Olympic Ball Club of Philadelphia

The Olympic Ball Club of Philadelphia was an early ball club that some people call the "first baseball team." Despite this, the team actually played town ball based on the rules that they used. This is due to the fact that a book called "The Boy's Own Book" had mentioned games which were referred to as "Base-Ball," "Goal Ball," "Round Ball," and other names. The book also featured a diagram, depicting a field with four stones placed in the position of bases, as well as rules on how to "get home" and "make outs." The Olympics are credited as being the first organized club to use these rules. They appear to have been playing as early as 1831.

Once the New York Knickerbockers began playing as an organized baseball club in 1845, the Olympics were commonly referred to as a "town ball club," but eventually became a baseball club in 1860, and joined the National Association of Base Ball Players around that time. A common debate among researchers is whether or not the 1831 Olympics truly count as the first baseball team or not due to the fact that they did not officially transition to playing using Alexander Cartwright's rules until after many other baseball clubs had been formed.