New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club

The New York Knickerbocker Base Ball Club was organized in 1845 by Alexander J. Cartwright in New York City. This club formulated a set of rules for baseball, many of which are still in use today. These rules differed from earlier games like rounders by requiring runners to be tagged with the ball rather than hit by it, which allowed for the use of a harder ball and a more expansive game.12

The adoption of these rules by the Knickerbockers and other New York area clubs increased the game's popularity. While a softer ball game persisted in Boston, the Knickerbocker rules, using a harder ball, became predominant after the American Civil War, as soldiers spread the "New York game" throughout the country. This marked baseball's path to becoming a national pastime. The Knickerbockers are credited with the first true effort to codify baseball rules, with their "Knickerbocker Rules" being used in the first official game of baseball in June 1846.123