In 1845, the Knickerbocker Club of New York City began using Elysian Fields to play baseball due to the lack of suitable grounds across the Hudson River in Manhattan. On June 19, 1846, the Knickerbockers played the New York Nine on these grounds in what is historically the first fully documented game between two clubs. Countless games had preceded this matchup; The Knickerbockers were simply the first to compile and preserve an inning-by-inning chronology of the action. In this match, the New York Nine defeated the Knickerbockers 23-1 in four innings. (It should be noted that these were, in fact, not two separate clubs — they were members of the same club, The Knickerbocker Club, divided into two competing squads.)

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