in 2004, baseball historian john thorn discovered the 1791 town ordinance, putting pittsfield's connection to baseball 48 years before abner doubleday accepted invention of the game in 1839 in cooperstown, new york. this is where the national baseball hall of fame now stands. the hall of fame recognized the ordinance as the first known reference to the game and honored the town with a plaque. another early reference reports that "base ball" was regularly played on saturdays in 1823 just outside of new york city in an area that today is greenwich village.