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Alexander Cartwright

Pioneer
  • Series: Pioneer Portraits I: 1850-1874
  • City: New York
  • Team: Knickerbockers
  • Hall: National Baseball Hall of Fame

Alexander Joy Cartwright (1820-1892) was declared the inventor of baseball by an act of Congress in 1953. A founding member of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club in 1842, Cartwright is oftentimes falsely credited with establishing the 9 player “diamond” format in 1845. Modern researchers have largely debunked the historical import of Cartwright’s influence upon the game, its rules and development during those early formative stages, citing a propagandizing campaign by Cartwright’s son as a primary source of myth-making.

  • The Knickerbocker rules form the foundation of the modern game
  • Thanks to such rules, runners are no longer “tagged out” via thrown balls
  • The diamond’s dimensions were termed by Red Smith “the closest man has ever come to perfection.”
  • Elected to Hall of Fame: 1938

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