• Card series: Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874
• City: New York
• Team: Knickerbockers

William Wheaton (1814-1888) was an early pioneer of the new game of “base ball.” He was an officer in the Knickerbocker Club and served on its rules committee. According to his own account he may have been the first to codify rules of the game, for the Gotham Base Ball Club in 1837.

• Took time from his law practice to play the new game with business associates
• Received a federal appointment from President Grant, 1876-86
• In ‘87 bemoaned the fast pace of life compared to the days he could while away on the diamond
• John Thorn, official historian of MLB, champions Wheaton as the true “father of baseball”