Elm Rounders Bat

The History of Rounders

The game of Rounders is indeed an old sport. Most texts quote that the earliest documentary evidence for the game is from 1744 when the game was referred to as Base-ball. This is a reference from what is probably the first ever book written for children, 'The Little Pretty Pocket Book' by John Newbery published in Massachusetts. But the earliest reference to Rounders found by this author is in in the English Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine of 1787 which mentions rounders as a children's game - so the term was in use by that time. The first known rules for the game of rounders were published in the "Boys Own Book" published in London in 1829.

The game, or something very like it may have been played several centuries prior to all this. There is an engraving in the Bodleian Library dated 1344 which depicts a woman about to throw (apparently underarm) a ball towards a chap wielding a large club which is thinner at the handle end and is not disimilar to a modern rounders bat. The description of the engraving does not mention any posts or bases so whether the game just involved hitting or whether running was also involved isn't known but if the game is the ancestor of any modern game, Rounders seems to be the most likely candidate.

In 1889 the Liverpool and Scottish Rounders Association was formed. The first official rules did away with the practice of putting a running batter out by hitting them with a thrown ball. The National Rounders Association was formed in 1943 and is still active today working particularly with schools promoting and encouragine play. These days, at competition level, Rounders tends to be played more by girls than boys.

To learn more about the history of Rounders, visit the Online Guide to Traditional Games.