July 20, 1858 – The very first charged admission to see a baseball game occurred for a New York All-Star team against a Star-studded lineup of Brooklyn ball players. The National Association of Base Ball Players was organized earlier in this year in recognition of the potential profits that baseball could provide.
The first admission fee of half of a dollar was charged that year for the All-Star game between the Brooklyn and New York clubs. You see until that point in time baseball players joined a dues-paying club in order to rent the fields to play their games on.
Typically these were amateur teams in name, but almost always featured a few players who were covertly paid. That $0.50 admission was not a small fee. Many unskilled workers at that time would only make $2-3 per week in earnings.
To find more great daily sports history make sure to check out the Sports Jersey Dispatch and Pigskin Dispatch.
More From Sports History Network
Early NFL Players Tackle Off-Season Jobs
Before the television era of professional football, which certainly changed the financial outlook of
Darryl Dawkins: Dr. Dunkenstein, Double D, Sir Slam, and Chocolate Thunder All Rolled Into One
Darryl Dawkins was one of the most outrageous characters in NBA history. He was
Super Bowl XVI (49ers vs. Bengals): An Ultimate Recount of the Game
Today we have Super Bowl XVI, which was held on January 24, 1982, in
Ray Durbin: Founder of Row One Brand Sports Gifts
Row One Brand is an American sports brand based out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
1973 Miami Dolphins (Better Than The Undefeated 72′ Team?)
The ’72–73 Miami Dolphins may have had the best two-year run in NFL history
Super Bowl V: A Goal-Line Stand Lost In Time
Most pro football historians who study the past Super Bowls will tell you that
Remembering The Great NFL Running Backs of the 1970s
Younger NFL fans can’t imagine how many great running backs played in the 1970s.
Hank Luisetti Popularized the Jump Shot
The development of the one-handed jump shot takes us back to the 1930s. Back