[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 18, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H6506]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 COMMEMORATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FIRST OFFICIALLY RECORDED 
               BASEBALL GAME, HOBOKEN, NJ, JUNE 19, 1846

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Fox of Pennsylvania). Under a previous 
order of the House, the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Menendez] is 
recognized for 60 minutes.
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of the Chair as well as 
the staff here, I do not intend to take the hour. That is the good 
news. It should take only about 15 minutes, but they are important 
minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise not to speak about the weighty matters of state 
that we often get up here and speak about but a little bit about 
history. Tomorrow, Mr. Speaker, in Hoboken, NJ, which is in my 
congressional district, the city of Hoboken and its mayor, Anthony 
Russo, will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first officially 
recorded game of baseball. Yes, I am talking about baseball, the 
national pastime.
  On June 19, 1846, the first officially recorded baseball game was 
played on the Elysian Fields in Hoboken, NJ. Yes, Cooperstown, NY, has 
the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but history clearly makes Hoboken 
the birthplace of modern baseball. Through the courtesy of the National 
Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and Frank Borsky of the Hoboken 
Development Agency, who compiled much of this information in 1976, I 
would like to highlight this memorable occasion by reading from various 
accounts of this immortal game.
  The game pitted the New York Nine against the Knickerbockers. The 
Knickerbockers were the most renowned club of that time. The crowded 
urban conditions in Manhattan forced the clubs to take the ferry across 
the Hudson to play in Hoboken, then a well-to-do resort.
  The scene was described by Seymour Church. He said: ``A walk of about 
a mile and a half from the ferry up the Jersey shore of the Hudson 
River, along a road that skirted the river bank on one side and was 
hugged by trees and thickets on the other, brought one suddenly to an 
opening in the `forest primeval.' This open spot was a level grass 
covered plain, some 200 yards across, and as deep--surrounded on three 
sides by the typical eastern undergrowth and woods, and on the east by 
the Hudson. It was a perfect greensward for almost the year around.''
  The umpire was an American civil engineer named Alexander Cartwright, 
who many historians say invented baseball contrary to the proponents of 
Abner Doubleday and for good reason. Under Cartwright's direction, the 
baseball diamond was laid out. Cartwright's ordering of the game has 
not appreciably changed in the past 150 years. Prior to this game, 
there was a casual placement of bases, but not on the Cartwright's 
plans. Players were stationed at each base with only three outfielders, 
instead of the random hordes which had previously manned the baselines 
and the outfield. There were 9 men instead of 11 on a side. Cartwright 
recognized that most hits were between second and third base, so he 
placed the player in a new position called a shortstop. Teams batted in 
regular order with three outs in order to exchange sides batting. This 
is in contrast with cricket in which a side continues at bat until the 
entire team was out. Finally outs were made by throwing to bases 
instead of trying to hit the player with the ball.

  Here are some of the rules that governed the first game in Hoboken:
  In section 1 of these rules that were written out, it said the bases 
shall go from home to second 42 paces, from first to third, 42 paces 
equidistant.
  The ball must be pitched, underhand, and not thrown, freehand, for 
the bat.
  A ball knocked outside the range of first or third is foul.
  Three balls being struck at and missed and the last one caught in a 
hand is out; and if not caught, is considered fair. And the striker is 
bound to run.
  A player running the bases shall be out if the ball is in the hands 
of an adversary and the runner touched by it before he makes his base, 
it being understood, however, that in no instance, is the ball to be 
thrown at him.
  These are just some of the rules, but what is interesting is that 
Cartwright laid out the game as we know it today, and he did so in 
Hoboken, NJ.
  The pitcher stood 45 feet from the batter. The catcher stood back far 
enough to take the ball on a bounce. The umpire stood between the plate 
and the catcher but to the right and out of the way of the ball. The 
ball itself was 10 inches in circumference, weighing 6 ounces and had a 
rubber center.
  In September 1845, a group of Cartwright's social acquaintances 
established a club called the Knickerbockers, the first organized 
baseball club. The challenge was issued to the New York Nine. At stake 
was a banquet at McCarty's Hotel near the Elysian Fields of Hoboken. 
Overconfident, the Knickerbockers did not practice and the team's best 
player, Cartwright himself, volunteered to umpire. As a matter of fact, 
baseball's first fine for ``cussing'' was levied by Cartwright for 6 
cents against a New York Nine player named Davis.
  Despite crafting the rules, the Knickerbockers could not match the 
Nine pitcher with cricket experience who whipped pitches past the Knick 
batters.
  Although it was a perfect day, the Knickerbockers took a drubbing. 
While beating the New York Nine in their fashion with their uniforms of 
blue pantaloons and white flannel shirts, mohair caps, and patent 
leather belts, the Knickerbockers failed to win the game, losing by a 
score of 23 to 1.
  The final result of that game came in the box score, which was 
subsequently published and is in the New York Public Library.
  One hundred years later, the city of Hoboken celebrated the 
centennial with a bronze marker erected by the New Jersey Commission on 
Historic Sites.

                              {time}  2230

  It reads:

       On June 19, 1846, the first match game of baseball was 
     played here on the Elysian Fields between the Knickerbockers 
     and the New Yorks. It is generally conceded that until this 
     time the game was not seriously regarded.

  That is the quote on the marker.
  That game is seriously regarded today. The people of Hoboken are 
still proud that America's national pastime was played there, and the 
people of Hoboken still love the game and will cherish this 
anniversary, the 150th anniversary, by parades and award dinners that 
will be held tomorrow evening.
  Now, Mr. Speaker, why do I come to the floor of the House to talk 
about an issue like this? This is more than just hometown pride. This 
is about a stake in history and about a game that is as American as 
apple pie, a game that brings families together whether at the stadium, 
around the TV set, or on the Little League field. It is about dreams, 
realized; some, broken. It is about a sense of community as cities from 
coast to coast cheer on their hometown boys. It is about tradition, a 
great American tradition, for no matter where in the world baseball is 
played, we know that it was made here in the United States.
  I am proud to proclaim Hoboken, NJ, a city with a great tradition. A 
great city in the 13th Congressional District is the birthplace of 
baseball.

                          ____________________