Pre-1850s in sports

See also: Sports clubs established before 1850, 1850 in sports and the list of 'years in sports', and the History of sport article.

[edit] Archery

• 1781 - the Toxophilite Society is founded in Leicester Square, London. It later becomes the Royal Toxophilite Society in 1787 and then the Grand National Archery Society.

[edit] Baseball

• 1791 - The broken window by-law in Pittsfield, Massachusetts prohibits "baseball" and other ballgames within 80 yards of the new meetinghouse, the earliest known reference to "baseball" in North America
• 1796 - "Ball mit Freystaten (oder das Englische Base-ball)" covered by German physical education instructor Johann C.F. Gutsmuths as one chapter in Spiele zur Uebung
• 1825 - "A baseball club, numbering nearly fifty members, met every afternoon during the ball playing season" in Rochester, New York, wrote Thurlow Weed in 1883 (Life of Thurlow Weed, vol. 1)
• 1833 - merger of the Olympic and Camden town ball clubs from Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey, constituting the Olympic Ball Club of Philadelphia, often called the "Philadelphia Olympics". The constitution will be revised in 1837 and published in 1838. (Protoball #266)
• 1839 - legendary date of the invention of baseball by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, New York
• 1843 - semi-organized "New York Club" begins playing baseball at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, New Jersey, in place of Madison Square in Manhattan
• 1845 September 23 - formal organization of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club or New York Knickerbockers, initiated by Alexander Joy Cartwright, including adoption of twenty rules, fourteen of which are the earliest known written rules of for playing baseball
• 1845 October 22 - New York Morning News publishes the first known box score for a base ball game, played at Elysian Fields in Hoboken
• 1846 June 19 - First match certainly played by the Knickerbocker rules, at Elysian Fields in Hoboken
• 1847 - Army of occupation plays baseball in Santa Barbara, California, alienating the local people (Protoball #377)
• 1848 - First publication of the Knickerbocker rules (Protoball #376)

[edit] Boxing

• 1719 - James Figg is declared the first champion of England
• 1743 - Jack Broughton drafts the London Prize Ring rules
• 1790 - Spectators are charged for entry to a boxing match between Daniel Mendoza and Richard Humphries in the earliest recorded charged-entry sporting event
• Daniel Mendoza, considered the "Father of scientific boxing", is Champion of England from 1792 to 1795
• 8 October 1805 - Tom Cribb narrowly defeats ex-slave Bill Richmond
• 1809 Tom Cribb becomes the British Champion
• December 1810 - English champion Tom Cribb defeats American Tom Molineaux in the 39th round for the title Champion of England
• 28 September, - Cribb defeats Molineaux in the 11th round of the highly anticipated game

