1859 college baseball season

The 1859 college baseball season was the first season of intercollegiate baseball in the United States. The competing systems of rules known as Massachusetts Rules and Knickerbocker Rules were both used in different parts of the country. The season consisted of only four teams and two games, with each game featuring one of the competing systems of rules. No champion for college baseball was determined until 1893, and it would not be until 1947 that the College World Series began.[1][2]

1859 college baseball season
DurationJuly 1 – November 3, 1859
Number of games2
Number of teams4
Seasons

Programs

While many institutions had baseball teams, only three colleges fielded intercollegiate teams in 1860, with one game involving a preparatory school. The collegiate teams were:

First game

The first game between teams composed completely of players enrolled at separate colleges was held on July 1, 1859, between Amherst College and Williams in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The game was held using Massachusetts rules, and Amherst won 73–32. The game was loosely similar to modern baseball, with no foul territory, no called strikes, and only one out per inning. Despite the score, the game took just three and a half hours to play.[1][2][3][4][5]

Second game

The first game to be held using Knickerbocker Rules, largely used today, was held on November 3, 1859, between the St. John's College Fordham Rose Hill Baseball Club (known today as Fordham University) and St. Francis Xavier. St. John's won 33–11.[1][2][6][7]

References
  1. Daniel Wilco (July 1, 2020). "The story of the first-ever college baseball game, in 1859". NCAA. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  2. "The First Intercollegiate Ball Game, 1859". MLB Blogs. December 4, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  3. "150th anniversary of 1st college baseball game -- Williams vs. Amherst to air LIVE on ESPN360 from Pittsfield's Wahconah Park and on tape delay on ESPN U May 4, 6 and 13". Williams College. April 7, 2009. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  4. Michael Beschloss (September 26, 2014). "The Longest Game: Williams vs. Amherst". The New York Times. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  5. Jim Overmeyer. "July 1, 1859: Baseball goes to college". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
  6. Jack Curry (April 6, 2009). "For 150 Years, Fordham Baseball's Tradition of Winning". The New York Times. p. D7. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  7. Stephen Ross (2012). Sport in Industrial America, 1850-1920. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781118537824. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
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