Wheaton, William Rufus, 1814–88, American baseball pioneer, b. New York City. He practiced law in New York during the 1830s and 40s, and was a founding member and vice president of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club (1845), where he helped draft the team's first formal set of rules. He probably helped to write the first set of rules for the Gotham Base Ball Club (1837) as well. Moving to San Francisco (1849) during the gold rush, he practiced law and became involved in local politics, serving in the California State Assembly. He later served as a register (1876–86) of the U.S. General Land Office.
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