when was the first ever baseball game played
Baseball The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. Consensus once held that today's baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular among children in Great Britain and Ireland.[42][43] Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search for the Roots of the Game (2005), by American baseball historian David Block, suggests that the game originated in England; recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of each other, and that the game's most direct antecedents are the English games of stoolball and "tut-ball".[44] The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, by John Newbery.[45] Block discovered that the first recorded game of "Bass-Ball" took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player.[46] This early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants.[47]
No-hitter The vast majority of no-hit games are finished by the starting pitcher, but twelve MLB no-hitters have been thrown by a combination of the starting and relief pitchers. The first such combined no-hitter occurred on June 23, 1917, when Ernie Shore of the Boston Red Sox relieved starter Babe Ruth, who had been ejected for arguing with the umpire after walking the first batter of the game. The runner was subsequently caught stealing and Shore retired the next 26 batters without allowing any baserunners. This game was long considered a perfect game for Shore, since he recorded 27 outs in succession; current rules classify it only as a combined no-hitter. Another major league combined no-hitter did not occur until April 30, 1967, when Stu Miller of the Baltimore Orioles recorded the final out in relief of Steve Barber in a 2â€“1 loss to the Detroit Tigers.