The First Superstar

October 18, 1862 - Jim Creighton died on this day. Almost twenty years before the National League was formed, he was baseball's first superstar.

In those days, baseball was played by a loosely organized patchwork of hometown teams. Larger, more established teams would go on tour and challenge the local clubs they encountered along the way. One of the most famous clubs was Excelsior of Brooklyn, and their star pitcher was Jim Creighton.

Of his many claims to fame, Creighton is credited with throwing the first fastball, the first shutout and completing the first triple play. He was a baseball god.

His popularity was so great that some of the teams he beat renamed themselves The Creightons in his honor.

Legend has it that in October of 1962, Creighton took such a fierce swing at the bat that it ruptured something inside of him. The 21-year-old slugger was in terrible pain so he retired to his parents' home where he died a few days later.

A massive obelisk stands over Creighton's grave in Brooklyn where baseball fans and players still pay their respects.