For generations, the sport of baseball has been considered an American creation. Sure, the British games of cricket and rounders might have provided a basic framework, but it was in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1846 that the first "official" game of modern baseball was played. Right?
Maybe not. A recent AP item points out the discovery last year of a diary entry that mentions "base ball" about fifty years before the next known reference to the game. The diary belonged to William Bray (pictured), an English lawyer who mentions playing a game of base ball on the day after Easter - a traditional holiday in the U.K. - in 1755.
"Went to Stoke Ch. This morning. After Dinner Went to Miss Jeale's to play at Base Ball with her, the 3 Miss Whiteheads, Miss Billinghurst, Miss Molly Flutter, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Ford & H. Parsons & Jelly. Drank Tea and stayed till 8."
Good golly, Miss Molly Flutter. The diary has caused quite a stir among historians, including a film crew from Major League Baseball Advanced Media, whose Base Ball Discovered delves into the latest tantalizing clue to the origins of the sport. The film will be one of nine to be shown next weekend (September 20-21, 2008) at the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum's 3rd Annual Baseball Film Festival. So if you've ever been curious as to why people find the act of hitting and fielding so fascinating, head on over to Cooperstown, New York for a primer on this most American of British sports.
If heading out to see "Mamma Mia" on the big screen isn't your idea of a good time, then how about an adventure to Louisville, Kentucky? Your lady friend--or friends?--definitely won't want to go, so stay a few days and make it a mancation.
The point of the trip is the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory. Since guys love baseball and jokes about hardwood, it's perfect.
You've gotta hand it to Nationals Park, DC's new baseball stadium. It's brand new, but it can still give you an accurate experience of what it was like to be a fan in the old days when stadiums were built in the rough part of town.
Park on the street and you might return to your car only to see your hubcaps have been stolen, just like at the old Comiskey Park in Chicago in 1985. Fortunately, we've got a full field guide for you post click.
Singing Sweet Caroline at Fenway during Game 1 of the 2007 World Series.
Boston is in the midst of an absolute World Series tourist rush. BOS is full of those from away, and those returning, all wearing Red Sox gear. Say what you will about the pink hats, the band wagon, and Red Sox Nation, John Henry and the group that bought the Boston Red Sox have turned the team into a worldwide brand to be reckoned with. Furthermore, they have turned cramped old Fenway into baseballs top tourist attraction.
Nothing encapsulates that more than listening and watching those at Fenway sing along to Sweet Caroline, an alleged Red Sox "tradition". Truth of the matter is the Sox started playing Neil Diamond's classic sometime around 1999. Amy Tobey, who was the ballpark's music director from 1998 to 2004, is credited with first playing the song at Fenway, but at the time it was hardly a staple.
When John Henry bought the team in 2002 his group made playing Sweet Caroline mandatory before the home half of the eighth inning and the rest is history. 2002 was a forgettable season, and most Red Sox fans don't really remember happily singing along with Neil until the 2003 season, but somehow it feels like a tradition as old as manually changing the score on the Green Monster scoreboard. Doesn't really matter much now, because people come from all over the world to sing along and watch the Sox play.
Was in the spring, and spring became the summer, who'd have believed you'd come along...
