. Catto