Sis 
 
 
 •■■ i-*Jif- 
 
 
 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 LIBRARY 
 
 MOSES COIT TYLER 
 BOOK FUND 
 
 AMERICAN HISTORY 
 
 
""'^^^i^ 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 GV863 .S73 
 
 America's national game; historic facts 
 
 oiin 
 
 3 1924 029 949 579 
 
 ooe 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029949579 
 
AMERICA'S National Game 
 
 • » 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 T 
 
 
 
 'f-^M 
 
 B' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 H^ 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 ^1^ 
 
 
 hm 
 
 
 
 
 
 K'C^^^H^ 
 
 
 ^^^^^^IHh 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^m 
 
 
 hI 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^H 
 
 
 IBa 
 
 . -,.:■ 
 
 
 
 
 i'^Sm 
 
 
 nmn 
 
 ■iH 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 k 
 
 
 
 
M 
 
 ffi ffioffiL m 
 
 HISTORIC FACTS CONCERNING THE BEGINNING 
 
 EVOLUTION, DEVELOPMENT AND 
 
 POPULARITY OF 
 
 WITH PERSONAL REMINISCENCES OF ITS VICISSITUDES, ITS 
 VICTORIES AND ITS VOTARIES 
 
 BY 
 
 ALBERT G. SPALDING 
 
 CARTOONS BY HOMER C. DAVENPORT 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 AMERICAN SPORTS PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 19 11 
 
GV 
 Sl3 
 
 copyhight, 1911 
 By a. G. Spalding 
 Point Loma, Cai.. 
 
 f 
 
 u 
 
 V 1 I, I, ' 
 
To the memory of Henry Chadwick 
 "The Father of Base Ball " 
 
 To the memory of William A. Hulbert 
 The Savior of a Nation's Pastime 
 
 And to the National League 
 Of Professional Base Ball Clubs 
 That has borne the brunt of battle 
 During thirty-five years of development 
 Of America's National Game 
 
 This work is sincerely dedicated by 
 
 The Author 
 
Foreword 
 
 For several years I have been the recipient of fre- 
 quent letters from admirers of our National Game in all 
 parts of the country, urging me to write a history of 
 Base Ball. For many adequate reasons I have felt 
 impelled to decline these courteous invitations to enter 
 the realms of literary endeavor, where I do not claim to 
 belong. 
 
 First of all, the task was gigantic. It involved, under 
 that title, not the writing of a book, but of books; not 
 even the making of a few volumes, but of a library. I 
 had neither time nor inclination for such an undertak- 
 ing. It meant not only days, and weeks, and months, 
 but years of patient application to a very exacting and 
 not at all exciting line of research among musty records 
 of long-forgotten facts. 
 
 I had been looking forward to the time when I might 
 have a change and a rest from some of the active duties 
 of life, and an enterprise involving so much of close per- 
 sonal application, although presenting a very wide diver- 
 gence from my customary lines of labor, did not promise 
 much in the way of absolute repose. 
 
 Recently, however, these requests have come with 
 redoubled frequency and force. It is known that I have 
 acquired possession of the Base Ball archives of Henry 
 Chadwick, Harry Wright and other old-time friends and 
 factors of the game; it is urged that I am duty bound 
 to make public some of the contents of my storehouse of 
 information pertinent to our national pastime, and I have 
 been^ importuned to relate some of the reminiscences of 
 
X AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 the days when I was connected with it, either as player, 
 manager or club official. 
 
 To all these requests and importunities I might have 
 turned a deaf ear but for one incident which I wiU here 
 relate. Some months before his demise I received a letter 
 from Mr. Henry Chadwick, advising me that he had m 
 his keeping the accumulations of years, embracing much 
 valuable statistical and historical data bearing upon the 
 national game. This he desired me to possess, but he 
 wanted it to go into the hands of one who would make 
 use of some part of it, at least. He then declared that 
 he had written his will and bequeathed to me his Base 
 Ball library, in the hope that I would write a book on the 
 subject that had held so much of interest for him during 
 his manhood's life. 
 
 Therefore, when, after his death I received word from 
 Mrs. Chadwick that shipment had been made to me of 
 her husband's Base Ball literature, I found myself facing 
 the plea of an old and valued friend, now " on the other 
 shore," adding to that of many others his request that I 
 should write a book on Base Ball. 
 
 Hence, putting aside all personal inclinations, I find 
 myself engaged in the undertaking of writing, not a his^ 
 tory of Base Ball, but the simple story of America's 
 National Game as I have come to know it. I wish again 
 emphatically to disavow any pretense on the part of this 
 work as a " history of Base Ball." I have simply soughti;! 
 in these pages to deal with the beginnings of things, lead- 
 ing the reader to the opening of paths the traversing of 
 which will enable him to view certain historic scenes that 
 in my opinion constitute the chief landmarks of Base Ball 
 history. 
 
 Slim 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME XI 
 
 I have undertaken briefly to touch upon the several 
 epochs that impress me as of greatest importance; to 
 consider abuses that crept into the game at the begin- 
 ning ; to note the inability of early Associations to control 
 these evils; to dwell upon the nature of the struggle to 
 eradicate wrongs and establish a form of government 
 that would make for the integrity of Base Ball, and 
 which has wrought the salvation of the game and made 
 it the cleanest, most scientific and popular pastime known 
 to the world of sport. 
 
 I have interspersed in this narrative some reminis- 
 cences in which the personal equation is conspicuously 
 present. In the very nature of things that had to be 
 I the case. But I here and now disclaim any desire to 
 exploit my name, my views or my achievements. This 
 I book is simply my contribution to the story of the game. 
 , In it I have reviewed facts as they have been presented 
 I to me. That others have seen them from other view- 
 , points and received impressions altogether different I 
 I know; and I accord to such the same sincerity that I 
 
 maintain for myself. 
 I In this work I have aimed to present only the truth. 
 If in so doing I have on occasion seemed to speak harshly 
 of the actions of some men who have sought tp embarrass 
 the noble sport, I plead in extenuation of what I have 
 here written that it is the truth itself — not the one who 
 utters it — that offends the doer of wrong. 
 
 Point Loma, California, October. 1911. 
 
Acknowledgments 
 
 While the author of this work has dealt with his sub- 
 ject from viewpoints entirely his own, and, has given 
 many of the facts herein contained from personal observa- 
 tions and experiences during many years of active service 
 in Base Ball, yet, in the nature of things, he has been 
 obliged to call upon others to confirm data and amplify 
 details. 
 
 To the following named gentlemen he desires hero to 
 make special acknowledgment : 
 
 To Hon. Morgan G. Bulkeley, of Connecticut; N. E. 
 Young, of .Washington, D. C. ; A. G. Mills, James E. 
 Sullivan and John B. Foster, of New York City; George 
 Wright, John F. Morrill and F. W. Thayer, of Boston; 
 A. J. Reach, of Philadelphia ; Bruce Cartright, of Hono- 
 lulu ; Samuel E. Winslow and Ernest Thayer, of Worces- 
 ter, Massachusetts, for valuable data supplied by each. 
 
 For illustrations he wishes to thank Mr. Homer C. 
 Davenport, America's great cartoonist, to whose genius 
 much of the interest of this volume is due. The cartoons 
 were executed while Mr. Davenport was a guest at the 
 author's home at Point Loma, California. After hear- 
 ing some of the manuscript read, the artist felt inspired 
 to illustrate certain leading features of the story of the 
 game. 
 
 To Mr. William D. Page, a boyhood friend at Rock- 
 ford, Illinois; later a well-known Indianian, resident at 
 Fort Wayne (now a permanent resident of Point Loma, 
 California), t!.e author is particularly indebted. Mr. 
 Page has given valuable assistance in the compilation and 
 editing of this work. 
 
 To all these friends the author is glad to express 
 his thanks and appreciation for favors always cheerfully 
 extended. 
 Point Loma, California, October, 1911. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 Dedication vii 
 
 Foreword ix 
 
 Acknowledgments xii 
 
 Chapter I.— Why Base Ball Has Become our National Game- 
 Distinctively American as to its Nativity, Evolution, Develop- 
 ment, Spirit and Achievements 3 
 
 Chapter II. — Antiquity of the Game of Ball — Archaeology, Myth- 
 ology, Tradition and History Note Games of Ball from the 
 Beginning of Recorded Time — The Man who Devised Base 
 Ball IT 
 
 Chapter III. — Steps in the Evolution of Base Ball from its 
 Primitive Stages — How it Developed, Naturally, from a 
 Boy with a. Ball, to its Present Form, with Eighteen Players, 
 Ball, Bats and Bases 39 
 
 •Chapter IV. 1845-55.— First Base Ball Club— The Old Knick- 
 erbockers — Their Eminent Respectability and Fine Social 
 Qualities — The Man Who Organized the First Base Ball 
 Club 47 
 
 Chapter V. 1855-60. — First Association of Base Ball Clubs — 
 Some Early Matches — Introduction of the Gambling Evil 
 with its Resultant Demoralization — The National Association 
 of Base Ball Players 65 
 
 Chapter VI. I860.— The First Base BaU Tour— Visit of the 
 Brooklyn Excelsiors to Central and Western New York — 
 Remarkable Chain of Victories — The First Base Ball Row. 77 
 
 Chapter VII. 1860-65.— The First Serious Backset to the Game~) 
 — Widespread Demoralization Following the Outbreak of the < 
 Civil War — Base Ball Played in Camps of Both Contending,.^ 
 Armies. 91 
 
 Chapter VIII. 1865.— First Tour of an Eastern Base Ball Club 
 to the West — Remarkable Succession of Victories Won by the 
 Nationals, of Washington, D. C. — Humiliating Defeat by the 
 
 Forest Citys 101 
 
 xiii 
 
XIV AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter IX. 1865-70— First Tour of a Western Amateur Club 
 to the East— Story of the Forest Citv Club— Its Remarkable 
 
 ' lis 
 
 Career and Splendid Record of Victories. . • • " 
 
 CHAPTEtt X. 1869-70.— First Professional Base Ball Club— The 
 Cincinnati Red Stockings— Bold Declaration of Independence 
 and Their Unequalled Record of Victories. . • • " 
 
 Chapter XI. 1870-71.— Death of the First Base Ball Association 
 —First Defeat of the Famous Red Stockings— The Great 
 Athletic and Atlantic Base Ball Clubs. • ' • • •1*'' 
 
 Chapter XII. 1870-75.- First Professional Base BaU Associa- 
 tion — Conditions Leading up to Its Organization — Profes- 
 sionalism Thoroughly Established— List of the First 
 Professional Players 159 
 
 Chapter XIII. 1874.— First Foreign Tour of American Ball 
 Teams— Eighteen American Ball Players Defeat the Crack 
 Elerens of Great Britain at Cricket — Bostons and Athletics 
 in Europe 175 
 
 Chapter XIV. 1875-80.— Statement of Causes That Led to the 
 Formation of the National League — Inability of Former 
 Associations to Correct Demoralizing Abuses. . . . 189 
 
 Chapter XV. 1875-76.— First Great Base Bail League and 
 
 Leader — Powerful Influence of the Personality of William A. 
 
 Hulbert upon the Fortunes of the National Game. . . 199 
 
 rCHAPTEH XVI. 1875-80. — First Determined Struggle Against 
 
 ^ Prevailing Evils — How Gambling and Pool Selling were 
 
 C Eradicated from the Grounds and from the Game. . . 317 
 
 Chapter XVII. 1880-88.— Decade of the 80's— The American 
 and Union Base BaU Associations — Their Fruitless Efforts 
 to Supplant the National League — A. G. Mills the Right Man. 239 
 Chapter XVIII. 1888-89.— First World's Tour of American 
 
 Base Ball Players — How Our National Game was Introduced I 
 into Foreign Lands — Played in Pacific Isles, Egypt, Italy, 
 
 France and Great Britain _ oei 
 
 Chapter XIX. 1889-90.— First Notable Revolt of Professional 
 
 Base Ball Players — Organization of the Players' League 
 
 Why Such an Organization Could Not Succeed, , , ago 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME XV 
 
 Page 
 Chapter XX. 1889-90.— The Brotherhood War— A Campaign 
 
 of Abuse and Falsehood on Both Sides — One Case where 
 I Figures Lied — Father Chadwick's Story of the Struggle . 285 
 
 Chapter XXI. 1900-01— The Story of " Freedmanism"— How it 
 
 was Proposed to Syndicate Base Ball — Attempt to Kill the 
 
 J National League in the Interests of Sordid Magnates. . 301 
 
 Chapter XXII. 1901-02. — Freedman Imbroglio Continued — An 
 
 Election That Did Not Elect, but was Made to Serve an 
 
 ( Important Purpose — ALegalOpinionby theHon.Thos.B.Reed. 315 
 
 Chapter XXIII. 1900-10.— First Association of Base Ball 
 Leagues — Ban B. Johnson and the New American League . 
 — The Supreme Court of Base Ball Established — Death 
 li of. JJenry Chadwick. ........ 329 
 
 Chapter XXIV. 1859-1910.— Base Ball in Colleges, Academies 
 and Public Schools — First Recorded Intercollegiate Game — 
 Base Ball and Education Go Hand in Hand — Notable Re- ~"\ 
 [ union of Old Collegians and Professionals. . . . 345 
 
 Chapter XXV. 1860-1910.— Base Ball in Army and Navy— 
 
 Commanders-in-chief Who Have Honored the Game — Em- > 
 
 |. ployed by the Government for the Entertainment and Dis- -- 
 
 cipline of Men 361 
 
 Chapter XXVI. 1894-1910. — Base Ball in American Colonies — 
 
 1! Story of League Games in the Land of the Midnight Sun — 
 Base Ball Popular in Alaska, Hawaii, Porto Rico and the 
 Philippines 371 
 
 J Chapter XXVII. 1888-1910.— Base Ball in Great Britain and 
 Her Colonies — Game is Very Popular in Canada — Is Growing 
 in Favor in Australia and Other British Possessions. . . 383 
 
 J Chapter XXVIII. 1905-10.— Base BaU in The Orient— > 
 Japanese Have Become Adepts at the Game — International A 
 Games Show the Japs to be Very Proficient — Games Else- 
 where in the Orient 395 
 
 , Chapter XXIX. 1860-1910.— The Umpire and What is Due to 
 Him and His Office — Very Great Advance Made in Treat- 
 ment of the Umpire — The New President of the National 
 I^eague a Former Umpire 405 
 
XVI AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Page 
 
 Chapter XXX. 1860-1911.— Plea for the Base Ball Magnate— A 
 Somewhat Abused Individual Who Carries a Burden of 
 Duties and Responsibilities of Which the Public Knows 
 
 Little and Cares Less ■ ' 
 
 'Chaptee XXXI.— Base Ball and Religion— Billy Sunday as 
 Player and Preacher— Anecdotes of the Interest Church Peo- 
 ple Talse in the National Sport— The Religious Editor's 
 
 . Report of a Game *^^' 
 
 ^ Chaptek XXXII.— Poetic Literature of Base Ball— Interesting -y^ 
 \ Story of " Casey at the Bat "—Its Author— De Wolf Hopper's 
 
 S Part in Mailing the Poem a Classic— Other Poems. . • 449 
 
 i::hapter XXXIII.— Prose Literature of the Game— Contribu- 
 C" tions of Base Ball Writers on the Scientific Features and 
 < Vast Achievements of the National Pastime. . . .463 
 
 ^iiAPTER XXXIV.— Some General Facts Concerning the Tech- , 
 nique of Base Ball — Introduction of the Glove, the Mask 
 and Other Accessories — Curved Ball Controversy. . . 475 
 
 /Chapter XXXA^ — Summary of the Prosperous Phases of Base 
 Ball — Multiplied Millions Witness Games Every Year — Mag- 
 nificent Palaces Shelter Enthusiastic Spectators. . . 493 
 
 CiiAPTEii XXXVI. — A Chapter of Reminiscences Referring to 
 the Game of Base Ball and Some Men Who Have Played It 
 in Other Years — Ball Players as a Rule are Men of Honor. 509- 
 
 ?HAPTER XXXVII.— Conclusion— The Psychology of Base Ball— ^ 
 Mr. Edward Marshall's Interview on the Effect of the Game 
 _ on the Mind and of the Mind on the Game. . . . 531 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 g Portrait of A. G. Spalding 
 Where Base Ball Has Its Beginning 
 America's National Game .... 
 East and West, North and South "Play Ball 
 Cricket vs. Base Ball 
 t Base BaU Follows the Flag . 
 Ball Playing In All Ages and All Climes 
 The Bismarck of Base Ball 
 Major-General Abner Doubleday 
 An Embryo Base Ball Star 
 Boy and Ball— Barn Ball 
 One Old Cat— Two Old Cat . 
 I Three Old Cat— Four Old Cat . 
 Town Ball— Base Ball .... 
 Base Ball As It Was 
 Base Ball or Cricket — Which ? 
 Alexander J. Cartwright . 
 The Knickerbockers at Practice 
 
 Duncan F. Curry 
 
 Eckford Base Ball Club, of Brooklyn, 1858 
 
 Champion Unions of Morrisania 
 
 Knickerbocker and Excelsior Teams, 1858 
 
 William H. Van Cott 
 
 Old-Time Base Ball Uniforms 
 
 Excelsiors of Brooklyn 
 
 James P. Creighton . 
 
 J. B. I-eggett . 
 
 Creighton's Monument 
 
 The Call for Volunteers— 1861 
 
 On Tented Fields— In Prison Pen 
 
 Hon. Arthur Pue Gorman 
 
 Col. Frank Jones 
 
 Forest Citys, of Rockford, 
 
 Cincinnati Red Stockings . 
 
 Harry Wright . 
 
 George Wright . 
 
 Some of'the Red Stockings 
 
 F'red Waterman, Harry Wright, Asa Brainard 
 
 Page 
 
 . Opposite ii 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 . XX 
 
 111 
 
 Opposite 
 
 8 
 12 
 16 
 22 
 ■2\ 
 28 
 33 
 34 
 36 
 38 
 lO 
 44 
 46 
 50 
 54 
 58 
 63 
 65 
 68 
 73 
 T6 
 T8 
 
 . 86 
 . 90 
 . 94 
 . 100 
 . 110 
 . 114 
 . 138 
 . 133 
 . 136 
 . 140 
 . 142 
 
XVIU AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAMK i 
 
 Paob 1 
 . 144 
 
 Souvenirs of Atlantic Victories " , , « I 
 
 . 146 
 
 Atlantics, of Brooltlyn ' .. 
 
 Peter O'Brien . . . • ■ ,54 1 
 
 Atlantics, of Brooklyn • ' ' leo' 
 
 Haymakers, Troy, N. Y 
 
 Mutuals, New York, N. Y 
 
 Athletics, of Philadelphia— 1874 ••••■' '^o 
 
 A Hot Proposition in the Early Days ...•■' 
 
 Boston Champions 
 
 Adrian C. Anson 
 
 182 
 Great Britain's National Game 
 
 Robert Ferguson ^^* 
 
 William A. Hulbert 1^^ 
 
 Morgan G. Bulkeley ^"^ 
 
 N. E. Young ^*'^ 
 
 Monument of WiUiam A. Hulbert -212 
 
 When Gambling Controlled 216 
 
 When W.hiskey Threatened 230 
 
 Olympics, Washington, D. C 232 
 
 H. D. McKnight 238 
 
 A. G. Mills 246 
 
 The Sphinx Sees Base Ball 2.50 
 
 Chicago and All- America World Tour Teams .... 3S4 
 
 American Base BaU Party 260 
 
 Chicago White Stockings 266 
 
 John M. Ward 268 
 
 Edward Hanlon 374 
 
 "Dan" Brouthers 378 
 
 A. G. Spalding, of National League "War Committee" . . 383 
 
 John B. Day, of National League "War Committee" . . . 384 
 
 John I. Rogers, of National League "War Committee" . . 390 
 
 Michael J. "King" Kelly 391 
 
 When the Game Reached Silverton 300 
 
 When Syndicatism Was Killed Opposite 31S 
 
 Byron Bancroft Johnson 338 
 
 August Herrmann 333 
 
 H. C. Pulliam 336 
 
 "Father" Chadwick 34,0 
 
 Chadwick Monument 343 
 
 "The Old Time Base Ball Players," Boston . . . Opposite 345 
 
 Not Like This in the Olden Time 349 
 
 "Our Choice" ,353 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Upper Burmah 
 
 Lincoln's Notification .... 
 
 Ex-Secretary of U. S. Navy Paul Morton 
 
 Base Ball in Alaska .... 
 
 Base Ball in Our Insular Possessions 
 
 A "Base Ball Cup Tie Final" Crowd, London, England 
 
 Base Ball Match at Keio, Japan 
 
 Base Ball in the Orient 
 
 American Base Ball Team at Yenamgyat, 
 
 Thomas J. Lynch 
 
 The Umpire — As He Was 
 
 The Umpire — As He Is . 
 
 John T. Brush . 
 
 Arthur H. Soden 
 
 Frank De Hass Robison . 
 
 A. J. Reach 
 
 Chris Von Der Ahe . 
 
 Presidents of National League Clubs 
 
 Presidents of American League Clubs 
 
 James A. Hart .... 
 
 William A. Sunday .... 
 
 Ernest L. Thayer .... 
 
 "Casey at the Bat" .... 
 
 Ralph D. Paine, Hugh S. FuUerton and 
 
 John Philip Sousa's Base Ball Team 
 
 F. W. Thayer and James A. Tyng . 
 
 The Old Grandstand, Polo Grounds, New York 
 
 New Stadium, Polo Grounds, New York 
 
 The Grandstand at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh , 
 
 Grandstand, Philadelphia Athletics 
 
 New Grandstand, Chicago White Sox . 
 
 A Crowd at the World Series, Philadelphia . 
 
 The Author's Introduction to Base Ball . 
 
 Edward Marshall 
 
 Homer C. Davenport 
 
 Will S. Irwin 
 
 XIX 
 
 Page 
 . 360 
 . 364 
 . 370 
 . 376 
 . 382 
 . 394 
 . 398 
 . 403 
 . 404 
 . 410 
 . 411 
 . 420 
 . 422 
 . 424 
 . 426 
 . 428 
 . 430 
 . 433- 
 , 434 
 . 438 
 . 448 
 . 456 
 . 462 
 . 466 
 . 474 
 
 Opposite 494 
 
 Opposite 495 
 
 Opposite 502 
 
 Opposite 503 
 
 Opposite 503 
 
 . 508 
 
 . 530 
 
 . 540 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
EAST AND WEST, NORTH AND SOUTH 
 " PLAY BALL " 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 WHY BASE BAIil. HAS BECOME OUE NATIONAL GAME DIS- 
 TINCTIVELY AMERICAN AS TO ITS NATIVITY, EVOLUTION, 
 DEVELOPMENT, SPIKIT AND ACHIEVEMENTS. 
 
 HAVE we, of America, a National Game? Is there 
 in our country a form of athletic pastime which 
 is distinctively American? Do our people recognize, 
 among their diversified field sports, one standing apart 
 from every other, outclassing all in its hold upon the 
 interest and affection of the masses? If a negative reply 
 may truthfully be given to all or any of these queries, then 
 this book should never have been published — or written. 
 
 But, if we have a National Game; if we know a form 
 of athletics which is peculiarly American, and have 
 adopted it as our own; if it is American in its spirit, its 
 character and its achievements; if it conforms in every 
 way to the American temperament ; if we have a field sport ( 
 outranking all others in popularity, then it is indeed time 
 that the writing, in personal reminiscence, of its story 
 in book form should begin, "lest we forget" the salient 
 points in the inception, evolution and development of so 
 important a factor in the widespread entertainment of the 
 American people and the physical upbuilding of our 
 youth. 
 
 To enter upon a deliberate argument to prove that 
 Base Ball is our National Game; that it has all the 
 attributes of American origin, American character and 
 3 
 
4 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 unbounded public favor in America, seems a wor 
 supererogation. It is to undertake the elucidation of a i 
 patent fact; the sober demonstration of an axiom; it is 
 like a solemn declaration that two plus two equal four. 
 
 Every citizen of this country who is blessed with 
 organs of vision knows that whenever the elements are 
 favorable and wherever grounds are available, the great 
 American game is in progress, whether in city, village or 
 haiiilet, east, west, north or south, and that countless 
 thousands of interested spectators gather daily through- 
 out the season to witness contests which are to determine 
 the comparative excellence of competing local organiza- 
 tions or professional league teams. 
 
 The statement will not be successfully challenged that 
 the American game of Base Ball attracts more numerous 
 
 • and larger gatherings of spectators than any other form 
 of field sport in any land. It must also be admitted that 
 it is the only game known for which the general public is 
 willing day after day to pay the price of admission. In 
 exciting political campaigns, Presidential candidates and 
 brilliant orators will attract thousands ; but let there be 
 a charge of half a dollar imposed, and only Base Ball can 
 stand the test. 
 
 ♦ I claim that Base Ball owes its prestige as our 
 National Game to the fact that as no other form of sport 
 it is the exponent of American Courage, Confidence, Com-1 
 bativeness; American Dash, Discipline, Determination;^ 
 American Energy, Eagerness, Enthusiasm; American 
 Pluck, Persistency, Performance ; American Spirit, Sagac- 
 ity, Success ; American Vim, Vigor, Virility. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME .5 
 
 Base Ball is the American Game far excellence, 
 because its playing demands Brain and Brawn, and Ameri- 
 can manhood supplies these ingredients in quantity suf- 
 ficient to spread over the entire continent. 
 
 No man or boy can win distinction on the ball field who 
 is not, as man or boy, an athlete, possessing all the quali- 
 fications which an intelligent, effective playing of the game 
 demands. Having these, he has within him the elements 
 of pronounced success in other walks of life. In demon- 
 stration of this broad statement of fact, one needs only 
 to note the brilliant array of statesmen, judges, lawyers, 
 preachers, teachers, engineers, physicians, surgeons, mer- 
 chants, manufacturers, men of eminence in all the profes- 
 sions and in every avenue of commercial and industrial 
 activity, who have graduated from the ball field to enter 
 upon honorable careers as American citizens of the high- 
 est type, each with a sane mind in a sound body. 
 
 It seems impossible to write on this branch of the sub- 
 ject — to treat of Base Ball as our National Gamt — ^with- 
 out referring to Cricket, the national field sport of Great 
 Britain and most of her colonies. Every writer on this 
 theme does so. But, in instituting a comparison between 
 these games of the two foremost nations of earth, I must 
 not be misunderstood. Cricket is a splendid game, for 
 Britons. It is a genteel game, a conventional game — and 
 our cousins across the Atlantic are nothing if not conven- 
 tional. They play Cricket because it accords with the 
 traditions of their country so to do ; because it is easy 
 and does not overtax their energy or their thought. They 
 play it because they like it and it is the proper thing to 
 
6 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 do. Their sires, and grandsires, and great-grandsires 
 played Cricket— why not they? They play Cricket 
 because it is their National Game, and every Briton is a 
 Patriot. They play it persistently— and they play it well. 
 I have played Cricket and like it. There are some fea- 
 tures about that game which I admire more than I do 
 some things about Base Ball. 
 
 But Cricket would never do for Americans ; it is too 
 slow. It takes two and sometimes three days to complete 
 a first-class Cricket match; but two hours of Base Ball is 
 quite sufficient to exhaust both players and spectators. 
 An Englishman is so constituted by nature that he can 
 wait three days for the result of a Cricket match; while 
 two hours is about as long as an American can wait for 
 the close of a Base Ball game — or anything else, for that 
 matter. The best Cricket team ever organized in Amer- 
 ica had its home in Philadelphia — and remained there. 
 Cricket does not satisfy the red-hot blood of Young or 
 Old America. 
 
 The genius of our institutions is democratic ; Base Ball 
 is a democratic game. The spirit of our national life 
 IS combative; Base Ball is a combative game. We are a 
 cosmopolitan people, knowing no arbitrary class distinc- 
 tions, acknowledging none. The son of a President of the 
 United States would as soon play ball with Patsy Flan- 
 nigan as with Lawrence Lionel Livingstone, provided only 
 that Patsy could put up the right article. Whether 
 Patsy's dad was a banker or boiler-maker would never 
 enter the mind of the White House lad. It would be quite 
 enough for him to know that Patsy was up in the game 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 7 
 
 I have declared that Cricket is a genteel game. It is. 
 Our British Cricketer, having finished his day's labor at 
 noon, may don his negligee shirt, his white trousers, his 
 gorgeous hosiery and his canvas shoes, and sally forth to 
 the field of sport, with his sweetheart on one arm and his 
 Cricket bat under the other, knowing that he may engage 
 in his national pastime without soiling his linen or neglect- 
 ing his lady. He may play Cricket, drink afternoon tea, 
 flirt, gossip, smoke, take a whiskey-and-soda at the cus- 
 tomary hour, and have a jolly, conventional good time, 
 don't you know.'' 
 
 Not so the American Ball Player. He may be a veri- 
 table Beau Brummel in social life. He may be the Swellest 
 Swell of the Smart Set in Swelldom ; but when he dons his 
 Base Ball suit, he says good-bye to society, dofFs his gen- 
 tility, and becomes — ^just a Ball Player ! He knows that 
 his business now is to play ball, and that first of all he is 
 expected to attend to business. It may happen to be his 
 business to slide ; hence, forgetting his beautiful new flan- 
 nel uniform, he cares not if the mud is four inches deep 
 at the base he intends to reach. His sweetheart may be in 
 the grandstand — she probably is — ^but she is not for him 
 while the game lasts. 
 
 Cricket is a gentle pastime. Base Ball is War! 
 Cricket is an Athletic Sociable, played and applauded in 
 a conventional, decorous and English manner. Base Ball 
 is an Athletic Turmoil, played and applauded in an 
 unconventional, enthusiastic and American manner. 
 
 The founder of our National Game became a Major* 
 General in the United States Army! The sport had its 
 
__^ 
 
 CRICKET VS. BASE BALL 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 9 
 
 baptism when our country was in the preliminary agonies 
 of a fratricidal conflict. Its early evolution was among 
 the men, both North and South, who, during the war of 
 the sixties, played the game to relieve the monotony of 
 camp life in those years of melancholy struggle. It was 
 the medium by which, in the days following the "late 
 unpleasantness," a million warriors and their sons, from 
 both belligerent sections, passed naturally, easily, grace- 
 fully, from a state of bitter battling to one of perfect 
 peace. 
 
 Base Ball, I repeat, is War! and the playing of the 
 game is a battle in which every contestant is a command- 
 ing General, who, having a field of occupation, must 
 defend it; who, having gained an advantage, must hold 
 it by the employment of every faculty of his brain and 
 body, by every resource of his mind and muscle. 
 
 But it is a bloodless battle; and when the struggle 
 ends, the foes of the minute past are friends of the minute 
 present, victims congratulating victors, conquerors point- 
 ing out the brilliant individual plays of the conquered. 
 
 It would be as impossible for a Briton, who had not 
 breathed the air of this free land as a naturalized Ameri- 
 can citizen; for one who had no part or heritage in the 
 hopes and achievements of our country, to play Base 
 Ball, as it would for an American, free from the tram- 
 mels of English traditions, customs, conventionalities, to 
 play the national game of Great Britain. 
 
 Let such an Englishman stand at the batter's slab on 
 an American ball field, facing the son of an American 
 President in the pitcher's box, and while he was rumi- 
 
10 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 nating upon the propriety of hitting, in his " best form, ^ 
 a ball delivered by the hands of so august a personage, 
 the President's boy would probably shoot three hot ones 
 over the plate, and the Umpire's "Three strikes ; you're 
 out," would arouse our British cousin to a realization 
 that we have a game too lively for any but Americans 
 to play. 
 
 On the other hand, if one of our cosmopolitan ball 
 artists should visit England, and attempt a game of 
 Cricket, whether it were Cobb, Lajoie, Wagner, or any 
 American batsman of Scandinavian, Irish, French or Ger- 
 man antecedents; simply because he was an American, 
 and even though the Cricket ball were to be bowled at his 
 feet by King George himself, he would probably hit thf 1 
 sphere in regular Base Ball style, and smash all con- 
 ventionalities at the same time, in his eager effort to 
 clear the bases with a three-bagger. 
 
 The game of Base Ball is American as to anothei 
 peculiar feature. It is the only form of field sport known 
 where spectators have an important part and actually 
 participate in the game. Time was, and not long ago, 
 when comparatively few understood the playing rules-i? 
 but the day has come when nearly every man and boy in 
 the land is versed in all the intricacies of the pastimef 
 thousands of young women have learned it well enough 
 to keep score, and the number of matrons who know the 
 difference between the short-stop and the back-stop is 
 daily increasing. 
 
 But neither our wives, our sisters, our daughters nor 
 our sweethearts, may play Base Ball on the field. They- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME U 
 
 may play Cricket, but seldom do; they may play Lawn 
 Tennis, and win championships ; they may play Basket 
 Ball, and achieve laurels ; they may play Golf, and receive 
 trophies; but Base Ball is too strenuous for womankind, 
 except as she may take part in grandstand, with applause 
 for the brilliant play, with waving kerchief to the hero 
 of the three-bagger, and, since she is ever a loyal partisan 
 of the home team, with smiles of derision for the Umpire 
 when he gives us the worst of it, and, for thfe same reason, 
 with occasional perfectly decorous demonstrations "when 
 it becomes necessary to rattle the opposing pitcher. 
 
 But spectators of the sterner sex may play the game 
 on field, in grandstand or on bleachers, and the influence 
 they exert upon the contest is hardly less than that of 
 I the competitors themselves. 
 
 1 In every town, village and city is the local wag. He 
 is a Base Ball fan from infancy. He knows every player 
 ( in the League by sight and by name. He is a veritable 
 I encyclopedia of information on the origin, evolution and 
 (history of the game. He can tell you when the Knicker- 
 ibockers were organized, and knows who led the batting 
 (list in every team of the National and American Leagues 
 plast year. He never misses a game. His witticisms, ever 
 [.seasoned with spice, hurled at the visitors and now and 
 jthen at the Umpire, are as thoroughly enjoyed by all 
 ,who hear them as is any other feature of the sport. His 
 .words of encouragement to the home team, his shouts of 
 derision to the opposing players, find sympathetic 
 responses in the hearts of all present, 
 1 But it is neither the applause of the women nor the 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME jg 
 
 jokes of the wag which make for victory or defeat in 
 comparison with the work of the "Rooter." He is ever 
 present in large numbers. He is there to see the " boys " 
 win. Nothing else will satisfy him. He is bound by no 
 rules of the game, and too often, perhaps, by no laws of 
 decorum. His sole object in life for two mortal hours 
 is to gain victory for the home team, and that he is not 
 overscrupulous as to the amount of racket emanating 
 from his immediate vicinity need not be emphasized here. 
 
 And so it comes to pass that at every important 
 game there is an exhibition in progress, in grandstand 
 and on bleachers, that is quite as interesting in its fea- 
 tures of excitement and entertainment as is the contest 
 on the field of sport, and which, in its bearing upon the 
 final result, is sometimes a factor nearly as potent as are 
 the efforts of the contesting players. 
 
 It must be admitted that as the game of Base Ball 
 has become more generally known; that is, as patrons of 
 the sport are coming to be more familiar with its rules 
 and its requirements, their enjoyment has immeasurably 
 increased; because, just in so far as those in attendance 
 understand the features presented in every play, so far 
 are they able to become participators in the game itself. 
 And beyond doubt it is to this growing knowledge on the 
 part of the general public with the pastime that its 
 remarkable popularity is due. For, despite the old 
 adage, familiarity does not breed contempt, but fondness, 
 and all America has come to regard Base Ball as its very 
 own, to be known throughout the civilized world as the 
 great American National Game, 
 
14 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Finally, in one other particular Base Ball has won 
 its right to be denominated the American National Game.;^ 
 Ever since its establishment in the hearts of the peoplej 
 as the foremost of field sports, Base Ball has " followed 3 
 the flag." It followed the flag to the front in the sixties, 
 and received then an impetus which has carried it to half 
 a century of wondrous growth and prosperity. It has 
 followed the flag to Alaska, where, under the midnight 
 sun, it is played on Arctic ice. It has followed the flag to 
 the Hawaiian Islands, and at once supplanted every other 
 form of athletics in popularity. It has followed the flag 
 to the Philippines, to Porto Rico and to Cuba, and 
 wherever a ship floating the Stars and Stripes finds 
 anchorage to-day, somewhere on nearby shore the Ameri- 
 can National Game is in progress. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 ANTIQUITY OF THE GAME OF BALL ARCHAEOLOGY, MYTH- 
 OLOGY, TKADITION AND HISTORY NOTE GAMES OF BALL 
 
 FROM THE BEGINNING OF RECORDED TIME THE MAN 
 
 WHO DEVISED BASE BALL. 
 
 A RCHiEOLOGY contributes its testimony to the 
 A\. antiquity of ball-playing by opening its storehouses 
 of ancient treasures ; for, graven on tablets, and temples 
 and monuments, have been found pictures of human 
 figures in the act of playing with balls. 
 
 Four thousand years ago, in the 12th Egyptian 
 dynasty, a Coptic artist sculptured on the temple Beni 
 Hassan, human figures throwing and catching balls. A 
 leather-covered ball used in games played on the Nile 
 over forty centuries ago, has a place among the many 
 archaological specimens in the British Museum, at 
 London. It has a sewed cover and is still in a remarkable 
 state of preservation. 
 
 The game of ball was prized by the Greeks as giving 
 grace and elasticity to the human figure, and they erected 
 a statue to one Aristonicus for his proficiency in it. We 
 are told by Horace that Mascenas amused himself during 
 his journeys by playing ball. In the Greek gymnasia 
 and in the Roman baths there were special compartments 
 for ball-playing, called Sphaeristerii, where certain rules 
 and gradations of exercise were observed, according to 
 the health of the player. The balls used were of various 
 17 
 
Ig AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 materials, the most common being of leather, filled with 
 hair, while others were stuffed with feathers. Ancient 
 medical practitioners were wont to prescribe a course of 
 ball-playing, where the modern doctor would order a diet 
 of pills. 
 
 It is supposed that ball-tossing had a deep symbolical 
 meaning when played in the spring of the year ; and that 
 the tossing of the ball was intended to first typify the 
 upspringing of the life of nature after the gloom of 
 winter. And, whether this was the case among the people 
 of antiquity or not, it is a remarkable fact that the eccle- 
 siastics of the early Church adopted this symbol and 
 gave it a very special significance by meeting in the 
 churches on Easter Day, and throwing up a ball from 
 hand to hand, to typify The Resurrection. ' 
 
 In the 16th century the game of ball was very popu- 
 lar in the courts of the Princes of Europe, especially in 
 Italy and France. It was considered one of the best 
 forms of exercise known for cultivating grace in motion, 
 agility and strength, as well as for promoting general^ 
 health of body and cheerfulness of disposition. 
 
 The Chinese have played ball in various ways fromd 
 times of remote antiquity. For centuries games of ball 
 have been known, and played in Japan. Ethiopian and 
 East Indian traditions refer to games with balls played 
 many centuries ago. Britons, Celts, Scots, Scandi- 
 navians, Teutons and the early Latin races have playedj 
 games of ball time out of mind. ■■- 
 
 But while it is true that ball playing in many forms 
 has been engaged in by most nations from time immemor- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 19 
 
 ial, it is a proven fact that the game now designated 
 "Base Ball," is of modern and purely American origin. 
 
 I have no intention, in this work, of reopening the dis- 
 cussion which waxed so warm a short time ago, as to the 
 origin of the game. It would be an act of disloyalty to 
 the Commission that was appointed at my suggestion in 
 1907, with instructions to consider all available evidence 
 and decide the case upon its merits, were I ever again to 
 enter upon the details of that vexed controversy — except 
 in order to prove the righteousness of the verdict then 
 rendered. It is quite enough here to say that the Com- 
 mission referred to, after a long, thorough, painstak- 
 ing investigation of all obtainable facts, unanimously 
 declared: 
 
 "First — That Base Ball had its origin in the United 
 States ; 
 
 " Second — That the first scheme for playing it, 
 according to the best evidence obtainable to date, was 
 devised by Abner Doubleday, at Cooperstown, New York, 
 ■ in 1839." 
 
 The Commission rendering this important decision 
 was composed of such able men and well-known friends 
 of the game as 
 
 Mr. a. G. Mills of New York, an enthusiastic ball 
 
 player before and during the Civil War, and the third 
 
 President of the National League. 
 Hon. Arthuk, P. Gorman (since deceased), ex-United 
 
 States Senator from Maryland. 
 Hon. Morgan G. Bulkeley, ex-Governor, and later 
 
 United States Senator from Connecticut, and the first 
 
 President of the National League. 
 
20 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Mk. N. E. Young of Washington, D. C, a veteran ball 
 player, and the first Secretary and afterward the 
 fourth President of the National League. 
 
 Mr. Alfred J. Reach of Philadelphia, and 
 
 Mr. George Wright of Boston, both well-known busi- 
 ness men and two of the most famous ball players in 
 their day. 
 
 Mr. James E. Sullivan of New York, President of the 
 Amateur Athletic Union, accepted the position of 
 Secretary of this Special Commission. 
 
 The report of the Commission, written by Mr. A. G. 
 Mills, and bearing date December 30th, 1907, is signed 
 by all the members named above, except Hon. A. P. Gor- 
 man, whose death occurred while his colleagues were 
 engaged in the work of research. The report closes with 
 these words: 
 
 " As I have stated, my belief had been that our ' National Game 
 of Base Ball' originated with the Knickerbocker club, organized in 
 New York in 1845, and which club published certain elementary rules 
 in that year ; but, in the interesting and pertinent testimony for 
 which we are indebted to Mr. A. G. Spalding, appears a circum- 
 stantial statement by a reputable gentleman, according to which 
 the first known diagram of the diamond, indicating positions for 
 the players, was drawn by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown, N. Y., 
 m 1839. Abner Doubleday subsequently graduated from West Point 
 and entered the regular army, where, as Captain of Artillery, he 
 sighted the first gun fired on the Union side (at Fort Sumter) in 
 the Civil War. Later still, as Major General, he was in command 
 of the Union army at the close of the first day's fight in the "battle 
 of Gettysburg, and he died full of honors at Mendham, N. J., in 
 1893. It happened that he and I were members of the same veteran 
 military organization— the crack Grand Army Post (Lafayette), and 
 the duty devolved upon me, a^i Cr.mmander of that organization, to 
 have charge of his obsequies, and to command the veteran military 
 escort which served as guard of honor when nis body lay in state, 
 January 30, 1893, in the New York City Hall, prior to his interment 
 in Arlington. 
 
 " In the days when Abner Doubleday attended school in Coopers- 
 town, it was a common thing for two dozen or more of school boys 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 21 
 
 to join in a game of ball. Doubtless, as in my later experience, 
 collisions between players in attempting to catch the batted ball were 
 frequent, and injury due to this cause, or to the practice of putting 
 out the runner by hitting him with the ball, often occurred. 
 
 " I can well understand how the orderly mind of the embryo 
 West Pointer would devise a scheme for limiting the contestants on 
 each side and allotting them to field positions, each with a certain 
 amount of territory; also substituting the existing method of putting 
 out the base runner for the old one of ' plugging ' him with the ball. 
 
 " True, it appears from the statement that Doubleday provided 
 for eleven men on a side instead of nine, stationing the two extra 
 men between first and second, and second and third bases, but this 
 is a minor detail, and, indeed, I have played, and doubtless other 
 old players have, repeatedly with eleven on a side, placed almost iden- 
 tically in the manner indicated by Doubleday's diagram, although 
 it is true that we so played, after the number on each side had been 
 fixed at nine, simply to admit to the game an additional number of 
 those who wished to take part in it. 
 
 " I am also much interested in the statement made by Mr. Curry, 
 of the pioneer Knickerbocker club, and confirmed by Mr. Tassie, of 
 the famous old Atlantic club of Brooklyn, that a diagram, showing 
 the ball field laid out substantially as it is to-day, was brought to 
 the field one afternoon by a Mr. Wadsworth. Mr. Curry says ' the 
 plan caused a great deal of talk, but, finally, we agreed to try it.' 
 While he is not quoted as adding that they did both try and adopt 
 it, it is apparent that such was the fact; as, from that day to this, 
 the scheme of the game described by Mr. Curry has been continued 
 with only slight variations in detail. It should be borne in mind 
 that Mr. Curry was the first president of the old Knickerbocker 
 club, and participated in drafting the first published rules of the 
 game. 
 
 "It is possible that a connection more or less direct can be 
 traced between the diagram drawn by Doubleday in 1839 and that 
 presented to the Knickerbocker club by Wadsworth in 1845, or there- 
 abouts, and I wrote several days ago for certain data bearing on 
 this point, but as it has not yet come to hand I have decided to delay 
 no longer sending in the kind of paper your letter calls for, promis- 
 ing to furnish you the indicated data when I obtain it, whatever it 
 may be. 
 
 "Yours very truly. 
 
•ih I 
 
 THE BISMAKCK OF BASE BALL 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 28 
 
 "We, the undersigned members of the. Special Base Ball 
 Commission, unanimously agree with the decision as expressed and 
 outlined in Mr. A. G. Mills' letter of December 30, 1907. 
 
 JlJ,&lS'iLn 
 
 h^ 
 
 Senator Bulkeley, after affixing his signature, ap- 
 pended the following statement : 
 
 " I personally remember as a boy in East Haddam, Conn., before 
 1846, playing the game of One and Two Old Cat, and remember with 
 great distinctness the early struggles in Brooklyn, N. Y., between the 
 two rival clubs, the Atlantics and Excelsiors, and later the Stars, 
 with Creighton as pitcher. This was some ten to fifteen years before 
 the National organization. I was present, representing the Hartford 
 club, at the formation of what is now the National League at the 
 Grand Central Hotel, Broadway, New York City, about 1875 or 
 1876, and was its first President, with Nick Young, Secretary. 
 
 "M. G. Bulkeley." 
 
 Accepting the decision of the Commission appointed 
 
 to consider the subject of the origin of Base Ball as 
 
 final, I have nothing to add to their report. However, 
 
 it is quite in keeping with the purpose of the story of our 
 
 national game to present here a brief biography of the 
 
 man who first perfected the system out of which the 
 
MAJOR-GENERAL ADNER DOUBLEDAY 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 25 
 
 greatest of all out-of-doors pastimes has had its evolu- 
 tion. The following sketch is from Appleton's " Encyclo- 
 paedia of American Biography " : 
 
 "Major General Abner Doubleday was born in Ballston Spa, 
 New York, June 26, 1819. He was a civil engineer in 183()-1838, 
 when he was appointed to the U. S. Military Academy, and on his 
 graduation in 1842, was assigned to the Third Artillery. He served 
 in the First Cavalry during the Mexican War, being engaged at 
 Monterey and at Rinconada Pass during the Battle of Buena Vista. 
 He was promoted to First Lieutenant March 3, 1847, to Captain 
 March 3, 1855, and served against the Seminoles (Indians) in 
 1856-1858. He was in Fort Moultrie from 1860 till the garrison 
 withdrew to Fort Sumter on December 26th of that year, and aimed 
 the first gun fired in defence of the latter fort on April 12th, 1861. 
 He was promoted to Major in the Seventeenth Infantry on May 14th, 
 1861 ; from June till August was with General Patterson in the 
 Shenandoah Valley, and then served in the defence of Washington, 
 commanding forts and batteries on the Potomac. He was made 
 Brigadier General of Volunteers on February 3, 1862, and was 
 assigned to the command of all the defences of Washington on the 
 same date, and commanded a Brigade on the Rappahannock and 
 in the Northern Virginia campaign from May to September, 1862, 
 including the second Battle of Bull Run, where he succeeded, on 
 August 30, to the command of Hatch's Division. In the Battle of 
 Antietam, his Division held the extreme right and opened the battle, 
 losing heavily, but taking six battle-flags. On November 29, 1862, 
 he was promoted to Major-General of Volunteers. He was at Fred- 
 ericksburg and Chancellorsville, and succeeded General John F. 
 Reynolds as Chief of the First Corps when that officer was appointed 
 to that command of a wing of the army. On July 1, 1863, he was 
 sent to Gettysburg to support Buford's Cavalry, and on the fall of 
 General Reynolds, took command of the field till the arrival of 
 General Howard, some hours later. His division fought gallantly 
 in the battle that followed, and on the third day aided in the repulse 
 of Pickett's charge. 
 
 " General Doubleday served on courts-martial and commissions 
 in 1863, and on July 12, 1864, temporarily commanded the south- 
 eastern defences of Washington, when the city was threatened by 
 Early's raiders. He was brevetted Colonel in the Regular Army on 
 March 11, 1865, and Brigadier and Major-General on March 13, 
 for his services during the war. In December, 1866, he was in com- 
 mand at Galveston, Texas; served as Assistant Commissioner of the 
 Freedman's Bureau there until August 1, 1867, and, after being 
 mustered out of the volunteer service, was made Colonel of the 
 
26 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Thirty-fifth Infantry, September 15, 1867. He was a member of the 
 Retiring Board in New York City in 1868, and in 1869-1871 super- 
 intended the general recruiting service in San Francisco, where, in 
 1870, he suggested and obtained a charter for the first cable street 
 railway in the United States. After commanding in Texas, he was 
 retired from active service on December 11, 1873. He has published 
 ' Reminiscences of Forts Sumter and Moultrie in 1860-1861,' New 
 York, 1876 ; ' Chancellorsville and Gettysburg,' 1883 ; and articles 
 in periodicals on army matters, the water supply of cities, and other 
 subjects." 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
AN EMBKYO BASE BALL STAR 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 STEPS IN THE EVOLUTION OF BASE BALL FROM ITS PRIMI- 
 TIVE STAGES HOW IT DEVELOPED, NATURALLY, FROM 
 
 A BOY WITH A BALL, TO ITS PRESENT FORM, WITH 
 EIGHTEEN PLAYERS, BALL, BATS AND BASES. 
 
 HOWEVER views of individuals may differ as to 
 the origin of the American national game, all 
 must agree that the sport had as its foundation — a Ball. 
 Without that as its basis, the superstructure of the 
 grandest pastime ever devised by man could never have 
 l^een erected. 
 
 ; Josh Billings, in writing upon the general subject of 
 DJjgs, once said that, in order to realize on the different 
 kij^ds of dogs, one must have environments calculated to 
 develop the inherent traits of the varied breeds. Thus, 
 in order to " realize " on a coach dog, one must be the 
 owner of a carriage and team, that the canine might run 
 along beneath the vehicle ; in order to " realize " on a 
 Newfoundland dog, he said its owner must have a pond 
 of water and children, playing around, carelessly, that 
 they might fall in and be rescued by "Faithful Nero," 
 and so on. 
 
 Just so in this case, in order to " realize " on the 
 Ball it is necessary to have someone to put it in motion. 
 Happily, that one is not difficult to find. Placing the 
 Ball in the hands of the first lad who happens along, we 
 may be assured that he will do the rest. And he does. In 
 29 
 
30 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 less time than it takes in the telling, he is bounding the 
 sphere upon the ground. Down it goes ; up it flies. 
 Leaving the boy's hand, it strikes the ground, and, return- 
 ing, is caught. In this completed act we have the first 
 crude and elementary . step in our National Game — ^with 
 just a Boy and a Ball. 
 
 But the Boy, like other members of the human family, 
 is a social creature. It is quite conceivable that the aver- 
 age boy, upon being presented with a Ball, would find 
 immediate and pleasurable entertainment throwing it to 
 the ground and catching it upon the rebound; but such 
 pastime would be of temporary duration. The lad would 
 soon tire of the monotony of the sport. Unselfish, h? 
 would want someone to share his fun — moreover, every- 
 body recognizes that thing in human nature, in youth as 
 
 well as maturity, which delights in the exploitation) of 
 
 .J 
 ownership, possession. Given the boy's mother or sisiter 
 
 in possession of a new gown, and it is immediately dormed 
 for exhibition before her less favored neighbor. : The 
 arrival of his new " Red Devil " sets the boy's dad rujshing 
 around town before he knows the first principles c bf the 
 machine's construction, to the imminent danger ^ai all 
 resident mankind and incidentally that of any animal . that 
 may happen to come in his way. He simply must show 
 Jones the new flyer, even though it decimates the 
 population. a 
 
 "Like father, like son." Tom wants his schoolmatej 
 Dick, to see the new ball. In a very few minutes they are 
 together, playing throw and catch, in an interesting ele- 
 mentary game of ball. Tom throws ; Dick catches. Dick 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME gl 
 
 throws; Tom catches. Back and forth flies the ball till 
 the school bell rings, and in this simple little form of exer- 
 cise we have " Throw and Catch " as the second stage in 
 the evolution of our game — with Two Boys and a Ball. 
 
 Now, human nature is not only social in its demands ; 
 it is also enterprising — and fickle. Bounding a ball on 
 the ground is well enough if a lad is alone and can't get 
 company. Throw and Catch beats no game at all; but 
 it becomes tiresome after a while. And so, when school is 
 over, or on Saturdays, when there is no school, we find 
 Tom and Dick out behind the barn, inventing a new and 
 different phase of the game of ball. 
 
 " I'll tell you what we'll do," says Tom. " I'll throw 
 the ball against the barn. You get that old axe-handle 
 over there and strike at it as it comes back. If you miss 
 the ball and I catch it, you're out ; or, if you hit the ball 
 and can run and touch the barn and return before I can 
 get the ball and hit you with it, you count one. If I hit 
 you with the ball before you get back to your place, 
 you're out. See.?" 
 
 They try it ; find it works well, and the third stage of 
 the game is developed in "Barn-Ball" — with Two Boys, 
 a Bat and a Ball. 
 
 Again, it happens sometimes that it is not altogether 
 convenient to play barn-ball. The game requires a barn. 
 Now, while most boys may usually be depended upon to 
 have a large and varied assortment of things in pocket, it 
 sometimes occurs that a barn is not one of them ; so barn- 
 ball is out of the question. Tom and Dick are coming 
 from school with Harry, They tell the new boy about 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 33 
 
 the ball and the large amount of fun there is wrapped up 
 in it. They dilate upon the proficiency they have already 
 attained in throwing, catching and batting, and patronize 
 Harry a trifle perhaps, because of his inexperienre. 
 
 "Why can't we have a game of barn-ball, now?" asks 
 the unsophisticated Harry. 
 
 " Oh, don't you know nuthin' ?' There isn't any barn," 
 answers Dick. 
 
 "I'll tell you what we can do," says the inventive 
 Tom. " Come on, Dick ; you and I will throw and catch, 
 just as we did the other day, and Harry can stand 
 between us with the club. Now, Dick, when I throw to 
 you, Harry can face me and try to hit the ball, and when 
 you throw to me he can turn your way and strike at it. 
 If Harry misses the ball, and either of us catches it 
 before it hits the ground or on the first bound, he's out 
 and the fellow who catches him out takes the club. If he 
 hits the ball far enough to get to that rock over there and 
 back before one of us gets the ball and hits him with 
 it, he counts one tally ; but if one of us hits him with 
 the ball, he's out. See.'"' And thus the game of "One 
 Old Cat " was born, and the fourth step has been evolved, 
 with Three Boys, a Bat, a Ball and a Base. 
 
 The evolution of the next step in the game of Base 
 Ball was natural and easy. It was a very simple sequence 
 of One Old Cat. It grew out of the fact that Jim came 
 along and wanted to play with the others. 
 
 " That's dead easy," says the resourceful Tom. 
 " We'll just add another base, get another club, and there 
 you are. All the difference there will be is that when 
 
'*■' '¥' 
 
 -I I, 
 
 :tMi^^" '*i".. 
 
 a 
 o 
 
 M 
 'A 
 
 O 
 
 ■<T?~ '\ 
 
 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME , 35 
 
 either one hits the ball you must both run and exchange 
 places. If the ball is thrown and hits either one of you, 
 that one must give way to the fellow who threw it." The 
 game of Two Old Cat was thus developed in order to 
 include Four Boys, Two Bats, Two Bases and a Ball. 
 
 By this time the game of Base Ball is becoming popu- 
 lar. Next Saturday, when Tom, Dick, Harry and Jim 
 go out on the commons to have a game of Two Old Cat, 
 Frank and Ned join them with hopes of getting into the 
 game. 
 
 "No use," says the pessimistic Dick; "only four can 
 play at this game. You see, we've got two catchers and 
 two hitters now, and that's all we can have." 
 
 " Oh, I don't know," says Tom. " What's the matter 
 with having a three-cornered game.f* then we all can 
 play." 
 
 The game is tried three-cornered. It works all right, 
 and Three Old Cat, with Six Boys, Three Bats, Three 
 Bases and a Ball has added another step in the evolution 
 of our American game. 
 
 The interest increases. Eight Boys want a chance to 
 play at the same time. An equilateral ground is chosen, 
 about forty feet each way. The sport is tried out in 
 that form and is found to meet the purpose. But now 
 the game is becoming cumbersome. It is slow and unsat- 
 isfactory in some respects. The multiplication of players 
 introduces elements of discord. Dissensions arise. No 
 two agree as to the proper way of playing the game. 
 There are no printed rules available for the village com- 
 mons. Interest, meanwhile, is growing, and more and 
 
AMERICAS NATIONAL GAME 37 
 
 still more players are clamoring for admission. The 
 game of Four Old Cat has been developed all right, but, 
 unlike the feline from which its name has been derived, 
 the game is never a howling success; but it does afford 
 pastime for Eight Boys, Four Bats, Four Bases and a 
 Ball. 
 
 In Two, Three and Four Old Cat games,' each indi- 
 vidual player had his own score, and the players did not 
 engage collectively as teams. Each tally was credited to 
 the striker only. Every base gained by the striker was 
 counted as a tally for himself alone. At the close of the 
 game, if any record was kept, the player who was found 
 to have the greatest number of tallies was declared the 
 victor. Thus, in the days when a game which would 
 accommodate no more than eight players would suffice, 
 the "Old Cat," or "Individual Score," system of ball- 
 playing answered the purpose ; but as the pastime became 
 more popular, and more boys wanted to play, it became 
 necessary to devise a new form of the game which would 
 admit a greater number of participants and at the same 
 time introduce the competitive spirit that prevails in 
 teamwork. 
 
 We are indebted to Four Old Cat for the square- 
 shaped ball field, with a base at each corner. A natural 
 step was then made by eliminating the four throwers and 
 four batters of the Four Old Cat game, and substituting 
 in place of them one thrower, or pitcher, and one batter. 
 The pitcher was stationed in the center of the square and 
 the striker, or batter, had his position at the middle of 
 one of the sides of the square. In this form of the game, 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 39 
 
 two sides, or teams, were chosen, one known as the Field- 
 ing Side, and the other as the Batting Side. The game 
 was known as " Town Ball," and later, that is, in the 
 decade beginning with 1850, it came to be known as the 
 " Massachusetts Game of Base Ball," in contradistinction 
 to the " New York Game of Base Ball," as played by the 
 Knickerbocker Club of New York City in the decade of 
 the '40s. Thus Town Ball came in vogue and made 
 another step in the evolution of the American game of 
 Base Ball. 
 
 In this game were present many of the elements of 
 the game of Base Ball as we know it to-day — and then 
 some. It accommodated thirty or more players and 
 was played on town-meeting days, when everybody in 
 the township took a hand. Sometimes there were so 
 many playing that the grounds were full of fielders, and 
 but for the large number and their indiscriminate selec- 
 tion, the sport might have developed more skill. The 
 square field of Four Old Cat, but with the side lines 
 lengthened to sixty instead of forty feet, obtained in 
 Town Ball. Batsmen were out on balls caught on fly or 
 first bound, and base runners were out by being " soaked " 
 while running by- a thrown ball. Town Ball was played 
 quite generally throughout New England. It had, as 
 before stated, fifteen or more players on a side, Catcher, 
 Thrower, Four Bases, a Bat and a Ball. 
 
 The final step in the evolution of the game was the 
 adoption of the diamond-shaped field and other points of 
 play incorporated in the system devised by Abner Double- 
 day, of Cooperstown, New York, in 1839, and subse- 
 
AMERICAS NATIONAL GAME 41 
 
 quently formulated into a code of playing rules adopted 
 by the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, of New York, upon 
 its organization in 184)5. The number of players partici- 
 pating in a game was limited to eighteen — nine on a side ; a 
 Pitcher, a Catcher, a Short Stop, First, Second and 
 Third Basemen, Right, Center, and Left Fielders, Four 
 Bases, Bat and Ball, and was the game of Base Ball sub- 
 stantially as played to-day. 
 
 The following, from the Memphis Appeal, of date 
 unknown to the writer, is a fair and interesting descrip- 
 tion of the game as played in the days of long ago : 
 
 " Time will not turn backward in his flight, but the mind can 
 travel back to the days before Base Ball, or at least to the days 
 before Base Ball was so well known and before it had become so 
 scientific. There were ball games in those days, in town and country, 
 and the country ball game was an event. There were no clubs. 
 The country boy of those days was not gregarious. He preferred 
 flocking by himself and remaining independent. On Saturday after- 
 noons the neighborhood boys met on some well cropped pasture, and 
 whether ten or forty, every one was to take part in the game. Self- 
 appointed leaders divided the boys into two companies by alter- 
 nately picking one until the supply was exhausted. The bat, which 
 was no round stick, such as is now used, but a stout paddle, with a 
 blade two inches thick and four inches wide, with a convenient handle 
 dressed onto it, was the chosen arbiter. One of the leaders spat on 
 one side of the bat, which was honestly called ' the paddle,' and 
 asked the leader of the opposition forces, ' Wet, or dry ? ' The paddle 
 was then sent whirling up into the air, and when it came down, 
 whichever side won went to the bat, while the others scattered over 
 the field. The ball was not what would be called a National League 
 ball, nowadays, but it served every purpose. It was usually made on 
 the spot by some boy offering up his woolen socks as an oblation, 
 and these were raveled and wound round a bullet, a handful of strips 
 cut from a rubber overshoe, a piece of cork or almost anything, or 
 nothing, when anything was not available. The winding of this 
 ball was an art, and whoever could excel in this art was looked. upon 
 as a superior being. The ball must be a perfect sphere and the 
 threads as regularly laid as the wire on a helix of a magnetic arma- 
 ture. When the winding was complete the surface of the ball was 
 thoroughly sewed with a large needle and thread to prevent it from 
 
42 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 unwinding when a thread was cut. The diamond was not arbitrarily 
 marked off as now. Sometimes there were four bases, and sometimes 
 six or seven. They were not equidistant, but were marked by any 
 fortuitous rock, or shrub, or depression in the ground where the 
 steers were wont to bellow and paw up the earth. One of these 
 tellural cavities was almost sure to be selected as ' the den,' now 
 called the home-plate. There were no masks, or mitts, or protectors. 
 There was no science or chicanery, now called 'head-work.' The 
 strapping young oafs — embryonic preachers, presidents and premiers 
 — were too honest for this. The pitcher was the one who could throw 
 the ball over the 'den,' and few could do this. His object was to 
 throw a ball that could be hit. The paddleman's object was to hit 
 the ball, and if he struck at it — which he need not do unless he chose 
 • — and missed it, the catcher, standing well back, tried to catch it 
 after it had lost its momentum by striking the earth once and 
 bounding in the air — ' on the first bounce ' it was called — and if he 
 succeeded the paddleman was dead and another took his place. If 
 he struck it and it was not caught in the field or elsewhere, in the 
 air or on the first bounce, he could strike twice more, but the third 
 time he was compelled to run. There was no umpire, and very little 
 wrangling. There was no effort to pounce upon a base runner and 
 touch him with the ball. Anyone having the ball could throw it at 
 him, and if it hit him he was ' dead ' — almost literally sometimes. 
 If he dodged the ball, he kept on running till the den was reached. 
 Some of the players became proficient in ducking, dodging and side- jj 
 stepping, and others learned to throw the ball with the accuracy of ' 
 a rifle bullet. No matter how many players were on a side, each 
 and every one had to be put out. And if the last one- made three 
 successive home runs, he ' brought in his side,' and the outfielders, • 
 pitcher and catcher had to do their work all over again. The boy . 
 who could bring in his side was a hero. No victorious general was . 
 ever prouder or more lauded. Horatius at the bridge was small : 
 potatoes in comparison. He was the uncrowned king. There were 
 no foul hits. If the ball touched the bat ever so lightly it was a 
 ' tick,' and three ticks meant a compulsory run. The score was 
 kept by some one cutting notches in a stick, and the runs in an 
 afternoon ran up into the hundreds. If a ball was lost in the grass 
 or rolled under a Scotch thistle, the cry 'lost ball' was raised and 
 the game stopped until it was found. 
 
