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January 1, 1951
Eight franchises form the IPL, India’s top tier baseball league. The inaugural franchises are: Banglaore Royal Challengers, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Hyderabad Sunrisers, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings XI, and Rajasthan Royals. The 154-game schedule will commence on the first Sunday of every April.
January 15, 1951
League rules are mandated for the first time as follows:
• The season will be 154 games long and split into two 77-game halves. The first half and second half champions will meet in a Best-of-9 India Series Championship. If the first and second half champion is the same team, the team with the 2nd best overall record will meet the champion in the Final.
• The schedule will be balanced, where each teams plays each other 22 times (11 home, 11 away).
• Active Roster will consist of 25 players, expands to 40 on September 1st. Any player eligible for the post-season roster must be on the DL or Active Roster before September 1st.
• 25 Player Reserve Roster
• International Training Complex can only hold 25 players and must be on the active or reserve roster after their 20th birthday.
• Spring Training Rosters can have up to 60 players
• Only four non-Indian born players are allowed to be on the Active Roster at any time, with a maximum of two pitchers and two hitters.
• The Disabled list minimum time is seven days.
• All non-waiver trades must be made by June 15th.
• 154 Days on active roster consists of one service year
September 27, 1951
The Rajasthan Royals defeat the Mumbai Kings five games to three in the India Series Championship to become the inaugural champions.
September 19, 1952
Ravindran Kodanda wins the Triple Crown of Pitching with Kolkata, going 21-4, with a 2.62 ERA and 235 strikeouts.
August 18, 1953
Rajasthan’s Jayadev Pramath becomes the first IPL player to hit four homeruns in one game versus Bangalore.
September 18, 1953
The Delhi Daredevils become the first team to win 100 games, going 111-43 en route to their 2nd straight India Series Championship.
The Punjabi Kings XI become the first team to lose 100 games, going 54-100.
September 15, 1955
Hyderabad’s Murali ‘The Snake’ Kudesia becomes the 2nd pitcher to win the Triple Crown, going 23-7 with a 2.69 ERA and 176 strikeouts.
September 14, 1956
The Chennai Super Kings set the league record for losses in a season, going 49-105.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Daredevils fail to win either half of the IPL, missing the India Series for the first time since 1952.
July 14, 1957
Delhi 1B Apratipa Sruth becomes the first IPL player to hit 300 career homeruns.
September 20, 1957
The Delhi Daredevils match their previous mark of going 111-43 in 1953, by winning their fourth India Series in five years.
April 27, 1958
Delhi 1B Apratipa Sruthi becomes the first player to drive in 1,000 career runs in the IPL.
June 21, 1958
Kalmali Buhpahti becomes the first player in IPL history to record seven hits in a game, as he does this with Bangalore versus Kolkata. Devidasa Girsh also records six hits in the game for Bangalore, having the most hits by two players in one game in league history with 13.
June 27, 1958
Delhi 1B Apratipa Sruthi becomes the first player to score 1,000 career runs in the IPL.
September 19, 1958
The Rajasthan Royals break Chennai’s record of worst futility in a season, going 48-106.
October 4, 1958
The Daredevils win their second straight India Series and fifth in six years. Delhi has won five of the first eight India Series.
November 7, 1958
The IPL announces league formation changes and a mid-season “All-Stars Game” for the 1959 season:
• The IPL will be split into two, four-team divisions.
• North Division will consist of Delhi, Kolkata, Punjab, and Rajasthan
• South Division will consist of Banglaore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai
• The first half and second half division winners will meet in a best-of-5 preliminary final to determine the divisional representative for the India Series
• The schedule will be weighted for more games within its own division. Previously, each team played the other 22 times (11 home, 11 away). Each team will play its divisional counterparts 30 times (15 home, 15 away), and non-divisional opponents 16 times (8 home, 8 away). This provides 90 games versus divisional opponents and 64 versus non-divisional opponents.
• If the first half division champion wins the second half division championship, the team with the 2nd best record within its division will face the division champion in the Preliminary Series.
• The All-Stars Game will take place towards the end of June every year, with the North Division Stars meeting the South Division Stars
June 30, 1959
The South Division wins the inaugural All-Stars Game over the Northern Division 19-6.
July 14, 1959
Khamurti Soumodip becomes the first pitcher in IPL history to throw a no-hitter. While pitching for Punjabi, Soumodip gives up three walks while striking out nine against Bangalore.
September 19, 1959
Delhi 1B Apratipa Sruthi becomes the first player to hit 400 career homeruns.
September 21, 1959
Delhi and Hyderabad win both the 1st and 2nd half Northern and Southern Division titles, respectively.
September 26, 1959
Hyderabad sweeps Chennai in the inaugural Southern Division Preliminary.
September 27, 1959
Punjabi defeats Delhi, three games to one, to win the inaugural Northern Division Preliminary.
October 11, 1959
The Punjabi Kings XI win their 2nd India Series in four years, defeating Hyderabad five games to four.
December 6, 1959
Due to the major growth of the IPL, the Premier League announces formation of its first affiliated minor league: the Bronze League. This is the first-tier minor league and does not face any foreign restrictions.
December 8, 1959
With the formation of the Bronze League, the Reserve roster is disbanded, as each team assigns its reserve roster to their Bronze League affiliate.
December 10, 1959
The IPL announces formation of a secondary roster, known as a 40-man roster. This allows players to be sent via optional assignment to their Bronze League affiliates and can be placed on the active roster when it expands to 40 on September 1st every year.
December 14, 1959
When asked about expansion of the league, IPL Commissioner Kumar Verma states “within 5-7 years, we’ll add two more teams to the league.”