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The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American baseball (spelled as two words in the 19th century).
The first convention of 16 New York City area clubs was held at Smith's Hotel, 462 Broome Street in January 1857. One delegate from each club had previously been assigned to a committee, whose task was to draw up a set of regulations governing the game. Their report was adopted at the final meeting of the convention on February 25,[1] effectively bringing to an end the Knickerbocker era, when games were played under rules largely at the discretion of individual clubs. Besides governing the playing rules and its own organization, the Association established standards for official scoring (reporting), "match" play, a championship, amateurism, and the integrity of the contest (then known as hippodroming).[2] Following trends in the evolution of the sport, in the 1869 season it accepted professionalism in its ranks.
The last convention, held in 1871, with hundreds of members represented only via state associations, provoked the establishment of separate professional and amateur associations. The succeeding National Association of Professional Base Ball Players is considered the first professional sports league; through 1875 it governed professional baseball and practically set playing rules for all. Because the amateur successor never attracted many members and it convened only a few times, the NABBP is sometimes called "the amateur Association" in contrast to its professional successor.
- ^ "Base Ball Convention", Porter's Spirit of the Times, vol. 2, no. 1#27, New York, p. 5, March 7, 1857 – via HathiTrust
- ^ "Hippodroming" commonly means play in the interest of gamblers, maybe including team members. That may cover losing rather than winning, winning by a small rather than a large margin, and falling behind early in the game. It may cover particular events rather than the decision or the score in runs, such as putting out a particular player or hitting a foul ball. The integrity of the contest (modern terms), if not hippodroming itself, also covers theatrical play and friendly play. Roughly, the participants and spectators should all know whether everyone is playing to win. The Association did not schedule championship games (or any others) and clubs sometimes agreed to play a friendly rather than a championship game only at the ballpark just before the event.