Baseball scorekeeping

1876 Box Score

"Baseball scorekeeping is the practice of recording the details of a baseball game as it unfolds. Professional baseball leagues hire official scorers to keep an official record of each game (from which a box score can be generated), but many fans keep score as well for their own enjoyment. Scorekeeping is usually done on a printed scorecard and, while official scorers must adhere precisely to one of the few different scorekeeping notations, most fans exercise some amount of creativity and adopt their own symbols and styles. Sportswriter Henry Chadwick is generally credited as the inventor of baseball scorekeeping. His basic scorecard and notation have evolved significantly since their advent in the 1870s but they remain the basis for most of what has followed."
Wikipedia

1867 Score

"He is credited with devising the baseball box score[2] (which he adapted from the cricket scorecard) for reporting game events. The first box score was a grid with nine rows for players and nine columns for innings. The original box scores also created the often puzzling abbreviation for strikeout as 'K' - 'K' being the last letter of 'struck' in 'struck out.' The basic format and structure of the box score has changed little since the earliest of ones designed by Chadwick. He is also credited with devising such statistical measures as batting average and earned run average. Ironically, ERA originated not in the goal of measuring a pitcher's worth but to differentiate between runs caused by batting skill (hits) and lack of fielding skill (errors). He is also noted as believing fielding range to be a superior skill to avoiding errors. The following description of a game was written by Henry Chadwick and appeared in his Base Ball Memoranda."
W - Henry Chadwick

Brooklyn Eagle, September 3, 1875

Box score
"In baseball, the statistical summary of a game is reported in a box score. An abbreviated version of the box score, duplicated from the field scoreboard, is the line score. The Baseball Hall of Fame credits Henry Chadwick with the invention of the box score. The line score is a two-line chart that reports each team's run totals by inning, and total runs, total hits, and total errors on a line. The visiting team is on the top line and the home team on the bottom line. The terms top of the inning and bottom of the inning are derived from their positions in the line score. Sometimes, the winning team is bolded or colored for quick-reference. If the home team is already leading and does not bat in the bottom of the 9th inning, that position in the line score will have an 'X' instead of a number of runs scored."
W - Box Score

These Delightful Designer Notepads Revive Old-Timey Baseball Score-Keeping
"The statistical revolution in baseball has changed the way the sport is played. Now, if graphic designer Bethany Heck has her way, it will revive the art of spectator score keeping as well. The practice of tracking games with a series of cryptic notations has existed since the 1870s, but with her designer-notepad HalfLiner Scorebook project, Heck hopes to make this geeky pastime more accessible to modern fans. Heck’s Scorebook’s pages are filled with a grid of miniature diamonds that can be turned into a compelling account of a dramatic game with a few small marks. Any conceivable game scenario can be captured with a few numbers, letters, and well placed squiggles."
Wired (Video)
The Eephus League Baseball Scorebook Revival Project

Dan's Guide to Baseball Scorekeeping

YouTube: Keeping a scorebook pt1, Keeping a scorebook pt2. How to Keep Score in Baseball : How to Note a Base runner on a Scorecard.