Some say National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr. invented the modern game. Others say he didn’t. Though he was a pioneer of the sport, crediting him with founding the first organized team and writing the rules of the modern game (number of innings, number of players, etc.) they say goes too far. Either way, the story of this pioneer of the national pastime and heralded Hawaii businessman and civic leader is a fascinating one, not only as it relates to baseball but also numismatics. The following is by Robert E. Van Dyke and appeared in the October 1964 issue of Coins magazine. Van Dyke’s wife was Cartwright’s great, great granddaughter.
“Alexander Joy Cartwright was born in New York City, April 17, 1820, son of Capt. Alexander Cartwright and Esther Burlock Cartwright,” wrote Van Dyke, “Old Capt. Cartwright was a wealthy shipping agent, rum runner, pirate and gentleman of fortune.
“Young Alexander spent the first twenty seven years of his life in and around New York, although at the age of sixteen his