[edit] Cricket

• 1183 - First written account of a game resembling cricket, by Joseph of Exeter, but this is generally believed to be a spurious reference
• 1300March 10 - The Prince of Wales, age 15 or 16, played the unknown game creag at Newington in Kent^[1]
• 1597 - First known written use of the word kreckett in English, referring to a game "played on a certain plot of land in Guildford around 1550"^[1]
• 1610 - "Teams from the Weald and the Downs" played a game at Chevining in Kent^[1]
• 1611-1637 - Eight various court cases concern cricket^[1]
• 1660 - Start date for first-class cricket and a database of match results, under consideration by the Association of Cricket Statisticians & Historians^[2]
• 1697July 7 - Foreign Post reports a "A Great Match in Sussex" played for fifty guineas, the first known proclamation of high status for a match and another milestone in first-class cricket.^[1]
• 1709June 29 - Kent v Surrey, the first match played between teams named for English counties
• 1721 - Mariners of the "John Company" reported playing at Cambay, India^[1]
• 1744 - First codification of the Laws of Cricket, by the Star and Garter club of Pall Mall (London)
• c.1765 - Believed to be the founding date of Hambledon Cricket Club
• 1772 - Detailed scorecards become commonplace by this time^[3]
• 1787May 21 - Opening of Lord's Cricket Ground at Dorset Fields in Marylebone (London) for the White Conduit Club v Middlesex^[4]
• 1787 - Marylebone Cricket Club established near Lord's, chiefly by WCC members^[4]
• 1788 - Marylebone Cricket Club publishes its Laws of Cricket, revising the Star and Garter Laws of 1744
• 1789 - John Frederick Sackville, 3rd Duke of Dorset organises an international tour of English cricketers to France, but it is abandoned due to the French Revolution
• 1794 - "The New York Cricket Club was meeting regularly" according to W.R. Wister's reminisces after 1861 (Protoball #135)
• 1799 - New York Commercial Advertiser, June 18, announcement of the next date for the "members of the Cricket Club" to meet and play. "Wickets will be pitched at 3 o’clock exactly." (Protoball #150)
• 1820 - "June 16, 1820, eleven expert English players matched eleven New Yorkers at Brooklyn, the contest lasting two days." --Jennie Holliman citing that day's New York Evening Post (Protoball #204)
• 1828 - The MCC modified Rule 10 to permit the bowler’s hand to be raised as high as the elbow
• 1835 - Shoulder-height bowling is legalised
• 1838 - Melbourne Cricket Club is formed.
• 1844 - First ever international cricket match played between stars from Canada and the United States --St George's Cricket Club of New York (Protoball #345)

[edit] Croquet

• 1830s - Croquet is believed to have been invented in Ireland

[edit] Football

• 2nd century BC - tsu chu" (蹴鞠 or 蹴踘) begins to be played in China
• 600 - Kemari begins to be played in Kyoto
• 1314 - Edward II of England bans football in London
• 1349 - Edward III of England bans football, favouring archery
• 1424 - James I of Scotland bans 'fute-ball' in the Football Act 1424
• 16th Century - Calcio Fiorentino begins in Florence
• 1526 - Henry VIII of England orders the first known purpose made football boots
• 1602 - Richard Carew describes the game of "hurling to goals" played in Eastern Cornwall, in his "Survey of Cornwall". The game has the earliest described rules requiring equal numbers, no playing of the ball on the ground, and banning the forward pass, with similarities to the modern game of Rugby football. [1]
• 1823 - traditional invention of rugby by William Webb Ellis
• 1848 - the Cambridge Rules, first standardised rules for football in England, drawn up by a committee that included H. de Winton and J. C. Thring, who had introduced football at Cambridge University in 1846^[5]

[edit] Golf

Main article: Timeline of golf history (1353-1850)

• 1603 - James VI of Scotland appoints Edinburgh bowmaker William Mayne as royal club-maker for his lifetime
• 1754 - First codified Rules of Golf published by the St Andrews Golfers - later the Royal and Ancient Golf Club

[edit] Horse racing

• 1711 - Queen Anne organises horse racing at the village of East Cote, now known as Ascot, near Windsor Castle.
• The Society of Sportsmen of the Curragh, a precursor of the Irish Turf Club is formed.
• 1776 - First St. Leger Stakes won by Allabaculia
• 1779 - First Epsom Oaks won by Bridget
• 1780 - First Epsom Derby won by Diomed
• 1809 - First 2,000 Guineas Stakes won by Wizard
• 1814 - First 1,000 Guineas Stakes won by Charlotte
• 1836 - Believed to be the first running of the Aintree Grand National, won by The Duke, who also wins the race renewal in 1837
• 1839 - First official Grand National won by Lottery, ridden by Jem Mason

[edit] Lacrosse

• 15th century–19th century+ - Native Americans play lacrosse to resolve conflicts, heal the sick, give thanks to the Creator and train for war, in modern day Canada and the United States.
• 1636 - Jean de Brébeuf, a French Jesuit missionary, watches a Huron game of lacrosse in what is now Ontario, and he notices that the sticks look like a bishop's crosier or "la crosse" in French.
• Early 19th century - Europeans in Canada begin playing lacrosse.
• 1844 - Montreal's Olympic Club organizes a team specifically to play a match against an indigenous team.
• 1848 - Montreal's Olympic Club plays another match against an indigenous team.