 " Only the older country ball players can remember those days 
 and games. They did not last long. When the change came, it came 
 suddenly. Technicalities and rules began to creep in. Tricks between 
 the pitcher and catcher, designed to fool the batter, began. The 
 argot or slang of the game intruded. The country boys who went 
 to college found more than their new homespun suits, of which tbev 
 were so proud on leaving home, out of date. The ball game was all 
 changed. They had to use a round club instead of a paddle to hit 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 43 
 
 the ball. They had to change their tactics all through the game. 
 They found the pitcher not intent upon throwing a ball that could be 
 hit, but so that it would be hit at and missed. The bases were laid 
 off with mathematical accuracy. They could be put out in many 
 unknown and surprising ways. They could not throw a ball at a 
 base runner. They could not wander at will over the field, but must 
 occupy a certain position. All was changed. AU has been changed 
 since. The expert of even twenty years ago would be lost to-day. 
 The game of ball has been growing more scientific every year. It 
 will continue to grow more scientific for years to come. The home- 
 spun-clad boys who returned home on vacation expecting to ' show 
 off,' and teach their former companions the game of ball up to date, 
 discovered the innovation had preceded them, and that those who 
 had npt left the old haunts knew all about the game excepting the 
 very newest wrinkles. And they knew something which the college 
 boys had not learned." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
ALEXANDER J. CARTWaiGHT 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FIRST BASE BALI, CLUB THE OLD KNICKERBOCKERS THEIR 
 
 EMINENT RESPECTABILITY AND FINE SOCIAL QUALITIES • 
 
 THE MAN WHO ORGANIZED THE FIRST BASE BALL CLUB. 
 
 1845-55 
 A LTHOUGH accepting the finding of the Commis- 
 1, \, sion of 1907 as definitely establishing the American 
 origin of our national game, and that it was first put on 
 record by the scheme devised by young Doubleday, in 
 1839, it is known that the game of Base Ball, in crude 
 form, had been played for many years previous to that 
 date, and it was doubtless from the fact of his familiarity 
 with it in earlier years that the embryo Major General 
 was inspired to formulate his system looking toward its 
 perfection. 
 
 In his admirable little work, entitled "Base Bail," 
 Mr. John Montgomery Ward, the famous old time player, 
 and at present a member of the New York bar, declares 
 that: 
 
 "Col. James Lee, elected an honorary member of the Knicker- 
 " bocker Club in 1846, said that he had often played the game when 
 a boy, and at that time he was a man of sixty or more years. 
 
 "Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Said to the reporter of a Boston 
 paper that Base Ball was one of the sports of his college days at 
 Harvard, and Dr. Holmes graduated in 1829. 
 
 " Mr. Charles DeBost, the catcher and captain of the old Knicker- 
 bockers, played Base Ball on Long Island fifty years ago, and it was 
 the same game which the Knickerbockers afterward played." 
 
 No longer ago than last year, the following appeared 
 
 in the columns of the Erie (Pa.) Tribune: 
 
 47 
 
48 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 To the Editor of The Tribune. 
 
 Sir: I find this morning in The Tribune an article on the " Origin 
 of Base Ball" quoted from another periodical. In this article it is 
 said that Base Ball probably grew out of the English game of 
 " rounders." 
 
 I dm in my eighty-third year, and I know that seventy years 
 ago, as a boy at school in a country school district in Erie County, 
 Pa., 1 played Base Ball with iny schoolmates; and I know it was 
 a common game long before my time. It had just the same form as 
 the Base Ball of to-day, and the rules of the game were nearly the 
 same as they are now. 
 
 One bad feature of the old game, I am glad to say, is not now 
 permitted. The catchers, both the one behind the batter and those 
 on the field, could throw the ball and hit the runner between the 
 bases with all the swiftness he could put into it — " burn him," it was 
 called. That cruel part of ' the game has been abolished; the ball is 
 now thrown to the base before the runner reaches it, if possible, and 
 this puts him out. 
 
 I never heard of the game called i " rounders." " One old cat " 
 or " two old cat " was played then as now ; but it was in nothing like 
 the Base Ball of my boyhood day's. Real Base Ball, with some slight 
 variation of the rules, as it h^s came down to the present day must 
 be at least a hundred years old; it may be a thousand. Perhaps it 
 has come down to us from the old times of the Greeks' and Romans, 
 as many games and other good things have done. 
 
 Erie, Pa., April 8, 1910. Andrew H. Caughey, . 
 
 At a Puritan banquets held at Detroit, Mich., Decem- 
 ber 17, 1908, among the speakers were Ray Stannard 
 Baker, the Michigan author ; R. F. Sutherland^ of Wind- 
 sor, Speaker of the Canadian Parliament, and Samuel ' 
 J. Elder, the prominent Boston lawyer. Mr. Elder 
 replied to^ the toast, " The Puritans," and treated the 
 subject in a rather anecdotal way. He told a number of 
 instances oi'the humor of the early Puritans, among other 
 things mentioning Gov. Bradford's account of a ball 
 game at Plymouth. It seemed that some of the new- 
 comers refused to work on Christmas Day because it was 
 " against their conscience " to work on that day, and were 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 49 
 
 duly excused on account of their scruples. Returning 
 from work, however, the Governor found them playing 
 ball in the streets, and told them it was " against his con- 
 science" that they should play .and others work. He 
 therefore took away their ball and bats, and thus broke 
 up what may have been the fi5st>ball game in America. 
 
 However, for lack of any Organized clubs whose 
 records were preserved, there is a dearth of information 
 on the subject of Base Ball iii its earlier years, save that 
 which comes to us from the recollections of men such as 
 gave utterance to the foregoirig excerpts. But these were 
 men of the past, not the presentj century, and it is so 
 far a cry, from 1911 to 18S0, that memories of those now 
 living who were old enough to play ball in the remote days 
 referred to cannot be depended 'upon as a safe guide for 
 the historian of to-day. 
 
 Nevertheless, it is of. record that as early as the year 
 184)2 a number of New Yoxk gehtleftien — and I use the 
 term " gentlemen " in its highest social signifidance — were 
 accustomed to meet regularly for Base Ball practice 
 games. It does not appear that any of these were world- 
 beaters in the realm of athletic sports. Their records are 
 not among those of famous athletes* of their, day. Indeed, 
 there is reason to believe that these fine old fellows shone 
 more resplendently in the banquet hall than on the 
 diamond field. The records of the club, faithfully kept 
 and most beautifully transcribed, indicate far less atten- 
 tion to achievements in the game of ball than to exploits 
 in the realms of gastronomy. 
 
 The Knickerbockers! Dear old fellows! How the 
 
THE KNICKERBOCKERS AT PRACTICE 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 51 
 
 very name of their organization suggests respectability! 
 There is no photo of the players of that team on the 
 field, but one almost unconsciously uniforms them in white 
 silk stockings, shoes with silver buckles, silk knee breeches, 
 blue swallow-tail coats and powdered wigs, under hats 
 with the white cockade ! They did not put up much of a 
 game of Base Ball as we understand it now, those nice old 
 boys; the curved ball was not in evidence, the spit-ball 
 had not put in an appearance; the base on balls was an 
 unknown factor, and if any player of that club ever slid 
 to base, it was on skates or a hand-sled in the games regu- 
 larly played by them every winter on frozen ponds. 
 
 But, while they left us no records of 1-0 twenty-four 
 innings games, let us ever hold in memory the stamp of 
 respectability imparted to Base Ball by its earliest 
 champions. Let us never forget that the men who first 
 gave impetus to our national sport in the way of organi- 
 zation for that purpose were gentlemen " to the manor 
 born," men of fine tastes, of high ability, of upright char- 
 acter. It was not until long after the days of the Knick- 
 erbockers that Base Ball was nearly ruined by the ascend- 
 ancy of rowdies and gamblers. But of this more anon. 
 
 It was in the year 1845 — although the Knicker- 
 bockers had been playing practice games since 184)2 — 
 that the desirability of effecting a formal organization 
 was first conceived. Previous to that time its members 
 had been held together by ties of congeniality; now, the 
 element of business system was to be injected. 
 
 To Alexander J. Cartwright, beyond doubt, belongs 
 the honor of having been the first to move in the direc- 
 
52 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 tion of securing an, organization of Base Ball players. It 
 is of record that in the spring of 1845 Mr. Cartwright, 
 being present and participating in a practice game of 
 ball, proposed to others the formal association of them- 
 selves together as a Base Ball club. His suggestion met 
 approval, and a self-constituted committee, consisting of 
 Alexander J. Cartwright, D. F. Curry, E. R. Dupignac, 
 Jr., W. H. Tucker and W. R. Wheaton, at once set about 
 securing signatures of those who were desirous of belong- 
 ing to such an organization. The result of the efforts of 
 this committee was the gaining of a nucleus for what 
 soon became the famous Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, 
 of New York, the first recorded association of Base Ball 
 players in the world. The organization was perfected 
 September 23, 1845. 
 
 Alexander J. Cartwright, whose portrait is presented 
 in connection with this chapter, was born in New York 
 City in the first decade of the Nineteenth Century. He 
 left his native city in 1849 and crossed the plains to Cali- 
 fornia, attracted by the gold craze of that sensational 
 era. He remained in the Golden State for only one year, 
 sailing for the Hawaiian (then Sandwich) Islands, in 
 1850. There he spent the remainder of his active life, 
 dying at Honolulu in 1892. 
 
 From early boyhood, Mr. Cartwright was an enthusi- 
 astic devotee of Base Ball. Beginning as the originator 
 of the first Base Ball association in the world, and con- 
 tinuing his connection with that club as player and office- 
 bearer until the time of his. departure in 1849, to seek his 
 fortunes in the Far West, he never lost interest in the 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 53 
 
 game. His son, Mr. Bruce Cartwright, a prominent citi- 
 zen of Honolulu, in a personal letter to me, under date 
 March 22, 1909, says: 
 
 " Although far removed from the field of his former activities, 
 he never forgot Base Ball, and never missed an opportunity of being 
 present whenever the game was played here." 
 
 Alexander J. Cartwright, among many other thou- 
 sands, was one of the devotees of Base Ball disappointed 
 by reason of the failure of the steamer "Alameda" to make 
 schedule time, on the occasion of the visit of the "All 
 America " and Chicago teams to Honolulu, on their 
 world-tour in 1888-9. 
 
 This worthy man, whose loss was deeply mourned at 
 the Hawaiian capital, where he was universally respected 
 and beloved, had a life history contemporaneous with that 
 of the birth and development of the game he so greatly 
 admired. He had been present when the game was born.' 
 He had a part in its first organization. He had wit- 
 nessed its progress throughout the years of its evolution 
 and had seen it adopted not only as the national pastime 
 of the land of his nativity, but had seen it become the 
 favorite sport of the capital city of that far-off island of 
 the Pacific which he had adopted as his home. 
 
 The first officers chosen by the Knickerbocker Club 
 were Duncan F. Curry, President; William R. Wheaton, 
 Vice-President; William H. Tucker, Secretary and 
 Treasurer. The original playing grounds were on Man- 
 hattan Island and later on the Elysian Fields, Hoboken, 
 New Jersey, at that time the city's most popular summer 
 resort. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 55 
 
 The organization of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club 
 was the beginning of a most important era in the history 
 of the game, for it was the first recorded movement of that 
 kind. The right and title to the distinction of being the 
 first organized Base Ball club in the world belongs to the 
 old Knickerbocker Club. That honor has never been 
 called in question. For more than thirty years the 
 Knickerbocker Club maintained an amateur organization, 
 and as such was regarded as a model in every respect. 
 
 But the claim to be the " only " club of ball players, 
 was not long to remain unchallenged. The organization 
 of the Knickerbockers soon bore fruit. In 1846 a party 
 of players, styling themselves "The New York Nine," is- 
 sued a challenge to the Knickerbockers to play a match — 
 for a dinner, of course. The event came off at Hoboken, 
 N. J., on the 19th of June, and it was the first contest of 
 the kind ever played on those grounds. 
 
 The Knickerbocker team included Messrs. Turney, Ad- 
 ams, Tucker, Birney, Avery, H. and D. Anthony, Tryon 
 and Paulding. The New York Nine comprised Messrs. 
 Davis, Winslow, Ransom, Murphy, Case, Johnson, 
 Thompson, Trenchard and Lalor. 
 
 The contest was a very one-sided affair. The chal- 
 lengers won by a score of 23 to 1, only four innings be- 
 ing necessary to secure the required 21 runs, and to teach 
 the Knickerbockers that Base Ball is a game not simply 
 for the cultivation of the social amenities. It was five 
 years before the Knickerbockers engaged in another Base 
 Ball match, but the annual banquets and occasional prac- 
 tice games continued as before. 
 
56 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 In 1850 another team, under the title "The Wash- 
 ington Club," put in an appearance at the Old Red House 
 grounds at Yorkville. Subsequently, in June, 1851, the 
 Washingtons challenged the Knickerbockers. The game 
 took place June 3d of that year. The Knickerbockers, 
 having profited by their defeat at the hands of the New 
 York Nine, had been giving more attention to practice 
 than to pastry, and had greatly improved their game. 
 They appeared upon the grounds in new uniforms, com- 
 posed of blue trousers, white shirts and straw hats, cre- 
 ating a profound sensation. The score of this game was 
 21 to 11 in favor of the Knickerbockers, in eight innings. 
 
 It may be well to explain that, at this stage of the 
 development of our national game, the final result was con- 
 tingent, not upon the score as it stood at the end of nine 
 innings, as now, but upon the winning of 21 runs in any 
 requisite number of innings. 
 
 The return game of this series was played on June 
 17th, 1851, on the Hobokcn grounds of the Knickerbock- 
 ers. It was also won by the latter by a score of 22 to 
 20, in a hotly contested game of ten innings, which was 
 followed by the usual banquet. 
 
 The Washington Club met defeat well. Undaunted by 
 their double drubbing at the hands of the Knicker- 
 bockers, the team continued its practice games regularly, 
 and greatly strengthened its play by the reception of a 
 large number of new members from whom players wtere 
 selected. 
 
 In 1852, the Washington Club (of New York), rec- 
 ognizing the apparent inappropriateness of title, changed 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 57 
 
 its name to "The Gotham Club," and at once became a 
 strong rival of the Knickerbockers. For two years the 
 Gothams sought in vain to defeat their metropolitan ad- 
 versaries. On June 24ith, 1852, however, they at last suc- 
 ceeded, but only at the end of a contest unprecedented up 
 to that time. • The game lasted sixteen innings, the score 
 finally standing 21 to 16 in favor of the Gothams. 
 
 The game of Base Ball played at this time was known 
 as "The New York Game." It was played according to 
 the printed rules of the Knickerbocker Club, which were 
 recognized throughout the Empire State as authority. In 
 New England, however, another code for the playing of 
 the game was in operation. It was a modification of the 
 old "Town Ball," which had been played in different sec- 
 tions of the country for .some years, and to which New 
 England players had given the title of "Base Ball," 
 which was clearly a misnomer, for it retained several of 
 the features that had been eliminated by Doubleday's sys- 
 tem, upon which the Knickerbocker rules were founded — 
 notably the " soaking " of base runners with thrown balls. 
 
 About the time the Knickerbocker Club had been ten 
 years in existence, the New York game had become quite 
 generally established and widely accepted in New York 
 and vicinity. Now, new clubs rapidly increased in num- 
 bers, and interest in the game became widespread. 
 
 Following the reorganization of the Gothams from 
 the ranks of the Washingtons, in 1852, the Eagles, of New 
 York, in 1854, began to soar. Next in order was the 
 Empire Base Ball Club, in the fall of the same year, with 
 Thomas G. Voorhis as President. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 59 
 
 The City of New York had now a quartet of fully 
 organized clubs, every one of which became famous in the 
 decade in which all were born. The splendid work done by 
 these pioneers of the nation's game was productive of far- 
 reaching results. It attracted the attention of sport- 
 loving people all over the eastern part of the land to the 
 fact that the game as played in New York was a sport 
 worthy of adoption throughout the entire country. 
 
 It was impossible that so fine a game should long be 
 monopolized by any city, so it came about in the natural 
 order of things that as early as December, 1854, the Ex- 
 celsiors, of Brooklyn, were organized, with J. Nelson Tap- 
 pan as President. The Excelsiors, while retaining their 
 organization intact, and playing frequent practice games, 
 did not do much in the way of contests until 1860, when 
 they won fame and favor as we shall see later on. 
 
 In the following May, 1855, the Putnams, of Williams- 
 burgh, a suburb of Brooklyn, were organized, and a little 
 later, in June, of the same year, the Eckfords, of Green- 
 point, also an outlying community of Brooklyn, adopted 
 articles of association. One year later, in July, 1856, 
 the Atlantics, of Jamaica, were organized. And now the 
 Knickerbockers, Gothams, Eagles and Empires, of New 
 York, were offset by a Brooklyn quartet, composed of the 
 Excelsiors, Putnams, Eckfords and Atlantics. 
 
