Contrary to the official myth about the origin of the sport, Alexander Cartwright (1820-1898) is the man who should be credited with doing the most to invent the modern game of baseball. In 1845, Cartwright laid out the key rules of the game, including the dimensions of the field. He was enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame even as baseball's establishment propagated a myth that Civil War General Abner Doubleday invented baseball.

In 1846, Cartwright and other members of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club played the first recognized baseball game in Hoboken, New Jersey, at a park called the Elysian Fields. Cartwright later traveled west across the United States, spreading the game as far as California and Hawaii. But during his lifetime he was never properly credited by organized baseball for his pioneering efforts.

From Rounders to Base Ball

Baseball, commonly called America's national pastime, was adapted from...