[edit] Olympic Games and others

Main article: Ancient Olympic Games

• 776 BC - First recorded Olympic games held, consisting of one race, the stadion
• 6th century BC - Milo of Croton wins victory in six Olympic Games
• 393 - Theodosius I outlaws the Olympic Games

• Robert Dover's Olimpick Games are held in the Cotswolds in England, starting some time between 1604 and 1612

[edit] Polo

• ~ 600 BC - First recorded Polo match between Turkomans and Persians, won by the Turkomans

[edit] Rowing

• 1716 - The first race for the right to wear Doggett's Coat and Badge is held among the professional watermen in London. The course runs four miles and five furlongs (7443 m) from London Bridge to Chelsea, and is established as an annual event continuing into the 21st century.
• 1818 - Leander Club is founded by the merger of The Star and Arrow boat clubs in London
• 1828 - Anthony Brown, a Tyneside boat builder, develops the first crude riggers on rowing boats for racing.
• 1829 - The first Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race on the River Thames is a win for Oxford.
  • Cambridge win 1836, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1845, 1846, 1849 (April)
  • Oxford win 1829, 1842, 1849 (December)
• 1831 - C. Campbell and J. Williams compete for the first English professional sculling championship in London
• 1839 - Detroit Boat Club established on the Detroit River in Detroit, Michigan
• 1839 - The first Henley Regatta is held
• 1842 - The first American collegiate rowing club is established at Yale University on the Thames River (Connecticut)
• 1848 - Henry Clasper builds the first keelless racing boats and spoon shaped oars, and develops the outrigger.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Leach (2005a) is a heavily annotated chronology of cricket 1300-1730 and the source for numerous entries here.
2. ^ ACS Match Classification Working Parties have been set up, including one on "classification of pre-1801 matches." Somewhere the society says that CricketArchive is on board. Leach (2005a) concludes on 1660, "it must be so that this was the point of origin of first-class cricket."
3. ^ according to the Wikipedia article Underarm bowling
4. ^ ^{a b} Leach (2005b) explains the crucial role of bowler-entrepreneur Thomas Lord and his White Conduit Club between Hambledon and Marylebone
5. ^ no copy of the 1848 rules has survived, the earliest written version dating from 1856; the 1863 revision of the rules played a significant part in developing the rules that became association football

[edit] References

• 2005a. In the Mists of Time: The History of Cricket: 1300-1730. Third Edition. Association of Cricket Statisticians & Historians. (consulted 2006-08-18)
• 2005b. The White Conduit Club. Association of Cricket Statisticians & Historians. (consulted 2006-08-18)
• Protoball 2.06. A "Fat Chronology" of Early Ball Play 2000BC to 1860AD. Version 2.06. Edited by Larry McCray. Project Protoball. Retrosheet. 2006. (consulted 2006-08-18)

[edit] Births

[edit] Pre-16th century

• 7th century BC - Chionis of Sparta, Greek athlete
• 5th century BC - Astylos of Croton, Greek athlete
• 440 BC - Cynisca, Greek princess and first woman to win at the ancient Olympic Games

[edit] 1500s-1600s

• 1575 - Robert Dover, English sports patron
• 6 February 1665 - Anne of Great Britain, founder of Ascot Racecourse
• ~1670 - Thomas Doggett, Irish sports patron (Doggett's Coat and Badge)
• 1680 - William Bedle, English cricketer
• 1695 - James Figg, English bare-knuckle fighter