 It must not be understood that these eight clubs con- 
 stituted all the Base Ball organizations of the time. There 
 were others, many others, and numerous clubs in many 
 smaller cities were engaged during the decade of the fifties 
 in active competition. 
 
GO AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 A very interesting story of one of these matches is 
 preserved in the files of Wilkes' Spirit of the Times. Wri- 
 ting for that old time popular sporting periodical, Captain 
 Frank Pigeon, pitcher of the Eckfords, of Brooklyn, thus 
 chronicles the first match game in which that organiza- 
 tion participated, and which was played at the Old Red 
 House grounds, September 27th, 1856, with the Unions, 
 of Morrisania. It will be noted that up-to-date journal- 
 ism had not " caught on " sixty years ago as it has to-day. 
 The report of a game of Base Ball nearly a year and a 
 half old would hardly be regarded as news in this century 
 of the world's progress. Captain Pigeon wrote : 
 
 " A year ago last August a small number of young men of 
 that part of the city known as 'The Island,' were accustomed to 
 meet for the purpose of enjoying the game. Being shipwrights and 
 mechanics, we could not make it convenient to practice more than 
 once a week; and we labored under the impression that want of 
 practice and our having so few players from whom to select a nine 
 would make it almost impossible for us to win a match even if we 
 engaged in one. However, we were willing to do the best we could 
 if some club would give us an invitation to play. But, alas, no such 
 invitation came, and we began to doubt seriously if we were worth 
 taking notice of. 
 
 " Still, we had some merry times among ourselves ; we would 
 forget business and everything else on Tuesday afternoons, go out 
 on the green fields, don our ball suits, and go at it with a rush. At 
 such times we were boys again. Such sport as this brightens a 
 man up, and improves him, both in mind and body. After longing 
 for a match, yet so dreading (not a defeat — we were sure of that) 
 a regular Waterloo, we finally, through sheer desperation, expressed 
 a wish to play the winners in a match between the Baltic and Union 
 Clubs of Morrisania. 
 
 " The Unions won, and signified their willingness to play us. 
 Well, we had got what we wanted — a match; and then, what? Why, 
 we would have to do the best we could. The day came at last, on 
 which we were to meet the conquerors of the Baltic; and nine deter- 
 mined, but badly scared men, whistling to keep up their spirits, 
 might have been seen wending their way to the Red House. It would 
 be difiBcult to describe the sensations we felt that day— such an 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 61 
 
 intense desire to win, and sudi a dread of defeat. We knew that, 
 if badly beaten, we could never succeed in building up a club. Many 
 of our friends would not go to see the match because they did not 
 wish to witness our defeat. * * * 
 
 " But the game. ' We pulled off our coats, and rolled up our 
 sleeves;' we stood up to the rack, but were very nervous — first 
 appearance on any stage. Our first man took the bat; tipped out; 
 great dependence placed on him. Good Heaven, how unfortunate. 
 Next man got scared; caught out. No use trying to win. Do the 
 best we can, however. Steady, boys, steady. Third man gave the 
 ball a regular crusher. One desperate yell burst from eight throats 
 and I am not sure that the striker did not yell with ther rest. First 
 base, go it. Second base, come ^p. Go again, stay thfere. Another 
 fortunate strike ; man on third base got home. Glory. One run. 
 Oh, how proud the Eckford club were at that run." Some ran to the 
 umpire's book to see how it looked on paper. 
 
 " The innings ended with three runs for the Eckford. The Union 
 took the bat, and made two runs. Could it be possible? We could 
 scarcely believe it. We did the best we could to keep our end up, 
 and by that means we overdid the matter, and the result was: 
 Eckford, 23; Union, 8. AboUt seven o'clock that evening, nine 
 peacocks might have been seen on their way home, with tail-feathers 
 spread. Our friends were astonished, as well as ourselves, and all 
 felt rejoiced at the result." 
 
 This victory had a remarkable effect on the welTare 
 of the Eckford Club, for henceforth members came flock- 
 ing in by scores, and its game was greatly sti'engthened 
 thereby. 
 
 The late Henry Chadwick,. , writing of this club, says: 
 
 " I remember seeing the Eckfbrds play a game in the fifties at 
 the Old Manor House grounds in Williamsburgh. Their opponents 
 that day were the Atlantics. It was then I first saw Frank Pigeon 
 pitch. The visitors had no wari-ant to defeat the Eckfords; but the 
 Atlantics had the prestige ^ of success to help them, and the home 
 team lacked confidence. Their captain saw what was the matter 
 with them, and Frank said to them, ' Boys, just forget that you are 
 playing the Atlantics,, and go in as if you were facing a common 
 nine.' There was philosophy in this advice, but the Eckfords could 
 not get rid of the idea ^that they were playing against the champions, 
 and, failing to play with confidence, they lost." 
 
 In an old copy of the Baltimore Sun, it is stated that 
 

AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 63 
 
 the first game of Base Ball played in Baltimore took place 
 on a field located on ground that was later excavated for 
 the bottom of a park lake. As to the inception of the 
 game in Baltimore, the writer says: "Mr. George Beam, 
 of Orendorf, Beam & Co., wholesale grocers, was invited 
 in 1858 by Joseph Leggett to see a game in New York, 
 in which the old Excelsiors of that city contested. Mr. 
 Beam at once became an enthusiast, and returned to this 
 city and organized the Excelsiors of Baltimore, in the 
 wholesale trade on the wharf. Nearly all the players were 
 business men. The Excelsiors lasted until 1861, and its 
 members twice a week went to the diamond in an omnibus, 
 which started from Exchange Place and Commerce Street. 
 Large numbers of young men living on Madison Ayenue 
 would follow the bus to see the new game. The club soon 
 moved to a lot at the southwest corner of Madison and 
 North Avenues." 
 
 In 1860, the great Excelsiors, of New York, were 
 invited over to give instructions in the game, and the Wav- 
 erley Club, organized in 1860, offered its grounds, after- 
 wards known as " Pastime Grounds," and there the games 
 were played. 
 
 Among the New York players were Leggett, Creigh- 
 ton, Pearsall, Whiting, Flannery, Brainard, Polhemus. 
 The Baltimore nine were Beam, Woods, Schriver, A. 
 Woods, Mitchell, Pitman, Williams, Hank and Hazlett. 
 The Excelsiors, of Baltimore, that night tendered to the 
 Excelsiors, of New York, a regal banquet. 
 
 In addition to the New York and Brooklyn clubs com- 
 posing the double quartet of which mention has been made, 
 
64 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 the names of the Mutuals, Harlems and Baltics, of New 
 York, the Unions, of Morrisania, and the Continentals, 
 of Brooklyn, might be quoted, but, with the exception of 
 the Mutuals and Unions, none of these clubs ever attained 
 that mark of excellence in play gained by the more fa- 
 mous organizations first referred to. 
 
 Before the decade of the fifties had ended, the game 
 of Base Ball had reached a stage of popularity which 
 called into being so many clubs — all of which, with the 
 exception of the Libertys, of New Brunswick, N. J., 
 were located within the present city limits of Greater New 
 York — that a new epoch in the history of the game fol- 
 lowed as a natural sequence in the order of development. 
 
 Following is a list of clubs organized up to and includ- 
 ing 1857: 
 
 Clubs Organized Location of Grounds 
 
 Knickerbocker September 23, 1845 . . . Hoboken 
 
 Gotham Spring of 1852 Harlem 
 
 Eagle April, 1854 Hoboken 
 
 Empire October 23, 1854 ..... Hoboken 
 
 Excelsior December 8, 1864 South Brooklyn 
 
 Putnam May, 1856 Williamsburgh 
 
 Newark. May 1, 1855 Newark 
 
 Baltic June 4, 1855 New York 
 
 Eckford June 27, 1865 Greenpoint 
 
 Union July 17, 1865 Morrisania 
 
 Atlantic August 14, 1855 Williamsburgh 
 
 Atlantic August, 1855 Jamaica, L. I. 
 
 Continental October, 1855 Williamsburgh 
 
 Harlem March, 1856; New York 
 
 Enterprise June 26, 1856 Williamsburgh 
 
 Active October, 1856 Hoboken 
 
 Star October, 1866 South Brooklyn 
 
 Independent January, 1857 New York 
 
 Liberty March 1, 1857 New Brunswick, N. J. 
 
 Metropolitan March 4, 1857 New York 
 
 Champion , March 14, 1867 New York 
 
 Hamilton March 23, 1867 Brooklyn 
 
 St. Nicholas April 28, 1857 Hoboken 
 
 Mutual June 24, 1857 Williamsburgh 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
( ) Davis De Bost ( ) Stevens H 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 FIRST ASSOCIATION OF BASE BALIi CLUBS SOME EAftliT 
 
 MATCHES INTRODUCTION OF THE GAMBLING EVIL WITH 
 
 ITS RESULTANT DEMORALIZATION THE NATIONAL ASSO- 
 CIATION^ OF BASE BALL PLAYERS. 
 
 1855-60 
 
 IF it is true that the organization of the first Base Ball 
 club, in the old Knickerbockers, marked the initial 
 epoch in the history of the game, it must also be admitted 
 that the coalition of numerous clubs, that they might work 
 together for the advancement of common interests, inau- 
 gurated a second era of equal import. 
 
 For several years new clubs had been coming rapidly 
 into existence. Thoughtful players of every team had 
 views for the improvement of the game. It had long been 
 apparent that some of the rules were inconsistent and 
 prejudicial to the best development of the sport. All 
 were agreed that certain modifications of the old Knicker- 
 bocker system ought to be introduced at as early a date 
 as practicable. The need was pressing. Field contests 
 were constantly increasing in numbers and interest, while 
 misunderstandings, misinterpretations and dissensions on 
 ball fields were multiplying in consequence. 
 
 Meanwhile, the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, having 
 served its important purpose of taking the initiative in 
 organization, seemed to have outgrown its usefulness, and 
 became an actual stumbling block in the path of progress, 
 
 65 
 
66 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 This silk-stocking aggregation, never able to play a very 
 brilliant game, had been reluctant to accept challenges 
 from shipwrights, boilermakers and other grades of 
 "greasy mechanics." Not wishing to be drawn into too 
 close fellowship with the rabble, and perhaps dreading 
 the humiliation of defeat at the hands of plebian upstarts, 
 the Knickerbockers held aloof, practicing occasionally — 
 between banquets — usually among their own exclusive 
 membership, satisfied with the mouldy laurels won before 
 live competition had appeared, and resting upon the glory 
 of their unquestioned title as the first, if not "greatest 
 ever." 
 
 The attitude of the Knickerbockers was for some time 
 quite embarrassing to the interests of Base Ball. It was 
 important that this organization, whose playing rules had 
 been very generally adopted, but which needed so many 
 changes, should co-operate with other clubs to that end. 
 But no. The " Knicks " were satisfied with the rules, which 
 were good enough for them — for anybody, they thought. 
 And thus the matter rested, the original club declining 
 overtures for matches, for conferences or for association. 
 They were it, and it tbej proposed to remain. 
 
 Perhaps we ought not too harshly to criticize the 
 Knickerbockers for their attitude at this period in the 
 history of the game. They had been present at the 
 accouchement and had witnessed the birth of Base Ball. 
 Ever, since that glad day, the Knickerbockers had rocked 
 the cradle of the infant prodigy, until they had come to 
 regard themselves as in every way its special guardian 
 and caretaker. They could not be induced to look with 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME Qf 
 
 any favor upon the efforts of the Excelsiors, the Atlan- 
 tics, the Gothams, the Putnams and other remote, aspir- 
 ing relatives, to butt in under claims of ties of consan- 
 guinity. Especially were the Knickerbockers jealous of 
 any attempts on the part of these rank outsiders to 
 assume the functions of formulating rules for the disci- 
 plinary government of their child. The Base Ball infant 
 had come into the world under the most auspicious condi- 
 tions. From the very beginning, its surroundings had 
 been pre-eminently respectable, and all its leadings had 
 been along lines most proper and decorous. If the Knick- 
 erbockers had, in their fondness for the youngster, over- 
 fed it at times and withheld a due amount of exercise, their 
 intentions at least had been sincere and solicitous. 
 
 And now, it was proposed by these interlopers to intro- 
 duce the kidlet into society — and such society ! How 
 were the Knickerbockers to meet the influences for evil 
 which they thought would surely assail their darling if it 
 came in touch with coarse and vulgar people who lived 
 over on Long Island.'' 
 
 But that was not all. The Knickerbockers had been 
 organized after the pattern of the ancient Marylebone 
 Cricket Club, of England, which for centuries, more or 
 less, had made every rule for the government of Cricket 
 in Great Britain and her colonies — and which does so still. 
 To question the right of the Marylebone Club to dictate 
 in all matters of the British national game, on the other 
 side of the Atantic, was rank heresy. And who were these 
 pretenders, anyhow, who were disputing .the Knicker- 
 bockers' right, which had never been questioned until now, 
 
WILLIAM H. VAJSf COTT 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 69 
 
 to supervise and control Base Ball in America? And so 
 the situation continued, full of embarrassments, full of 
 disappointments, full of delays. 
 
 Finally a compromise was effected. It was agreed 
 that the Great and Only Knickerbocker Base Ball Club, 
 the First Base Ball Organization in all the Wide, Wide 
 World, should, by reason of its seniority and lofty stand- 
 ing, call a convention in the interests of the game. This 
 first convention was held in May, 1857, but, beyond adopt- 
 ing certain rules regulating matches for the ensuing year, 
 no business affecting the game was transacted. 
 
 The second convention was also called by the Knicker- 
 bockers, on March 10th, 1858, but before this call was 
 issued, the Knickerbockers, always refined and courteous, 
 permitted the presidents of the Gotham, Eagle and Empire 
 Clubs to add their signatures to the call. 
 
 Twenty-five clubs were represented at this convention 
 by three delegates each, and the business transacted was 
 of great importance to the future of Base Ball. 
 
 Hitherto the game had been controlled as to its play- 
 ing rules largely by local prejudices. It was played under 
 one set of rules in New York and another in New England, 
 and other still widely different regulations were applied 
 to the game elsewhere. In New York, batsmen were out 
 on balls caught on the first bound ; in New England, base 
 runners were out by being "soaked" by thrown balls, and 
 everywhere a batsman might wait all the afternoon for a 
 strike ball, he alone being the judge of what he would 
 strike at. 
 
 The organization of the National Association of Base 
 
ij'O AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Ball Players, in 1858, therefore marked a new era in the 
 history of the game, for it was then that there was put in 
 operation for the first time a code of rules, framed by a 
 special committee of the new association for that express 
 purpose. 
 
 The officers elected in 1858, when the National Asso- 
 ciation of Base Ball Players was formed, were : President, 
 William H. Van Cott, of the Gothams; First Vice-Presi- 
 dent, L. B. Jones, of the Excelsiors; Second Vice-Presi- 
 dent, Thomas S. Dakin, of the Putnams ; Recording Sec- 
 retary, J. Ross Postley, of the Metropolitans; Corres- 
 ponding Secretary, Theodore F. Jackson, of the Put- 
 nams ; Treasurer, E. H. Brown, of the Metropolitans. 
 
 It will be observed that the Knickerbockers, despite 
 their former greatness, had already begun to fade away. 
 Representatives from that club were conspicuous by their 
 absence in the official roster of the new association. Prac- 
 tical politics had entered the game. 
 
 The first season after the organization of the National 
 Association of Base Ball Players saw several series of 
 remarkable games between picked nines representing the 
 foremost clubs of New York and Brooklyn. Prior to 
 these contests, the regular matches of each recurring 
 season had attracted assemblages numbering only a few 
 hundreds; but these games, inviting local partisanship, 
 proved to be great drawing cards, bringing out the largest 
 crowds ever seen at ball games up to that year. 
 
 The contests were held on the Fashion Race Course, 
 on Long Island, during July, August and September of 
 1858. The first of the series of three games was played 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 7I 
 
 on July 20th. On account of the expense incurred in put- 
 ting the grounds in order — and it was very poor order at 
 that — an admission fee of 50 cents was charged. 
 
 This was the first game of Base Ball on record where 
 gate money was demanded and received from spectators. 
 The difficulty of reaching the grounds was considerable. 
 Most of those in attendance came by small steamer from 
 the Fulton Ferry to Hunter's Point, and thence by the 
 Flushing Railroad to the Fashion Course. This, of course, 
 materially lessened the numbers of the crowd. Neverthe- 
 less, nearly 1,500 people saw the game, a great throng 
 for those days. 
 
 In this contest, the Brooklyn nine opened with a lead 
 of 3 to at the end of the first innings, and at the end of 
 the second the score stood 5 to 1. Then the New Yorks 
 struck a streak of luck and in the next three innings added 
 thirteen to their score, to six added by the Brookljrns, 
 showing a score at the end of the sixth of 16 to 13 in New 
 York's favor. In the last three innings the Brooklyns 
 made five runs to six for the New Yorks, the final score 
 showing New York 22, Brooklyn 18. 
 
 Something of the nature of the game played at this 
 time may be known from the fact that of the 27 Brooklyn- 
 ites put out 13 were out on balls caught on a first bound, 
 while the New Yorks lost 14 on similar catches. Eleven 
 bases were made on passed balls, charged to Brooklyn's 
 catcher, while New York's catcher lost only two. 
 
 The second match of the New York-Brooklyn series 
 took place on August 19th. On this occasion the Brook- 
 lyns had considerably strengthened their nine. As in the 
 
OLD-TIME BASE BALL UNIFORMS 
 1. Pabor -2. Matt Yorston 3. "Ueacon" Rog-ers 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 73 
 
 former game, Brooklyn took the lead in the start; but, 
 unlike the previous game, . the New Yorks failed to rally 
 successfully. At the close of the sixth innings the Brook- 
 lyns led, 22 to 6, and at the end of the game were easy 
 victors, having made 29 runs to 8 by their adversaries. 
 
 Another month elapsed before the final contest to 
 decide the winner of two out of three matches came oif. 
 The date was September 10. By this time a widespread 
 interest in the result had sprung up in both cities, and 
 something of the spirit of local partisanship which char- 
 acterizes league games at the present time was apparent. 
 The crowd in attendance upon this event was the largest 
 that had ever been seen on a ball field, numbering several 
 thousands. In previous matches players from all the 
 different clubs from each city were in the game ; but in the 
 final struggle, six players from the Atlantics and three 
 from the Eckfords were on the Brooklyn team, while rep- 
 resentatives from all of New York's quartet of clubs par- 
 ticipated. The fight for supremacy in this game was very 
 bitter. Both teams were on their mettle, every player 
 feeling that the future welfare of the city represented by 
 him depended upon the result. But it was apparent early 
 in the game that the New Yorks were that day the better 
 nine, and at the end of the ninth innings the score was 
 29 to 18 in favor of the boys from the big city. 
 
 In this game, a total of 27 men were out on balls 
 caught on the first bound. In the entire contest no bats- 
 man was retired on strikes. During the three games only 
 one home run was made, and on this run " hangs a tale " 
 told by the late Henry Chadwick, in these words: 
 
74 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 " Two Brooklyn cranks had a wager of $100 a side on John 
 Holden's making a home run. One was an Atlantic rooter, the other 
 an Excelsior fan. In this game I noticed that when Holden went 
 to bat he was very particular in selecting his bat. It appears that 
 the man who had bet on him went to him and told him that he would 
 give him $25 of his bet if he made the hit; so Jack was very anxious. 
 Matty O'Brien was pitching, and Jack, after waiting for a good ball, 
 got one to suit him, and sent it flying over Harry Wright's head 
 at right center, and made the round of the bases before the ball 
 was returned, thus winning the $25." 
 
 Aside from the story itself, this tale is interesting as 
 showing that already, almost at the inception of the play- 
 ing of match games between organized teams in rival cities, 
 betting on the result, which was to make so much for mis- 
 chief in the future, was beginning to be in evidence. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE FIRST BASE BALL TOUR VISIT OF THE BROOKLYN 
 
 EXCELSIORS TO CENTRAL AND WESTERN NEW YORK 
 
 REMARKABLE CHAIN OF VICTORIES THE FIRST BASE 
 
 BALL ROW. 
 
 1860 
 
 THE first recorded tour made by any Base Ball organ- 
 ization grew out of the series played between picked 
 nines from the New York and Brooklyn quartets. Follow- 
 ing the Fashion Course games of 1858, Base Ball clubs 
 began to increase with great rapidity throughout the At- 
 lantic States. Every city of considerable size soon had its 
 team or teams of ball players. Interest in their prowess 
 was manifested by larger attendance at matches between 
 clubs of the same city, and by the* multiplication of clubs 
 everywhere. Now interest to know how the playing of 
 nines of one city compared with that of teams of others 
 began to develop. 
 
 Up to this time not much attention had been given to 
 field sports in this country. Horse-racing was in vogue 
 at all large places and in smaller cities in certain sections ; 
 but golf, lawn tennis, cricket, lacrosse and other games 
 of the kind were without favor, save as here and there 
 English and Scotch residents indulged in the national 
 sports of Great Britain. 
 
 It was apparent now, however, that a new era had 
 dawned in America, and while Base Ball had not yet 
 earned the right to be denominated our national game,, it 
 77 
 
JAMES P. CEEIGHTON 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 79 
 
 was forging ahead with rapid strides toward the goal of 
 that distinction. It was quite natural that especial in- 
 terest in the game should center in Brooklyn, the home of 
 that splendid quartet comprising the Excelsiors, the At- 
 lantics, the Putnams and Eckfords. But these were not 
 all the Brooklyn clubs, by any means. Junior organiza- 
 tions had been formed in that city during the years in 
 which their seniors were winning laurels, and before 1860 
 the older clubs were glad enough to find recruits for their 
 ranks from strong players who were being developed in 
 the minor organizations. In 1859, the Stars and Enter- 
 prise Clubs, both juniors, had been drawn upon by the 
 Excelsiors, who profited greatly in securing several play- 
 ers, among them, from the Stars, James Creighton, after- 
 wards famous as a pitcher. 
 
 The year 1860 saw the first tour of an organized Base 
 Ball club, in the visit of the Excelsiors, of Brooklyn, to 
 several cities in Central and Western New York. The trip 
 is memorable, not alone as the first Base Ball tour, but 
 because of its very remarkable record of victories. 
 
 The tour was made under the management o^ Captain 
 J. B. Leggett. The team consisted of a trained nine from 
 the Excelsiors, of Brooklyn. The first city visited was 
 Albany, for which place they left on June 30th, 1860. 
 On July 2d they met the champion nine of the capital 
 city, defeating them in a nine innings game, the score of 
 which was 24 to 6. The following day, July 3d, they 
 encountered the Victory Club, of Troy, and again won, 
 this time by a score of 13 to 7 in a full game. Taking 
 train from Troy, after their victory there, the Excelsiors 
 
80 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 went to Buifalo, and on July 5th engaged the strong team 
 of the Niagara Club. The score was 50 to 19, with vic- 
 tory on the banners of the visitors. This was the highest 
 score that had ever been recorded in a Base Ball match 
 up to that date, and, as games were measured in those 
 days, it was regarded as a very fine exhibition of ball play- 
 ing on both sides. 
 
 This record of consecutive victories, the tidings of 
 which were flashed over the State, created a profound 
 sensation, and bred a strong desire on the part of lovers 
 of the game in every city having a team to see the invin- 
 cible Excelsiors. Per consequence, invitations, which 
 could not be accepted, came pouring in upon the victors 
 from all points of the compass. Another effect of this 
 first missionary tour in the interests of the game was to 
 cause the formation of clubs in many places where none 
 had theretofore existed. 
 
 From this time on the tour was one of triumphal ova- 
 tions. The Niagaras, of Buffalo, took their guests over 
 to the Falls, and entertained them at a fine banquet at the 
 Clifton House, on the Canadian side. Returning from 
 Buffalo, they played the Flour City nine at Rochester, 
 July 7th, winning by a score of 21 to 1. Next day they met 
 the Rochester Live Oaks, whom they defeated, 27 to 9. 
 Stopping at Newburgh-on-the-Hudson, July 11th, they 
 added another victory to their chain by a score of 59 to 
 14, in this game surpassing their large total in the Buffalo 
 match. 
 
 Always and everywhere on this great journey of con- 
 quest the Excelsiors were the recipients of most gracious 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 81 
 
 hospitality, a true sportsmanlike spirit possessing the 
 hosts in every city visited. Moreover, at all points the 
 game received fresh impetus, new clubs were organized, 
 and word canie from all over the State that Base Ball 
 matches were being scheduled as never before. 
 
 Encouraged by the success of their trip through West- 
 ern New York, the Excelsiors turned toward the South, 
 and later, in July, 1860, took a trip in that direction, 
 crossing the States of Pennsylvania, Delaware and Mary- 
 land. The first contest was with a picked nine from all 
 the clubs of Baltimore. It came off July 22d, and was 
 a repetition of the story of former experiences, the score 
 being 51 to 6 in favor of the Excelsiors. True Southern 
 hospitality marked the treatment of the Excelsiors at 
 Baltimore. The day closed with a fine banquet at Guy's 
 Hotel. 
 
 Returning, the Excelsiors stopped at Philadelphia, 
 where, on July 24th, they played a nine composed of aU 
 the best players of the Quaker City, including the Olym- 
 pics, the Athletics, the Winonas, the Equities, the United 
 Base Ball Club and the Benedicts. The game was played 
 on the old Camaco Woods Cricket Grounds and attracted 
 a large attendance. The Excelsiors won by 15 to 4. Like 
 the New York tour, this trip had a tremendous influence 
 in promoting interest in the game in a new quarter. Upon 
 their return, the Excelsiors found awaiting them an invi- 
 tation from Boston, which they were compelled, reluc- 
 tantly, to decline until a later date. 
 
 On July 20th, 1860, while resting on laurels won on 
 their trip through New York — and before their South- 
 
J. B. LEGGETT 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 83 
 
 ern tour — the Excelsiors met the Brooklyn Atlantics. 
 This fine team had been their old time conquerors; but, 
 flushed with their recently acquired string of victories, 
 the Excelsiors felt that they might take their former 
 rivals into camp. They had been greatly strengthened by 
 the accession to their ranks of James Creighton, the star 
 pitcher of the time, and other recruits from minor clubs. 
 And so it came about that, in this first match game with 
 their old adversary, the Excelsiors found no trouble in 
 winning, the score standing 23 to 4. The crowd in 
 attendance at this game numbered fully 2,000 spectators. 
 The game was played on the new grounds of the Excel- 
 siors. It was the prestige of this victory over the Atlan- 
 tics, rather than their achievements in contests with .less 
 prominent clubs on the trip to Buffalo and return, that 
 gave to the Excelsiors so much of notoriety on their visit 
 to the South. 
 
 On the home-coming of the Excelsiors from Baltimore 
 and Philadelphia, arrangements were made for the return 
 match with the Atlantics, on the Atlantic Club Grounds. 
 The game was played on August 10th, 1860. It was 
 believed by most people interested in the contest that the 
 Excelsiors had a "walk-away," and this opinion was 
 strengthened when, at the end of the third innings, the 
 score stood 8 to in favor of that club ; but the Atlantics 
 were not yet beaten. In spite of the positive belief of the 
 great throng that the Excelsiors were invincible, the 
 Atlantics played that game with sublime courage and 
 faith. At the end of the sixth innings, while the Excel- 
 siors were still leading, the Atlantics had changed the 
 
84 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 score from 8 to to 12 to 6. Then came one of those sur- 
 prises peculiar to the game, and which gives always the 
 assurance that the contest is not ended until the last man 
 is out. The Atlantics in the seventh innings found the 
 redoubtable Creighton for five clean hits, yielding nine 
 runs and giving them a lead which the Excelsiors were 
 unable to change. The final score was 15 to 14 in favor 
 of the Atlantics. Thus ended a hitherto unbroken suc- 
 cession of victories, dating from the beginning of the 
 Excelsiors' remarkable tour through New York. 
 
 The great rivals were now even in the race for cham- 
 pionship honors of Brooklyn. Each had one game of the 
 series. The next contest must decide the question of club 
 supremacy. Interest in the result became intense. It was 
 not confined to Brooklyn, but extended to all neighboring 
 cities and villages. Under the agreement regulating the 
 series of games, it was provided that the third game 
 should be played upon neutral grounds. The new grounds 
 of the Putnams, having just received their finishing 
 touches, furnished just the requisite conditions. After 
 a lapse of two weeks, namely, on August 23d, 1860, the 
 final meeting took place. 
 
 The intense feeling of partisanship that had been 
 engendered by the preceding contests increased as the time 
 for the last game drew near, until it had become very 
 bitter. It permeated all grades of society. Schoolboys, 
 clerks, merchants, manufacturers, workingmen, and mem- 
 bers of all the learned professions were profoundly inter- 
 ested. This would have been well enough, but, unfortu- 
 nately, in those days all Eastern cities were noted for their 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 85 
 
 utterly uncontrollable elements of thugs, gamblers, thieves, 
 plug-uglies and rioters. Of these both New York and 
 Brooklyn had more than their full quotas. It happened 
 that public sympathy, as expressed in the views of the 
 disorderly members of society, was strongly in favor of 
 the Atlantics. They proposed that the Atlantics should 
 win the deciding game of the series, and were on the 
 grounds in large numbers for the purpose of securing a 
 result to their liking, either by fair means or otherwise. 
 
 The Atlantics repudiated, but could not control, their 
 belligerent partisans. Early in the game the actions of 
 the disorderly among the spectators threatened trouble. 
 Betting had been widely indulged in, and the class to which 
 bettors belonged, and that never was particularly scrupu- 
 lous in its acts, in this game, when the Excelsiors took 
 the lead at the start, winning five runs to one for the 
 Atlantics, began to show bad temper. At the close of 
 the fourth the Excelsiors were still in the lead, by 8 to 4. 
 From this time on the toughs began a crusade of black- 
 guardism that became so unbearable as the game pro- 
 gressed that at the end of the sixth innings, with the score 
 standing 8 to 6 in favor of his team, Captain Leggett, of 
 the Excelsiors, took his players from the field, saying, as 
 they entered the six-horse stage: 
 
 " Here, O'Brien, is the ball. You can keep it." 
 O'Brien replied, "Will you call it a draw.?" 
 "As you please," responded the gentlemanly captain. 
 And thus ended the contest, for from that day to the 
 date of disbandment of both clubs, in 1871, they never 
 played together again. 
 
CREIGHTOM S MOiSiUMENT 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 87 
 
 This game saw the first recorded row at a Base BaJ] 
 match. 
 
 The Brooklyn Eagle, of February 5th, 1898, con- 
 tained the following article relative to James Creighton, 
 one of the greatest ball players of ante-bellum days : 
 
 " On the crest of Tulip Hill, in one of the most picturesque 
 portions of Greenwood Cemetery, a striking monument of granite 
 marlfs the spot where one of Broolclyn's pioneer ball players lies 
 liurifd. It is over the grave of James Creighton, a man whose ability 
 in the national game, as it was known in its infancy, is well recol- 
 lected by those whose memory extends back to the years before tiie 
 Civil War. 
 
 " The stone in commemoration of Creighton faces the famous 
 Firemen's Monument, and it would never be mistaken for anything 
 else than the grave of a ball player. Across the face of the column, 
 surrounded by a circle of oak leaves cut in the granite, is a design 
 embodying a pair of bats crossed, a cap, a base and a score book, 
 surmounted across the top by a scroll with the word " Excelsior " 
 carved upon it. The old Excelsior Club of Brooklyn was the one 
 with which Creighton made his reputation as a pitcher. On a level 
 slab, just below the wreath, are carved the words: 'James Creighton, 
 son of James and Jane Creighton, April 15, 1841; October 18, 1862.' 
 A Base Ball, fashioned in stone, rests lightly upon the topmost 
 pinnacle of the monument. 
 
 " Creighton's death occurred when he was twenty-one years of 
 age, while he was still an active member of the Excelsiors. He was 
 not only well known, but thoroughly popular among the followers 
 of the early game, and his death came as a personal loss to every 
 man who had been associated with him, either i/i the Base Ball field 
 or in everyday life. Though he has been dead thirty-six years, 
 Creighton's memory is still cherished by surviving members of the 
 Excelsior Club. 
 
 " Creighton was in his dav generally conceded to be the pitcher 
 par excellence of the period. He was the first to introduce the wrist 
 throw, or low underhand delivery, which was so puzzling to batsmen 
 of that day. His forte was great speed and thorough command of 
 the ball. His first appearance was as a member of the Niagara 
 Club of this city in 1858. He was then playing second base, and J. 
 A. Shields, U. S. Commissioner, was pitcher. He remained with 
 the Niagaras throughout that season and the greater part of the 
 following one, playing second base most of the time. In July, 1859, 
 he began to loom up as a bright particular star in the Base Ball 
 firmament. He first attracted attention as a pitcher in a game 
 
88 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 against the Star Club. Shields, the regular pitcher, was absent, and 
 Creighton pitched so effectively that the Star Club tempted him to 
 leave the Niagaras and join its nine, which he did, along with George 
 H. PUanly, who had also been playing with the Niagaras. 
 
