Base Ball

Glossary of Games
	Curated by Larry McCray and Jeffrey Kittel
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Game	Base Ball
Game Family	Baseball Baseball
Location
Regions	US
Eras	1800s, Predecessor
Invented
Tags
Description	The term “old fashioned base ball” appears to have been used in the decades after the 1850s to describe whatever game was played locally before the New York game arrived. The term was used extensively in upstate New York and New Jersey. We are still uncertain as to whether OFBB had common rules. In Western New York State, OFBB seems to align with the old form of the Massachusetts game, but prior to the codification of Mass Game rules in 1858. It is possible that the term was used for diverse variations of local safe-haven games in other areas. One might speculate that later still, such games would be thought of as “town ball.”
Sources	One investigation of Old Fashioned Base Ball is at Astifan and McCray, "'Old-Fashioned Base Ball' in Western New York, 1825-1860," Base Ball, volume 2 number 2 (Fall 2008), pages 26-34.
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