TODAY IN HISTORY…

FIrst REcorded Baseball Game & First NASCAR Race

On June 19, 1848, the first recorded baseball game under Alexander Cartwright’s rules (those that would be most recognizable to those used today) is played in Hoboken, NJ.  Amateur teams played and the New York Base Ball CLub defeated the Knickerbockers 23-1 with Cartwright himself umpiring.

Exactly 101 years later, on June 19, 1949, the first NASCAR stock race is held at the Charlotte Speedway.  Tracing its origins to Prohibition and the modification of cars by bootleggers to outrun police, after alcohol was legalized again, these drivers still kept up racing, but this time in competition with each other.  In 1947, seeing a lack of formal rules, the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing is established, and formal races are held, with the first “strictly stock” race, the format most commonly held today, is run with Jim Roper winning.

A Brief History of Baseball:

A Brief History of NASCAR: