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
Baltimore Football History: What A Story!
Baltimore professional football history is like a good soap opera; heroes to love and
Super Bowl XXIII (Bengals vs. 49ers): An Ultimate Recount of the Game
Today we have Super Bowl XXIII, which was held on January 22, 1989, at
The First Five Rocky Movies (How I Remember Them)
In this segment, I am going to cover the First 5 Rocky Movies the
Eras of NFL Playoff Frustration (My Top 15)
We always hear about the teams that win it all, and walk away with
The First Game of the Packers vs. Cardinals Rivalry
It was a big deal in 1921, and it’s still a big deal in
Celebrating 25 Years Since One of the Greatest – And Most Unexpected – Super Bowl Games In History
The Super Bowl is an occasion never shy of razzmatazz anyway, but the 2000
Don of All Dons (Don Muraco) – A “Mad Man Parody”
In this episode, we travel down villainy lane via a MAD MAN parody, for
Loserville: How Professional Sports Remade Atlanta and Atlanta Remade Professional Sports
In this episode I chat with Clayton Trutor about his forthcoming book – Loserville: