Sports News: Specific sports developed during the period

1. Baseball

For those who are not familiar with it, Baseball is basically a bat-and-ball game played between two
teams of nine players each, who take turns batting and fielding. The batting team attempts to score runs
by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-
clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate. A run is scored when a
player advances around the bases and returns to home plate. The origin of the Baseball can be traced
back to some European games that were similar to the modern game. The game was and still is mostly
popular in the USA. According to some historical records, the first known American reference to
baseball appeared in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 1791. It is officially agreed that the beginnings of the
modern game of baseball are back in 1845 when Alexander Cartwright – a member of the New York
Knickerbockers club – introduced the modern set of rules for the game. Baseball became most popular
in the 1860’s – mostly during the civil war – and even then reporters called it “America’s pastime
activity”
2. Basketball

Basketball is a sport played by two teams of five players on a rectangular court. The objective is to shoot
a ball through a hoop 18 inches (46 cm) in diameter and 10 feet (3.048 m) high mounted to a backboard
at each end. A team can score a field goal by shooting the ball through the basket during regular play. A
field goal scores three points for the shooting team if the player shoots from behind the three-point line,
and two points if shot from in front of the line. A team can also score via free throws, which are worth
one point after the other team was assessed with certain fouls. The team with the most points at the
end of the game wins.The first official basketball game was played in the YMCA gymnasium in Albany,
New York, on January 20, 1892. There were nine players on the field. In 1897–1898 the standard of the
game became a team of five. Basketball started to spread around the country, through YMCA colleges,
and in 1989 the first league was formed, with six teams in it. This league lasted for only six years, but
very soon new college leagues were formed and the sport started developing and gain more popularity.
Eventually, basketball became professional, and in 1949 NBA was created.

3. Soccer (association football)

More commonly known as football, soccer is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a
spherical ball. Today, soccer is being played by 250 million players in over 150 countries, making it the
world’s most popular sport. The game is played on a rectangular field with a goal at each end. The object
of the game is to score by getting the ball into the opposing goal. Soccer has a long history. The oldest
known evidence of a similar game like this comes from China. According to FIFA, a game called cuju (蹴
鞠, literally meaning “kick ball”) is the earliest form of football (soccer) game that is recorded in history.
Cuju players could use any part of the body, except their hands, to pass or kick the ball through an
opening in a net. This game was very similar to modern football, although it also reminded of rugby.
During the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), cuju games were standardized and rules were invented for it.
Modern soccer beginnings can be traced in England at the moment when the rugby association and
football association split off in a different direction. The Football Association of England was formed in
1863 and it automatically became the first official institution of the sport.