[edit] 1700s

• 18 May 1701 - Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, English cricketer
• 1703 - Jack Broughton, English bare-knuckle fighter, produced first rules for boxing
• 2 March 1718 - Richard Newland, English cricketer
• 1735 - Edward "Lumpy" Stevens, English cricketer
• 1737 - John Small, English cricketer
• 1747 - Thomas Brett, English cricketer
• 1753 - Sam Chifney, English jockey
• 16 November 1762 - Thomas Walker, English cricketer
• 1763 - Bill Richmond, American boxer and trainer
• 1764 - Dennis Fitzpatrick, English jockey
• 5 July 1764 - Daniel Mendoza, English-Jewish prizefighter and Champion of England
• 1766 - Francis Buckle, English jockey
• 1769 - John Jackson, English boxer and trainer
• 1781 - Tom Cribb, English bare-knuckle boxer
• 25 November 1794 - Jack Randall, English boxer
• 22 February 1795 - Tom Spring, English heavyweight boxer
• 24 December 1798 - William Clarke, english cricketer

[edit] 1800s-1810s

• 26 December 1800 - Jem Ward, English bare-knuckle boxer
• 1809 - James Burke, English bare-knuckle boxer
• 22 August 1806 - Charles Wordsworth, cricketer, athlete, rower, founder of Oxford-Cambridge Boat race
• November 24 1806 - William Webb Ellis, "inventor" of Rugby football
• 8 March 1808 - Charles Merivale, founder of Oxford-Cambridge Boat race
• 18 October 1811 - Bendigo Thompson, English heavyweight champion boxer
• 5 July 1812 - Harry Clasper, British professional rower and boat-builder.
• 11 November 1814 - Doc Adams, American baseball pioneer [2]
• 22 March 1815 - Ben Caunt, English boxer

[edit] 1820s-1830s

• April 17 1820 - Alexander Cartwright, American baseball pioneer
• October 5 1824 - Henry Chadwick, American baseball promoter and developer, sportswriter
• 10 June 1825 - Sondre Norheim, Norwegian skier, dubbed "the father of modern skiing"
• 25 May 1826 - Thomas Sayers, English boxer
• February 12 1831 - John Morrissey, Irish-American boxer, politician and racecourse owner
• April 8 1831 - Jem Mace, English heavyweight champion boxer
• October 23 1832 - William Hulbert, American baseball executive
• May 2 1833 - John C Heenan, American bare-knuckle boxer
• 21 May 1833 - John Jackson, English cricketer
• January 10 1835 - Harry Wright, American baseball player, manager and organizer
• August 14 1835 - Tom King, English boxer
• August 19 1835 - Thomas Wentworth Wills, Australian cricketer and Australian rules football inventor
• February 29 1836 - Dickey Pearce, American baseball player
• December 26 1837 - Morgan G. Bulkeley, American baseball executive and politician
• January 23 1838 - Ben Shibe, American baseball executive and equipment manufacturer

[edit] 1840s

• May 25 1840 - Al Reach, American baseball player and executive, publisher and sporting goods manufacturer
• September 12 1840 - Nick Young, American baseball organizer and executive
• April 15 1841 - James Creighton, Jr., American baseball player
  October 14 1842 - Joe Start, American baseball player
• 1843 - John Graham Chambers, British rower and sports codifier in boxing and athletics
• July 18 1844 - George Zettlein, American baseball player
• 20 July 1844 - John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, sports patron (boxing, athletics, horse racing)
• 1845 - Dick McBride, American baseball player
• January 31 1845 - Bob Ferguson, American baseball player, manager, executive and umpire
• May 25 1845 - Lip Pike, American baseball player
• July 9 1845 - Lord Minto, donor of the Minto Cup
• January 28 1847 - George Wright, American baseball player and sporting goods pioneer
• October 20 1847 - Oscar Swahn, Swedish shooter (d. 1927)
• December 7 1847 - Deacon White, American baseball player
• July 18 1848 - W. G. Grace, English cricketer
• October 18 1848 - Candy Cummings, American baseball player and coach
• August 30 1849 - Cal McVey, American baseball player
• December 14 1849 - O.P. Caylor, American baseball writer and organizer

[edit] Deaths

• 1750 - Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, English cricketer and "perhaps the sport's greatest patron" (Leach 2005a "1727")
• 1768 - William Bedle, English cricketer and "the earliest great player to have been recorded" (Leach 2005a "1709")
• 1819 - Edward "Lumpy" Stevens, English cricketer, perhaps the first great bowler