The first inning tells the story of baseball's rise, in only one generation, from a gentleman's hobby to a national sport played and watched by millions. Viewers meet the first baseball magnate, Albert Goodwill Spalding; explore the game's first gambling scandal; see the first attempts by women to play the game in the 1860's; witness the first attempt by ball players to unionize; and learn how the first black professionals were hounded out of the game in the "Jim Crow" 1880's. Audiences also encounter the greatest 19th century players, Michael "King" Kelly, Cap Anson and Denton T. "Cy" Young.