Baseball is over 200 years old, with its origins tracing back to older bat- and-ball games played in England by the mid-18th century. The earliest known reference to a game called "Base Ball" dates to 1744 in England, and a recorded game took place in 1749 featuring the Prince of Wales
. In North America, a 1791 bylaw in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, prohibited playing baseball near the town meeting hall, indicating the game was already known and played by then
. The first officially recorded baseball game in the United States occurred on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey, between the New York Nine and the Knickerbockers, marking a key moment in the sport's formal development
. The modern rules of baseball began to take shape in 1845 when Alexander Cartwright and the Knickerbocker Club codified the "Knickerbocker Rules," which laid the foundation for the game as it is known today
. Baseball evolved further through the 19th century, becoming professionalized with the Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869, and eventually establishing Major League Baseball
. In summary, baseball as a distinct sport is roughly 180 years old since its formalization in the 1840s, but its roots and early forms date back nearly 280 years to mid-18th century England and late 18th century America. This makes baseball one of the oldest organized sports still played today
