'Laws Of Base Ball' Documents Authored In 1857 Reveal Game's True Founding Father

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The origins of modern day baseball just got a little bit older.

Documents from 1857 entitled "The Laws of Base Ball" have recently been discovered to reveal the basic fundamentals and rules of the game.

Prior to this discovery, the basic tenets of the game have long been thought to have originated with Alexander Cartwright in 1860, who has a plaque in the Baseball Hall of Fame and is widely recognized as the founding father of baseball.

These new documents, however, were authored by Daniel Lucious "Doc" Adams, and published in 1857.

"He's the true father of baseball and you've never heard of him," MLB Historian John Thorn said.

"The Laws of Base Ball" details such vital rules of the the game that we still see today, such as 90-feet base-paths, 9 men per team, a 9 inning game and specific guidelines regarding equipment usage.

"This is the blueprint for the modern game of baseball," Dan Imler, Vice President of SCP Auctions said.

"It just got better and better and more and more compelling. It was just mind blowing once we fully realized what we had," he added.

The documents are currently up for auction via SCP Auctions, and will be available to bid on until the end of April.

The owner of the documents had just recently discovered their significance, and had previously kept them in a desk drawer after paying $12,000 at a 1999 auction.

These documents are expected to surpass the $1 million mark when the auction is over.