Baseball’s Firsts: From the First Game to the First No-Hitter
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Baseball has been around for a long time and has a rich history. This blog post looks at some of the game’s firsts, from the first game ever played to the first no-hitter.
The first baseball game
The first baseball game was played in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1846. The game was between the New York Nine and the Knickerbockers. Alexander Joy Cartwright is credited with inventing the modern Game of Baseball The Knickerbockers lost to the Nine by a score of 23-1.
The first no-hitter
On July 15, 1876, hard-throwing mutt player George Bradley of the Hartford Dark Blues tossed baseball’s first no-hitter, leading his team to a 4-0 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics at the Wittemberg Park grounds in Brooklyn. According to baseball historian Harry Simmons, “The game was witnessed by several thousand fans, most of them Germans.”
The first perfect game
On June 3, 1880, John Montgomery Ward of the Providence Grays threw baseball’s first perfect game The perfect game is defined as a game in which no opposing player reaches first base. In a perfect game no player on the opposing team gets on base for any reason, whether by a hit, a walk, or being hit by a pitch.
The first African American player
The first African American player in baseball was Jackie Robinson who played his first Major League game with the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
Since that time, many other African American players have made their mark on the game of baseball. Some of the more notable ones include Hank Aaron Willie Mays, Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson
The first woman player
The first woman player in baseball was Effa Manley. She played in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1948.
The first All-Star game
The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game was held on July 6th, 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois. The game was a fundraiser for the unemployed during the Great Depression. The American League All-Stars defeated the National League All-Stars, 9-3. Babe Ruth hit the first homerun in All-Star Game history.
The first World Series
In October 1903, the Boston Americans (now the Red Sox) played the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first-ever World Series The best-of-nine series was a showdown between two of the best teams in baseball that year—the Americans had won a then-league record 91 games, while the Pirates had won 103. Boston ultimately won the series five games to three.
The first player to hit 600 home runs
On August 20, 1966, Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves became the first player in Major League history to hit 600 home runs He accomplished the feat with a solo homer in the eighth inning off Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers
The first player to hit 3,000 hits
Baseball’s first player to hit 3,000 hits was Ty Cobb. He accomplished the feat in his 2,131st game, against the Washington Senators on August 7, 1925. He finished his career with 4,191 hits.
The first player to win the Triple Crown
The Triple Crown is one of the most prestigious achievements in baseball. It is awarded to the player who finishes the season with the best batting average the most home runs and the most RBIs.
The first player to win the Triple Crown was Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Bell in 1987. He batted .308 with 47 Home Runs and 134 RBIs.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Teddy Ballgame won the Triple Crown twice, first in 1947 with a batting average of .343, 42 homers, and 137 RBIs, and again in 1949 with a batting average of .379, 46 homers, and 159 RBIs.
Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera became baseball’s most recent Triple Crown winner in 2012. He hit .330 with 44 home runs and 139 RBIs that season.
