Baseball's Dubious Doubleday Myth

and how its tied to Jeopardy.

I still remember that Christmas morning when my brother and I unwrapped the present that every kid asked for in the mid-1980s.

Notice I didn’t say we unwrapped a toy…because it wasn’t a toy…it was a whole system. An Entertainment System.

The Nintendo Entertainment System to be exact.

The NES

The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), or "NES" as it was affectionately known, stormed into living rooms across America in 1985, igniting a gaming revolution. After a video game crash in the early 1980s, the NES brought back the magic and excitement of home gaming.

With its iconic grey-and-red design, the NES introduced millions to a world of pixelated adventures. Games like "Super Mario Bros.," "The Legend of Zelda," and "Metroid" became instant classics, captivating players of all ages. Who can forget the thrill of exploring the Mushroom Kingdom, navigating the treacherous Hyrule, or blasting away at Space Pirates?

One of the many titles released for the NES was "Jeopardy!" in 1990. Based on the popular TV quiz show, this game allowed players to test their knowledge and compete against the computer.

For some strange reason, my parents bought Jeopardy for my brother and me…and like every other game for the NES, we played it for endless hours until we had the answers memorized.

Even stranger still, was the fact that one question (or answer?)…a sports HISTORY question…lodged in my brain and never went away.

Answer: The inventor of baseball.

Question: Who is Abner Doubleday?

Yes, for some reason that singular fact stuck in my head to adulthood.

you could design your own contestants too…a fact that brought my brother and I endless laughs

The Day Doubleday was Debunked

Little did I realize that this fact would resurface at the top of my brain many years later when Jenn and I were in Arlington National Cemetery looking for the son of Ichabod Crane (yes the Disney cartoon and Washington Irving character), General Charles Crane.

Jenn and I found Charles Crane and were recording our now most popular video on YouTube when directly across from General Crane I saw the baseball legend…Colonel Abner Doubleday.

It was a true “No Shit!” moment.

You can even see baseballs that people leave at his grave.

This was one of the few moments in my life I knew something about a historic figure that Jenn did not.

However…like a good historian, Jenn did some quick research and quickly debunked that most interesting of facts.

Damn! I thought. Jeopardy was wrong!

Culture and Legend

We found out that the myth of Abner Doubleday inventing baseball in 1839 continues to persist in America, despite being thoroughly debunked by historians. This fascinating tale, which claims Doubleday created the game in Cooperstown, New York, was actually fabricated in 1908 by a commission seeking an American origin for the sport. Surprisingly, even MLB Commissioner Bud Selig expressed belief in this myth, highlighting its deep-rooted place in American culture.

In reality, baseball evolved from earlier English games like rounders and cricket, with several key figures contributing to its development, including Alexander Cartwright and Henry Chadwick.

Even the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown acknowledges the myth's inaccuracy while benefiting from its popularity. This story serves as a testament to the power of myths in shaping national identity, with baseball emerging as a kind of core identity in American culture. It reminds us that sometimes, the stories we tell ourselves about our past can be just as important as the historical facts themselves.

What is the famous movie line from ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’?

“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”

Well, this legend now has one fact that YOU can tell at parties…Abner Doubleday may not have invented baseball, but he is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

🎥Watch the video