Activities Sports & Athletics History of Baseball Alexander Cartwright Print Seen here in the 2015 Futures Games, Ozhaino Albies is one of the Top 10 to make Baseball America's Top Braves Prospects list. Mark Cunningham | Getty Images Sport Sports & Athletics Baseball History Best of Baseball Bicycling Billiards Bodybuilding Bowling Boxing Car Racing Cheerleading Extreme Sports Football Golf Gymnastics Ice Hockey Martial Arts Professional Wrestling Skateboarding Skating Paintball Soccer Swimming & Diving Table Tennis Tennis Track & Field Volleyball Other Activities Learn More By Mary Bellis Mary Bellis Inventions Expert M.F.A. in Film and Animation, San Francisco Art Institute Mary Bellis,was an experimental artist, film director and producer, and freelance writer. She specialized in writing about inventors and inventions. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on 09/05/17 Americans began playing baseball on informal teams, using local rules, in the early 1800s. By the 1860s, the sport, unrivaled in popularity, was being described as America's "national pastime." Alexander Cartwright Alexander Cartwright (1820-1892) of New York invented the modern baseball field in 1845. Alexander Cartwright and the members of his New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club devised the first rules and regulations that were accepted for the modern game of baseball. Rounders Baseball was based on the English game of rounders. Rounders become popular in the United States in the early 19th century, where the game was called "town ball", "base", or "baseball". Alexander Cartwright formalized the modern rules of baseball. Yes, others were making their own versions of the game at the time, however, the Knickerbockers style of the game was the one that became the most popular. Knickerbockers The first recorded baseball game was held in 1846 when Alexander Cartwright's Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball Club. The game was held at the Elysian Fields, in Hoboken, New Jersey. In 1858, the National Association of Base Ball Players, the first organized baseball league was formed. History of Baseball Trivia 1845: Alexander Cartwright published a set of baseball rules for the Knickerbocker Club of New York, and his rules were widely adopted.1869: The Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first openly-salaried team and are thus considered the first professional team.1871: The first professional baseball league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, was established.1876: The first major league, the National League, was formed.1878: Frederick Winthrop Thayer of Massachusetts (captain of the Harvard University Baseball Club) received a patent for a baseball catcher's mask on February 12.