--- description: The first National League game was played 140 years ago title: MLB turns 140: Celebrate With Amazing Vintage Baseball Cards image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blteb2e5f5d693ece5a/69888e97bc6cfc2fc73dc873/160411-vintage-baseball-cards-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Celebrate Major League Baseball's Birthday With Dazzling Vintage Baseball Cards  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 22, 2016 12:00 PM CUT  John Clarkson, Boston Beaneaters, baseball card, 1887. John Clarkson, Boston Beaneaters, baseball card, 1887.Library of Congress  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 22, 2016 12:00 PM CUT The first National League baseball game was played on April 22, 1876, between the Boston Red Stockings and the Philadelphia Athletics. But it would take nearly a century before baseball fans and officials recognized that day as the birthday of Major League Baseball. **_See More:_** [_Start the Season Right With These 19th-Century Baseball Portraits_](http://time.com/4268232/vintage-baseball-photos/ "undefined") As MLB historian John Thorn has [explained](http://mlb.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20110916&content%5Fid=24779180&vkey=news%5Fmlb&c%5Fid=mlb "undefined"), there were a few different dates in the running for the honor. In the middle of the 19th century, the sport—[supposedly](http://time.com/4160583/baseball-hall-of-fame-history/ "undefined") invented in 1839—began to spread, and professional leagues were established. There was a claim made by 1869, and one for 1871, when the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players‚ an MLB precursor, organized its first game. But the National Association couldn’t hold it together and eventually broke up. In its place came the National League. In the 1960s—just in time for the MLB centennial—the league recognized that April game 140 years ago as Major League Baseball’s first. [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter "undefined") It didn’t take much longer for the baseball card to come around, often as an advertising gimmick that would come with a pack of cigarettes. The Library of Congress holds a collection of thousands of early baseball cards, from which the gallery above is drawn.  George Herman (Babe) Ruth, Big League Chewing Gum baseball card. Boston : Goudey Gum Co., 1933. Library of Congress  John Clarkson, Boston Beaneaters, baseball card, 1887. Library of Congress  John J. Evers, Chicago Cubs, baseball card, 1911. Library of Congress  Tim Keefe, New York Giants, baseball card, 1888. Library of Congress  Chas. Bender, Philadelphia Athletics, baseball card, 1911. Library of Congress  Byrd, San Francisco Team, baseball card, 1910. Library of Congress  Dode Paskert, Cincinnati Reds, baseball card, 1909-1911. Library of Congress  Tex Erwin, Brooklyn Dodgers, baseball card, 1911. Library of Congress  Chas. W. Bennett, Detroit Wolverines, baseball card, 1887. Library of Congress  Louis Evans, St. Louis Cardinals, baseball card, 1911. Library of Congress  Cap Anson, Chicago White Stockings, baseball card, 1888. Library of Congress  Eddie Collins, Philadelphia Athletics, baseball card, 1914. Library of Congress  Ernie Howard, Savannah Team, baseball card, 1909-1911. Library of Congress  Bill Bergen, Brooklyn Dodgers, baseball card, 1909-1911. Library of Congress  Sherry Magee, Philadelphia Phillies, baseball card, 1911. Library of Congress  Tip O'Neill, St. Louis Browns, baseball card, 1888. Library of Congress  Clark Griffith, Cincinnati Reds, baseball card, 1911. Library of Congress  Ed Reulbach, Chicago Cubs, baseball card, 1909-1911. Library of Congress  Speas, Portland Team, baseball card, 1911. Library of Congress  John McGraw, New York Giants, baseball card, 1909-1911. 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