Town Ball

The term town ball, or townball, describes the bat-and-ball, safe haven games played in North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, which were similar to rounders and were precursors to modern baseball. In some areas — such as Philadelphia and along the Ohio River and Mississippi River — the local game was called Town Ball. In other regions the local game was named "base," "round ball," "base ball," or just "ball." The players might be schoolboys in a pasture with improvised balls and bats, or young men in organized clubs. As baseball became dominant, town ball became a casual term to describe old fashioned or rural games similar to baseball.