A local organization of baseball writers in Philadelphia in 1885 led to the founding of the National Base Ball Reporters Association on December 12, 1887 in Cincinnati. George Mumford of St. Louis was the first president, with Henry Chadwick serving as vice-president. The 29 members made playing and scoring-rules recommendations, including the definitions of stolen bases and earned runs, the inclusion of strikeouts in box scores, and crediting the batter with a hit when a baserunner was struck by a batted ball. The group fell apart in 1890 after dividing over the Players’ League controversy.
