From Sandlot to Icon

Did the game of baseball actually originate in Cooperstown? In 1907 an investigatory committee determined that in 1839 Abner Doubleday, a noted United States Army general, invented the game on Phinney Lot, the current site of Doubleday Field. Contemporary researchers have since conclusively proven that Doubleday did not create baseball and the game existed as early as the 1700s. Yet the powerful tale still draws tourists to Cooperstown to celebrate America’s pastime.

Cooperstown baseball team posing for a group portrait at Doubleday Field, circa 1931

A game featuring the Cooperstown and Roxbury baseball teams, circa 1931
All Images from the Collection of the New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown, N.Y.

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