In this first volume of two, Harold Seymour traces the growth of baseball from early English children's games to the formation in 1903 of the two present-day professional major leagues. By investigating previously unexamined sources, he uncovers the real story of baseball's evolution in the United States from a gentleman's amateur sport of "well-bred play followed by well-laden banquet tables" into a professional sport where big leagues operate under their own rules. Offering countless colourful anecdotes and a wealth of new information, Seymour explodes many cherished myths. He unveils the influence of baseball on American business, manners, morals, social institutions and show business and sketches revealing portraits of the men who became the first professional players, club owners, and managers.