Abner Doubleday - Early Years

Early Years

Doubleday was born in Ballston Spa, New York, in a small house on the corner of Washington and Fenwick Streets. The family all slept in the attic loft of the one-room house. His paternal grandfather, also named Abner, had fought in the American Revolutionary War. His maternal grandfather joined the army at 14 and was a mounted messenger for George Washington. His father, Ulysses F. Doubleday, fought in the War of 1812, published newspapers and books, and represented Auburn, New York for four years in the United States Congress. Abner spent his childhood in Auburn and later was sent to Cooperstown to live with his uncle and attend a private preparatory high school. He practiced as a surveyor and civil engineer for two years before entering the United States Military Academy in 1838. He graduated in 1842, 24th in a class of 56 cadets, and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Artillery.

One of the persistent myths of baseball history is that Doubleday invented the game in 1839, although he was in West Point at the time. To his credit, Doubleday never claimed to have invented baseball. Neither his letters nor his diaries nor his New York Times obituary ever mentions the game, and he was never inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Doubleday myth appears to have rested solely on the testimony of one elderly admirer who was later committed to an insane asylum.