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Article: Pittsfield Bylaw Lends Credence To Early Origins
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 12, 2004
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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Officials and historians in Pittsfield, Mass., released a 213-
year-old document yesterday that they believe is the earliest written
reference to baseball. The evidence comes in a 1791 bylaw that aims
to protect the windows in Pittsfield's new meeting house by
prohibiting anyone from playing baseball within 80 yards of the
building.
That bylaw would have been produced well before Abner Doubleday is
said to have written the rules for the game in 1839.
Historian John Thorn was doing research on the origins of baseball
when he found a reference to the bylaw in an 1869 book on
Pittsfield's history.
He shared his find with former major leaguer and area resident Jim
Bouton, who told city officials ...