National Past Time

"Baseball is America's pastime." This statement is widely accepted, meaning that the citizens of the United States of America are some of the biggest fans of the sport, watching and playing the sport. I do agree that States have a big following with their Major League Baseball Association, but I beg to differ that baseball is "America's National Past Time." I am a Canadian and proud of it. I have been playing baseball since i was seven years old and had my very own T-Ball set and later on in elementary my father was my softball coach. Playing catch with my dad was one of my favourite things to do and then in junior and senior high we played scrub as soon as the snow was half melted off the baseball field. We even went as far as convincing our teachers that we could continue to learn our lessons for the day while playing Canada's Past Time. In college, there were Snowball tournaments in February, playing in snow pants and a field full of a foot of snow. And don't forget that when your an adult, there are beer league teams for every company. So to say, baseball should be Canada's game. 

Now to give you a little history on this fabulous sport. In the US, Alexander Cartwright has been given the credit of inventing the modern baseball field in 1845 and the members of his team, the New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club devised the rules and regulations that were accepted for the modern game of baseball and the first recorded baseball game in the states was on June 19, 1846 at the Elysian Fields in Hoboken New Jersey. However though Canada's first recorded baseball game was on June 4, 1838 in Beachville Ontario. Now at this time there may have been slight differences in the rules from that of  Alexander Cartwright and his team, but this game was played eight years earlier. 

But this modest sport still has a much larger history then just the 1800's. The games of Beachville in 1938 and Cartwright's game in 1846 is said to be based on the English game of Rounders.

Rounders and cricket were both evolved form a game called stoolball which was a game consisted of a marked field with a batter and bowler, where originally the runner would be out if the ball that was thrown and if it hit the runner. Luckily for us they quickly disbarred that rule, or there would be plenty of more injuries out on the field. It is said that Rounders has been around since Tudor times (1485-1603), played with two teams with as few players as 6 or up to 15.  Rounders is still played in modern day England, mainly a game played on school grounds though. Games involving balls and what we call bats today, have been around for thousands of years, dating back to ancient Egypt. 

The debate on the origins of baseball will probably never be agreed upon the 'experts' of todays sports fans, but i think it can be agreed that modern baseball rules, regulations, and field were determined in the early 1800's in North America. I may be a little biased being a Canadian and all but I believe that the credit should be given to Canada for having the first official game 8 years prior to the Americans. And to all the Americans out there, you have enough actors, scientists, athletes, gold medals, and trophies; can't you let us have this one game?