American Toby Jug Museum 

Baseball Player character jug prototype modeled by David B. Biggs and produced by Royal Doulton of Burslem, England, circa 1970. Baseball is the national pastime of the United States. Governed by a complicated set of rules, it is played by two teams of nine players each of whom takes turns fielding and batting on a diamond- shaped field. Baseball's inventor was Alexander Cartwright, who in 1845 formalized a list of rules by which all teams could play. As the amateur games became more popular, a group of teams formed the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1858, the first organized professional baseball league. A second league, the American, was formed in 1901. Baseball came into national prominence with the first World Series between the National and American League Champions in 1903. Today Major League Baseball boasts two leagues totaling thirty teams. A bat and ball form the handle of the jug.