* * * P R E S S R E L E A S E * * * Contact: Alexander Joy Cartwright, IV MrBaseball.com 3106 Sumner Tapps Highway East Unit A PMB 126 Sumner, WA 98390 877-435-5485; 253-640-6039 (cell) alex@mrbaseball.com www.mrbaseball.com Descendent of Baseball's Originator to Visit East Coast August 1, 2003, Seattle, WA --- Alexander Joy Cartwright, IV, Lockheed Martin Corporation employee, will be visiting Pennsylvania and New York on vacation between August 22nd-27th. He is scheduled to throw the first pitch for the vintage Silver Ball Tournament on Friday, August 22nd, in Mumford, New York; and on Saturday, August 23nd at 3:00 PM at one of the games for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Why gives this man such an honor? He is the great great grandson of the man who the National Baseball Hall of Fame has declared as "The Father of Modern Baseball." In fact, in addition to these appearances, Mr. Cartwright will be visiting Cooperstown, New York for the very first time between August 24th-25th where he will be able to view a collection of artifacts at the museum that once belonged to his ancestor. In the mid-1800s, Alexander Joy Cartwright, Junior was the founder of the New York Knickerbocker Ball Club. Not only did he create the first organized baseball team, but he also designed the baseball diamond and specified the distance between the bases, along with other rules and regulations still in use today. Although Cartwright was only with the Knickerbockers for its first four years of existence, the club itself lasted until sometime in the 1870s. Cartwright caught Gold Fever in 1849 and ventured west. He became a kind of 'Johnny Appleseed' of baseball, teaching the game to settlers at frontier towns and Army posts, and even Indians along the way. He eventually traveled as far west as the Hawaiian Islands where he lived a notable life until his death in 1892. His descendent, Alex Cartwright, IV has become another kind of 'Johnny Appleseed,' who has spoken at various events over the years representing his ancestor's legacy. His website, MrBaseball.com, devoted to the history of baseball, attracts interest from baseball enthusiasts from all over the world. He receives emails for his assistance with historical baseball references from publishers and literary agents, and even children who want help doing a school report. Alex Cartwright, IV, with Monica Nucciarone, is writing the biography of Alexander J. Cartwright, Jr. and hope for publication sometime next year. Plans for it being adapted into a feature length film are also in the works.