The Base Ball Player's Book of Reference

About the author:


Often called the "Father of Baseball", Henry Chadwick's memorial page at the Baseball Hall of Fame begins, "An Englishman whose skill lay in his pen instead of a bat, Henry Chadwick was instrumental in cultivating interest in the new game of baseball among the American people.


As the preeminent writer on baseball for over half a century, Chadwick developed many of the standards by which we evaluate players and teams today. Most importantly, he translated his passionate love for baseball to the working class population that would go on to play and watch the game."


He invented the box score, and authored the first rule book of the game in 1858. He's also credited with creating the statistics of Batting Average and Earned Run Average.


Baseball has changed quite a bit over the years, as you will see when reading this rule book and reflecting on the rules of the game today. In the early years, it was not uncommon for a game to score 100 runs; try that today! Also, pitchers had to keep two feet on the ground when delivering their pitches, and the striker (batter) called the pitch he wanted. One more thing, it was strictly forbidden for players to be paid for their services!


Download a sample copy and check it out.