HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...

Quick, what is the fourth most important day of the year?

In case you were wondering the three most important days of the year are:

1. Baseball's Opening Day

2. The Last Day of the Baseball Season

3. The birthday of our dear lord Jesus Christ, and by Jesus Christ I'm referring to blond, good-looking, lightly-bearded or clean-shaven Jesus Christ, not hippie-looking Jesus or swarthy, more Middle Eastern Jesus – who's probably more historically accurate – not that guy. I mean clean-shaven or lightly-bearded-like-Mike-Piazza Jesus, blond, almost Swiss-looking Jesus.

and

4. May 4 – Professional Baseball's Birthday.

That's right, on this day in 1871 the Fort Wayne Kekiongas defeated the Cleveland Forest Citys 2-0 in the first game of the newly formed National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP or NA).

Memorable events from this game include:

1. The 2-0 victory was the lowest scoring baseball game throughout the league’s first four years.

2. Despite winning the first game, the Fort Wayne Kekiongas would soon find themselves in baseball infamy as the first professional team to collapse, folding before the end of August of that season.

3. It was the first rainout in baseball history. Even though the home team had already completed a full nine inning defensive outing, baseball rules still had teams playing nine complete innings, regardless of whether or not the home team was winning. So the home team was at bat in the bottom of the ninth, having already secured a victory, when the game was rained out.

4. Deacon White, the catcher of the losing Cleveland club, played in this game. The league’s best catcher would later join the Boston club and become part of the “Big Four,” a group of players who defected from the star Boston club to play for the Chicago club while still under Boston’s contract. The defection of the “Big Four” caused the eventual breakup of the league as the owners would take control of the league, issuing a “reserve clause” that would give ownership the power. This system would not be challenged until Curt Flood fought the reserve clause 1969, nearly 100 years after it began.

So there you have it, baseball’s birthday. It should also be noted that on May 4, 1869 Henry “Father” Chadwick released the first of what would become an annual baseball book that would evolve into Spalding’s Official Baseball Guide, a popular annual publication that was printed for many years, eventually merging into the Sporting News’ Official Guide Book. Chadwick wrote nearly every modern rule on the sport. In fact, when the first game was played on May 4, 1871 pitchers threw underhand, were not allowed to bend their elbow, and from 45 feet away. By the end of the NA, pitchers could throw with bended elbows, baseball mounds were moved back to the modern distance of 60 feet 6 inches, and the curveball entered baseball – which would forever change the way the game was played, as baseball games went from a hitting league to a pitching league. However, it would be several years before pitchers were allowed to throw overhand. The rules at the time still required the pitcher to throw from no higher than their waist belts – a rule that was sometimes bent (here is another photo).

So here's to you baseball. Hope you don't mind, but I brought in a special friend to sing "Happy Birthday" to you.

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Be sure to check back on more baseball related history, as my nine part series The National Association: The Creation, Operation, and Downfall of Baseball’s First Professional League is sure to engage, enlighten, and some other word that starts with “e” baseball purists.