In our baseball patent post, we told the story of baseball’s founding by the New York Knickerbockers. One Knickerbocker, Alexander Cartwright, has the distinction of inventing the baseball field. In 1845, at 25 years of age, Cartwright drew up plans for the original baseball field which included a diamond shape and foul zone.
Originally, home base was a circle made out of iron and painted white. In 1868, home base was changed to a 12” square arranged in the orientation we know today.
Home runs were not common in the mid-1850s and in some ballparks, a mere 200ft hit would count as a home run. By the 1882 season, rulemakers instated a 235ft minimum home run distance which pales in comparison to the 325ft minimum in place today.
The pitcher’s mound also changed drastically over the years. At the game’s invention, there was no standardized distance from the plate that the pitcher had to stand, although it was generally assumed that they stood about 45 feet away. That changed in 1857 when a line was drawn 15 meters from home base, behind which the pitcher had to stand. It wasn't until the 20th century that the pitcher’s mound was created.
The baseball field evolved considerably from the 19th century to today, but always remained a popular attraction. In 1887, Edward McGill of Philadelphia, PA, capitalized on this fascination and patented a baseball dice game. In the game, roll combinations determined whether you got a hit (and how many bases), ball, strike or a home run. The scoring and change of innings rules followed the conventional rules of the time. A model baseball field even came with the game so you could easily keep track of hitters’ positions.
