NEW HAVEN 200: Introducing a summer series looking back on two centuries of sports

It was 200 years ago -- Dec. 1, 1812 to be precise -- when volume one, edition one of what would become the New Haven Register was published out of a one-room Church Street office.

Known as the Columbian Register (it would become the New Haven Evening Register in 1846), the paper got its start as a voice for New Haven shipping interests being squeezed by President James Madison's trade embargo during the War of 1812.

As part of our bicentennial celebration, we today launch our "200 at 200" series as a tribute to Greater New Haven's rich sports history.

CHECK OUT THE NEW HAVEN 200 AT 200 BLOG

The goal was to find 200 interesting stories, historic venues and influential figures of the past 200 years and then relay those tales to you over the course of the summer. There are no rankings; no claims of omniscience. Two centuries leaves quite a large stack of old newspapers to sift through. We simply did our best -- though you're encouraged to pass along any ideas or stories you feel should be on our list as the summer progresses.

Needless to say, this was quite an undertaking. But we learned much about our city's impressive sporting history.

Sports weren't exactly a priority in 1812. Heck, the Star Spangled Banner hadn't even been written yet. It began to pop up once Yale formed a few athletic teams after the Civil War, but even then, information was scant and sporadic until the turn of the century.

One of the earliest forerunners of the looming sports explosion was the Quinnipiack Ball Club, established in 1858, and the Pine Grove Base Ball Association of Fair Haven, formed a year later. Both printed booklets defining the rules and bylaws of the game, and are stored at the New Haven Historical Society.

As we began compiling our list, it became apparent a lot of fascinating facts wouldn't make the cut. For instance, we found a number of athletes born in New Haven who went on to accomplish great things, but who were not included because their formative years were spent elsewhere.

Doug Ford, the winner of the 1957 Masters, was born in West Haven while his father was constructing a golf course near Savin Rock in 1922. He moved to Yonkers, N.Y., in the early 30s, learning the game there.

Joe Horn was born in New Haven, one of seven children living with his single mother on Franklin Street. As an eighth-grader he relocated to North Carolina, where he developed into a wide receiver and four-time Pro Bowl selection between 2000-04 with the New Orleans Saints.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson spent part of his childhood in Hamden, attending Shepherd Glen Elementary and Hamden Middle School before moving to Pennsylvania, where he earned a football scholarship to Miami and later became a professional wrestling icon.

We investigated a few myths, including the Frisbee's alleged invention in New Haven. Legend has it Yale students in the 1920s began throwing empty tins from Bridgeport's Frisbie Pie Company to pass the time. Whether they were the first to do so remains inconclusive. Walter "Fred" Morrison, a California inventor who worked in plastics, sold the copyright for his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company in 1957. He is widely credited as inventor of the Frisbee.

We found gobs of other interesting tidbits.

?Charles Ives, one of the first American composers to gain worldwide critical acclaim, was the captain of the Hopkins baseball team in 1894.

?New Haven-bred actor Paul Giamatti has impressive sports connections. His father, Bart, was commissioner of Major League Baseball. Paul earned an Academy Award nomination for portraying a boxing manager in "Cinderella Man." But his best sport was swimming, where he specialized in the backstroke while at New Haven's Foote School and later Choate.

?Ernest Borgnine, as a student at Hillhouse in the 1930s, spent much of his time training as a boxer.

?Jim O'Rourke, one of the early stars of major league baseball and a member of the Hall of Fame, played one final professional game with the minor league New Haven White Wings on Sept. 14, 1912, catching nine innings against the last-place Waterbury Spuds at Savin Rock. He was 62 years old.

As a major city in the United States well into the 20th century, New Haven was a stop for many top athletes. World champion boxers, Heisman Trophy-winning college football players and Olympic champions all performed in the city.

Many cities didn't allow baseball on Sundays. So major league teams traveling to and from Boston often made a pit stop in New Haven to take on the local minor league team, with some of the best players of all time displaying their skill at Lighthouse Point in New Haven, Hamden's Weiss Park or Yale Field.

Once, New Haven even managed to land an exhibition game against the newly crowned champions of baseball, just a few days following their World Series' clinching victory. That incredible day is on our list of 200.

Mostly we tried to find the most appealing, engaging and fun stories. We look forward to retelling them over the course of the summer, and we're sure you'll find them equally fascinating.

Enjoy.

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