| Alexander Cartwright | |
|---|---|
 Cartwright in 1855 | |
| Born: Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr. April 17, 1820 New York City, U.S. | |
| Died: July 12, 1892 (aged 72) Honolulu, O'ahu, Kingdom of Hawai'i | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Signature:
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| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1938 |
| Election method | Centennial Commission |
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Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr. (April 17, 1820 – July 12, 1892) was a founding member of the New York Knickerbockers Base Ball Club in the 1840s. Although he was an inductee of the Baseball Hall of Fame and he was sometimes referred to as a "father of baseball", the importance of his role in the development of the game has been disputed.
The rules of the modern game were long considered to have been based on the Knickerbocker Rules developed in 1845 by Cartwright and a committee from the Knickerbockers. However, later research called this scenario into question.[1] The myth of Abner Doubleday having invented baseball was believed by many, but in Cooperstown in 1939, the myth was debunked. Cartwright was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a pioneering contributor to the game, 46 years after his death.[2][3] Although it has been stated that Cartwright was officially declared the inventor of the modern game of baseball by the 83rd United States Congress on June 3, 1953,[2][4][5][6] the Congressional Record, the House Journal, and the Senate Journal from June 3, 1953, did not mention Cartwright.[7]
- ^ Hershberger, Richard. "The Creation of the Alexander Cartwright Myth". The Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ^ a b Ty Cobb: Safe at Home. Globe Pequot. 2008. ISBN 978-0-7627-4480-0.
- ^ "Alexander Cartwright". Official website of Alexander Cartwright. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013.
- ^ Alice Low and John O'Brien (2009). The Fastest Game on Two Feet: And Other Poems About How Sports Began. Holiday House. ISBN 978-0-8234-1905-0.
- ^ "Year In Review : 1953 National League". Baseball Almanac.
- ^ Lilliefors, Jim (July 1, 2009). Ball Cap Nation: A Journey Through the World of America's National Hat. Clerisy Press. ISBN 978-1-57860-411-1.
- ^ Berenbak, Adam (Fall 2014). "Henderson, Cartwright, and the 1953 U.S. Congress". Baseball Research Journal. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved May 14, 2016.