Story Highlights
An English lawyer referenced "base ball" in a entry dated March 31, 1755
The first recorded baseball game took place in 1846 in New Jersey
The diary is just now being made public after its discovery last year
....
"I know his handwriting very well," Pooley told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, adding he believed the game wasn't very common at the time. "He printed it to show it was new to him. He doesn't mention baseball again. It was something that seemed special."
Bray wrote that he played the game with both men and women on the day after Easter, a traditional holiday in England.
"He was about 18 or 19 (at the time of the diary entry)," Pooley said. "He was a very social man. He enjoyed sports."
The entry reads:
"Easter Monday 31 March 1755
"Went to Stoke Ch. This morning. After Dinner Went to Miss Jeale's to play at Base Ball with her, the 3 Miss Whiteheads, Miss Billinghurst, Miss Molly Flutter, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Ford & H. Parsons & Jelly. Drank Tea and stayed till 8."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/09/11/baseball.england.ap/index.html?cnn=yes
