c. 1845 While there are no restrictions on bat size or shape at the game’s inception, the ball is required to weigh three ounces. The pitching distance is to be forty-five feet.

1849 The New York Knickerbockers introduced the first uniforms, blue and white cricket outfits.

1854 The ball increases in weight to 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 ounces and is required to be 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 inches in diameter.

1859 The first limitation on bat size is introduced: bats are to be no more than 2 1/2 inches in diameter (previously a bat like that used in cricket with a 4-inch-wide flat face had been commonplace).

1860 Whitewash is used for the first time to mark the foul lines.

1863 All bats are required to be round and of wood, but the dimensions remain unchanged. Length is still not restricted.

1865 The pitcher’s box is introduced, replacing a twelve-foot line. The box is to be a three-by-twelve-foot space.

1866 Another change for the pitcher’s box: it is enlarged to a four-by-twelve-foot rectangle.

1868 The experimentation continues as the pitcher’s box shrinks to a four-by-six-foot box. The batter, too, faces a new restriction, as the bat finally has a length limit established: no more than forty-two inches long. The Cincinnati Red Stockings introduce knickerbocker trousers.

1869 The pitcher’s box changes again, this time to a six-foot square.

1872 The weight standards of the ball are refined (it is required to weigh not less than 5 or more than 5 1/4 ounces) and its circumference specified (not less than 9 or more than 9 1/4 inches).

1875 The glove (unpadded) is introduced, by Charles G. Waite.

1877 The bases must be canvas-covered. The required size of a base is fifteen inches square, which it is to this day. Home plate is relocated to what we now know as its final resting place, just within the diamond at the intersection of the first and third base lines.

1881 The pitchers are moved back to fifty feet from the plate.

1882 The three-foot base line is adopted.

1885 Home base specifications permit it to be made of marble or whitened rubber. The bat may have one flattened side. (This change lasts a year.)

1886 The pitcher’s box shrinks to four by seven feet. First and third bases are moved within the foul lines.

1887 Home plate now can be made only of rubber; it’s not yet the shape we recognize, but a twelve-inch square. Yet another new size is specified for the pitcher’s box: 4 by 5 1/2 feet.

1893 The pitcher’s plate (to be made of rubber) is introduced and the "box" abandoned; the rubber is twelve by four inches. Pitching distance, too, is changed, increased to the sixty foot, six inch standard it has remained.

1895 The pitcher’s rubber is enlarged to twenty-four by six inches, where it is to stay. Bat maximum diameter changes for the last time, increasing to 2 3/4 inches.

1900 The familiar five-sided, seventeen-inch-wide plate replaces the twelve-inch square.

1904 The height of the pitcher’s mound is limited to 15 inches above the base lines.

1910 The cork-center ball is adopted for regular use (it had been used in the previous year for occasional play).

1920 Enter the "lively ball." One explanation is a change in the yarn used. Australian yarn is put to use in this year, and it is said to be stronger than its American equivalent. Because the balls are wound tighter, their bounce and hardness are increased.

1926 The cushioned cork-center baseball is introduced.

1934 For the first time, both major leagues are required to adopt the same brand of baseball.

1950 The pitcher’s mound is required to be a standard height: fifteen inches above the level of the base lines.

1954 For the first time, the bat is allowed to be made of two or more pieces of wood laminated together.

1959 Minimum fence distances are established for new ballpark construction (325 feet down the lines and 400 feet in center field).

1962 Oversize gloves are banned for use by pitchers, infielders, and outfielders. Players are allowed to apply any grip-improving substance to their bats, though not for more than the first eighteen inches of its length beginning at the handle.

1968 The pitcher’s mound is lowered to ten inches.

1971 Protective helmets are required for batters.

1975 The baseball may be covered with cowhide; before this, only horsehide had been allowed. Cupped bats are allowed.

1988 Protective helmets are mandatory for catchers.

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