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Charlton's Baseball Chronology - 1856
September
| September 15 |
The first reported game of Canadian baseball is played in London‚ Ontario‚ with the London Club defeating the Delaware club 34-33. |
| September 18 |
Dickey Pearce plays his first game with the Brooklyn Atlantics. He plays in CF but will become famous as the premier shortstop of the 1860s and the inventor of both the bunt and the fair-foul hit. |
October
| October 11 |
For a game between the Atlantics and Athletics in Brooklyn‚ scorecards are printed for the first time. The attendance was said to be 30‚000. |
November
| November 20 |
The end of the season finds the Enterprise club defeating the National club‚ 24-12. The record for 1856 lists 27 matches between the leading NY clubs. |
December
| December 5 |
The New York Mercury refers to base ball as "The National Pastime". |
| December 6 |
Porters Spirit of the Times reports‚ "The Knickerbocker-of all the clubs in existence‚ this is the oldest. . . . The principal players in the club‚ and who have usually composed their 'first nine'‚ we deem to be De Bost‚ who has never been surpassed as catcher‚ a powerful batter‚ though often put out from a tendency to raise the ball. Stevens‚ a pitcher‚ who sends the ball with exceeding velocity and he who strikes it fairly must be a fine batsman. It is questionable‚ however‚ whether his style of pitching is most successful‚ many believing a slow ball curving near the bat to be most effective." This is one of the earliest notes about the curve ball (from a letter in The Sporting News‚ May 14‚ 1901‚ by a Mr. W. M. Rankin‚ who came across the reference while researching sporting data for a history of Princeton College.) |
| December 13 |
The New York Clipper states that "the game of Base Ball is generally considered the National game amongst Americans." |
