Batter Up Baseball Exhibit

100 YEARS OF BASEBALL IN
SARATOGA COUNTY

The history of baseball in Saratoga County mirrors the development of the game elsewhere in the northeastern United States. Although baseball was played in America in the late eighteenth century, it was not until the mid-1840s that it evolved into a game played mainly by adult men. In 1845, the New York Knickerbocker Club’s rules for the game of baseball became widely accepted. By the 1850s, men’s baseball clubs were being organized all over the northern and Midwestern states. Saratoga County was no exception.

The earliest documented teams were organized in Saratoga Springs and Ballston Spa, both by the mid-1850s. No doubt, "town ball" was played in rural areas all over the county. Competition was not limited by the county boundaries. For the first 100 years of organized base-ball, teams from Saratoga County routinely played clubs from Glens Falls and Luzerne (Warren County), Ft. Edward, Hudson Falls, Granville and Comstock (Washington County), as well as Troy, Albany, and Schenectady.

Each new generation of players represented a "boom" in the popularity of local baseball. Teams from the late 1860s, the mid-to-late 1880s, the 1910s, and the 1930s are most noteworthy in local baseball history. This exhibition examines the growth and popularity of baseball in Saratoga County from 1850 to 1950.

On the following pages, click on each photo to see a larger version...

This exhibit was on display at Brookside Museum October 1999 - December 2000.

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