Show Baseball Centenary Cen JUST one hundred years ago this spring Col Abner Doubleday laid out the first fast baseball diamond on the commons at Cooperstown Coopers town N. N Y and the first game was as was played In the tile early days baseball was called One Old Cat and was then rc christened Bounders Although Doubleday's diamond has remained to this day he did not perfectly devise rules at the same time The first set of rules was formulated and played under by the Knickerbockers of New York City who were the Ule first team to wear uniforms They began to play regularly in 18 1862 2 and a few years later appeared on the field in blue trousers and white shirts In the early days there were elev ele eleven eleen I en players to the side Including two I shortstops and md two second base base- men They didn't have Inning In Inthe Inthe inthe the old days The first team to score 21 runs won the game and the batter could keep chasing around the bases and score as many as two or three runs on one hit until the ball was found The first extra inning game was played in 1852 the Knickerbockers kers beating the 22 to 21 The game was popular during the Civil I war and there were hot contests be be- between between I tween selected teams of the Union troops and the Confederate army The games were played on neutral territory and attended by thousands of soldiers Al AI J. J Reach was the first ball ballplayer ballplayer ballplayer player to get a salary and the first to be sold from Cram one club to another Brooklyn sold him to Philadelphia in 1864 for Cor The Cincinnati Reds were the first team to employ all salaried ball players George Wright the shortstop was the star and drew down 1400 |