the earliest known mention of baseball in the united states was a 1791 pittsfield, massachusetts, law banning the playing of the game within of the town meeting house. in 1903, the british sportswriter henry chadwick wrote an article saying that baseball came from a british game called rounders. a game which chadwick had played as a boy in england. but baseball executive albert spalding disagreed. baseball, said spalding, was basically an american sport and began in america. to decide they agreed to let abraham g. mills settle the question by heading a commission. after three years they found that abner doubleday had invented the national pastime.