 " On September 3, 18S9, the Stars met the Excelsiors on the 
 latter's grounds in South Brooklyn, and the former won by a score 
 of 17 to 12. On October 19, the Stars met the then famous old 
 Atlantic nine on the Excelsior's grounds, and, after an interesting 
 game, the Atlantics won by a score of 15 to 12. The contest was so 
 evenly played that at the end of the seventh innings the score was a 
 tie — H to 11. Loose fielding, however, on the part of the Star 
 players enabled the Atlantics to win. That season Creighton partici- 
 pated in six match games. 
 
 "During the following winter Creighton and Flanly joined the 
 Excelsiors, and it was while with the latter that Creighton gained his 
 greatest renown. In 1860 he participated in twenty match games, 
 some of which are memorable ones. Probably the most noteworthy 
 of these was the famous series between the Excelsiors and the 
 Atlantics. The latter were pretty generally looked upon as being 
 unconquerable. On May 17, 1860, the Charter Oaks defeated the 
 Excelsiors by 12 to 11. Commissioner Shields pitched for the former 
 and Creighton for the latter. On June 21 these clubs met again, 
 and this time the Excelsiors won by 36 to 9. Creighton pitched for 
 the Excelsiors and Shields for the losers. In July Creighton accom- 
 panied the Excelsiors on their great tour of victory through the State." 
 
 Under the caption, " Obsequies of a Celebrated Ball f^ 
 Player," the Brooklyn Eagle of October 20th, 1862, con- 
 tained the following obituary: 
 
 " The remains of the late James P. Creighton, familiar in Base 
 Ball and cricket circles as one of the best players in the Union, were 
 yesterday conveyed to their last resting place, followed by a large ; 
 number of friends and relatives. 
 
 " The circumstances of his death are very touching. In the late 
 match with the Unions (Tuesday last) the deceased sustained an 
 internal injury occasioned by strain while batting. After suffering 
 for a few days, he expired on Saturday afternoon last at the resi- 
 dence of his father, 307 Henry Street. The remains were incased in 
 a handsome rosewood coffin, with silver mountings, and upon a silver 
 plate was inscribed the name, age, etc., of the deceased—' James P. 
 Creighton, 21 years, 7 months and 2 days.' " 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE FIRST SERIOUS BACKSET TO THE GAME WIDESPREAD 
 
 DEMOHALIZATION rOLlOWING THE OUTBREAK OF THE 
 
 CIVIL WAR BASE BALL PLAYED IN CAMPS OF BOTH CON- 
 
 TENDING ARMIES. jgg^ ^^ 
 
 AS HAS been already stated, the years 1857-8-9 saw 
 . rapid progress in the multiplication and quality of 
 Base Ball organizations. The decade of the fifties had 
 developed the game from one of crude beginnings to a 
 sport that was attracting widespread attention because 
 of its easily discernible possibilities. The year 1860, 
 however, was the banner year in early Base Ball history. 
 The triumphal tour of the Excelsiors had wrought won- 
 ders in the way of creating public sentiment favorable to 
 the game. The contests at Albany, Troy, Buffalo, Phil- 
 adelphia and Baltimore had inspired the young men of 
 those cities to emulate the example of the youth of New 
 York and Brooklyn, and had begotten within them the 
 hope that they might win for their cities a glory akin to 
 that which had been achieved for the city on Long Island. 
 As a result, clubs were organized by the hundreds, the 
 fever spreading to all parts of the country, East, West, 
 North and South, and matches, which developed strong new 
 players, were scheduled everjrwhere. 
 
 But in 1861 a serious check was given to the progress 
 of Base Ball. The news that Fort Sumter had been fired 
 upon turned the thoughts of men of the North to a sub- 
 91 
 
92 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 ject more grave than ball playing, while Southerners, be- 
 lieving that the President's call to arms meant the inva- 
 sion of the " Sunny South," prepared to give their North- 
 ern visitors a less hospitable reception than that which 
 had been accorded to the Excelsiors a few months previous 
 at Baltimore. Thoughts of contests on fields of sport 
 ..were banished from the minds of men in every section, 
 while all looked forward to a greater, fiercer struggle 
 that should be decided by the arbitrament of arms on fields 
 of battle. 
 
 And yet, while the game of ball, during those four 
 years of fratricidal strife, was held in abeyance — the at- 
 tention of its votaries being more deeply engaged in the 
 game of war — it was nevertheless undergoing an evolution 
 of greatest import to its future. For, during those years 
 of unhappy conflict, on both sides of the line "Yanks" 
 and " Johnnies " were playing ball and laying the founda- 
 tion for a game which, when war's alarms should cease, 
 would be national in its spirit and national in its per- 
 petuity. 
 
 No human mind may measure the blessings conferred 
 by the game of Base Ball on the soldiers of our Civil War. 
 A National Game? Why, no country on the face of the 
 earth ever had a form of sport with so clear a title to that 
 distinction. Base Ball had been born in the brain of 
 an American soldier. It received its baptism in bloody 
 days of our Nation's direst danger. It had its early evo- 
 lution when soldiers, North and South, were striving to 
 forget their foes by cultivating, through this grand game, 
 fraternal friendships with comrades in arms. It had it^ 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 93 
 
 best development at the time when Southern soldiers, dis- 
 heartened by distressing defeat, were seeking the solace of 
 something safe and sane; at a time when Northern sol- 
 diers, flushed with victory, were yet willing to turn from 
 fighting with bombs and bullets to playing with bat and 
 ball. It was a panacea for the pangs of humiliation to 
 the vanquished on the one side, and a sedative against the 
 natural exuberance of victors on the other. It healed the 
 wounds of war, and was halm to stinging memories of 
 sword thrust and saber stroke. It served to fill the en- 
 forced leisure hours of countless thousands of men sud- 
 denly thrown out of employment. It calmed the restless 
 spirits of men who, after four years of bitter strife, found 
 themselves all at once in the midst of a monotonous era, 
 with nothing at all to do. 
 
 And then, when true patriots of all sections were 
 striving to forget that there had been a time of black and 
 dismal war, it was a beacon, lighting their paths to a fu- 
 ture of perpetual peace. And, later still, it was a medium 
 through which the men who had worn the blue, found 
 welcome to the cities of those who had worn the gray, 
 and before the decade of the sixties had died the game 
 of Base Ball helped all of us to " know no North, no 
 South," only remembering a reunited Nation, whose game 
 it was henceforth to be forever. 
 
 It is very unfortunate that the records of games 
 played by soldiers during the Civil War are inscribed only 
 upon the memories of those who participated in them. 
 Interesting, indeed, would it be to read the details of 
 struggles which served so well to break the monotony of 
 
4 
 
 ON TENTED FIELDS — IN PRISON PENS 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 95 
 
 camp life in the early sixties. Especially would it be of 
 interest to note that while Americans of the North were 
 fighting Americans of the South, between battles both 
 were playing a game that had been devised nearly a quar- 
 ter of a centupry before by a youth who, in the pending 
 struggle, had sighted the first gun in defense of Fort Sum- 
 ter, and who, later on, was to wear the epaulets of a Major 
 General. 
 
 It was during the Civil War, then, that the game of 
 Base Ball became our national game; for against it there 
 was no prejudice — North or South; and from that day to 
 this it has been played with equal fervor and with equal 
 prowess in every section of our beloved country. 
 
 It is said that in Virginia, in the long campaign be- 
 fore Richmond, at periods when active hostilities were in 
 abeyance, a series of games was played between picked 
 nines from Federal and Confederate forces. I have heard 
 rumors of this series repeatedly, but have not been able 
 to trace them to any authoritative source. I refer to them 
 here, not as history, but simply as of sufficient interest to 
 be worthy of mention. I have not found any soldier of 
 either army to corroborate these rumors or to deny them. 
 Several have told me that they took part in many games, 
 on one side or the other, and that they believed the ru- 
 mors might be founded on fact, because they had them- 
 selves known of cases where good-natured badinage had 
 been exchanged between Union and Confederate soldiers 
 on the outposts of opposing armies in the field. 
 
 However, it is of record that many games of Base Ball 
 were played by soldiers during the war. On Christmas 
 
96 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME. 
 
 Day, December 25th, 1862, a team from the 165th New 
 York Volunteer Infantry, Duryea's Zouaves, engaged a 
 picked nine from other Union regiments in that army. 
 The game was witnessed by about 40,000 soldiers. It 
 was played at Hilton Head, South Carolina, and was 
 discussed for many a week thereafter. Among those par- 
 ticipating in this game was Mr. A. G. Mills, of New York 
 City, afterwards President of the National League, and to 
 him I am indebted for the interesting incident. 
 
 Writing under date March 8th, 1909, Mr. N. E. 
 Young, former President of the National League, says: 
 
 " In ray native town in New York State the modern game of 
 Base Ball had not been introduced prior to the breaking out of the 
 Civil War. In my regiment we had a full cricket team, all of whom 
 had played together at home, and our first raatch was arranged and 
 played near White Oak Church, Va., in the early spring of 1863, 
 against the Ninety-fifth Pennsylvania Regiment's team, hailing from 
 Philadelphia. About this time (1863) a Base Ball club was organ- 
 ized in the Twenty-seventh New York Regiment, so we turned our 
 attention to Base Ball, and kept it up as we had the chance until the 
 close of the war. It was here that I played my first regular game 
 of Base Ball." 
 
 In Collier's Weekly of May 8th, 1909, Will Irwin 
 writes as follows: 
 
 " Then came the Civil War, and the place of the Boston boys 
 was the ranks. The number of clubs in and about New York City 
 dwindled from sixty-two in 1860 to twenty-eight in 1865. But the 
 enlisted players took their game with them into the camps of Virginia 
 and Tennessee. Whenever, in summer or fall, the Federal armies 
 rested for a week, some one was sure to take a Base Ball out of his 
 haversack and start a game. They played it on the Peninsula while 
 the Army of the Potomac waited for the latest incompetent general 
 to replace the last incompetent general. They played it before Fort 
 Fisher, dropping one game mid-innings to fall in and run to the 
 firing line. They played it in Confederate prisons, where they 
 taught it to their captors. The Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana 
 regiments turned out to watch and remained to learn. A young 
 cricketer from Amsterdam, New York, who had enlisted in the ranks. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 97 
 
 saw the Eighth New York, recruited from Manhattan, playing a new 
 game. It looked like cricket, for which his soul thirsted; he begged 
 into the game. It was Nicholas E. Young, for a quarter of a century 
 President of the National League. A volunteer private returned 
 invalided to Rockford, Illinois, in 1863. He saw the boys bat- 
 ting up flies, and he told them that he knew a better game. He 
 had learned it in the army. One tall, wiry boy took a special interest. 
 It was Al. Spalding, great pitcher, great manager, great organizer — ■ 
 prime figure in Base Ball from that day to this. On Roanoke 
 Island Hawkins' Zouaves formed two scrub teams. A young volunteer 
 pitcher won for his side by a weak, puzzling delivery which baffled 
 the batsmen. It was Alphonse Martin, first in the line of great 
 American pitchers. 
 
 " The same leaven was working in the Confederate ranks. The 
 New Orleans boys also carried base balls in their knapsacks. A few 
 of them found themselves in a Federal prison stockade on the Missis- 
 sippi. They formed a club. Confederate prisoners from Georgia 
 and South Carolina watched them, got the hang of it and organized 
 for rivalry. In the East and West Series that followed the West 
 won triumphantly by unrecorded scores." 
 
 James L. Steele, writing in Outing Magazine, has the 
 following relative to newspaper treatment of the sport in 
 days before the war : 
 
 " The first newspaper report of a Base Ball game that I 
 remember reading was an account of a game played at Hoboken. 
 N. J., in 1859. It appeared in an illustrated weekly, and was such 
 a novel and interesting event that the weekly gave a double-page 
 illustration. 
 
 " There were no Base Ball schedules in those days, and nobody 
 lay awake nights hatching up reasons why Harvard should not play 
 Princeton and why Yale should play Pennsylvania. All that was 
 needed was an occasion such as a Fourth of July celebration, a 
 county fair, a house-raising, or some other event of that nature. The 
 occasion for this particular game was the entertainment given to a 
 team of English cricketers then touring this country and defeating 
 ' United States Twenty-Twos ' with commendable regularity. We had 
 evolved a game called Base Ball, and we wanted to show our cousins 
 what a high old game it was. 
 
 " It may have been the ' humors of the day ' editor who wrote 
 the report, which was as follows: 
 
 " ' Base Ball differs from cricket, especially in there being no 
 wickets. The bat is held high in the air. When the ball has been 
 struck, the " outs " try to catch it, in which case the striker is out; 
 
98 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 or, if they cannot do this, to strike the striker with it when he is 
 running, which likewise puts him out. 
 
 " ' Instead of wickets, there are, at this game, four or five marks 
 called bases, one of which, being the one at which the striker stands, 
 is called " home." 
 
 " ' As at cricket, the point of the game is to make the most runs 
 between bases; the party which makes the most runs wins the day.' 
 
 " The fact that the reporter thought it necessary to explain 
 how the game was played, indicates the extent of the public's knowl- 
 edge of Base Ball at that time, and even he wasn't quite sure whether 
 there were four bases or five. When he says a base runner may be 
 put out by hitting him with the ball, he makes no mistake, for that 
 was an actual fact, and it was considered a good play on the part of 
 the base runner to draw a throw from the pitcher, for usually the 
 runner would dodge the throw and gambol around the bases while 
 the fielders were hurrying after the ball. This rule was abolished 
 as soon as the game became popular, for a baseman, instead of 
 touching a runner with the ball, would often ' soak ' him at short 
 range, which generally brought forth unprintable remarks from the 
 soakee. 
 
 " The artist, in illustrating this game, was not far behind the 
 reporter. The picture shows us several hundred spectators, and, with 
 the exception of a few ladies and gentlemen, seated in carriages, 
 the only person sitting down in the entire assemblage is the umpire; 
 and, as if to show the perfect tranquility of his mind and his contempt 
 for foul tips, he leans back in his chair with his legs crossed. The 
 basemen, instead of playing ' off,' are standing, each with one foot 
 on his base, and a base runner is ' glued to third,' although the pitcher 
 is ready to deliver the ball. In short, the general aspect of the field 
 is enough to give a modern Base Ball captain nervous prostration." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 FIRST TOUR OF AN EASTERN BASE BALL CLUB TO THE 
 
 WEST REMARKABLE SUCCESSION OF VICTORIES WON 
 
 BY THE NATIONALS, OF WASHINGTON, D. C. HUMILIA- 
 TING DEFEAT BY THE FOREST CITYS. 
 
 1865 
 
 AS SHOWING the rapid growth in popularity of Base 
 Ball from the time of the formation of the 
 National Association of Base Ball Players, in 1857, to 
 the breaking out of the Civil War, in 1861, the following 
 figures, though often published heretofore, wiU be found 
 of interest: 
 
 The number of clubs represented by delegates in the 
 first convention, held in 1857, was 16 ; in 1858, 25 ; in 
 1859, 49; in 1860, 54, and in 1861, only 34. The great 
 falling off in '61 was due, of course, to the beginning of 
 hostilities in that year, and from that time until the close 
 of the war the attendance of club representatives at 
 national annual meetings was very smaU. 
 
 But in 1865, at the close of the Civil War, so great was 
 the furore for Base Ball that 91 clubs had representation 
 in the convention — over 48 being from the State of New 
 York alone, while 14 clubs had representation from Penn- 
 sylvania and 13 from New Jersey. The presence of scat- 
 tering delegates from Portland, Me. ; Leavenworth, Kan- 
 sas ; St. Louis, Mo., and Louis^ ille, Ky., showed how the 
 fever was spreading. 
 10 1 
 
102 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 The tenth annual convention of the National Associa- 
 tion of Base Ball Players, held in 1866, had a most sensa- 
 tional attendance, in the largest assemblage of repre- 
 sentatives ever gathered in a similar convention up to that 
 time. Delegates were present from clubs in New York, 
 Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, the District of 
 Columbia, Maryland, Ohio, Massachusetts, Iowa, Tennes- 
 see, Missouri, Kansas, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, 
 Kentucky, Oregon, Maine. 
 
 It was at this convention that Arthur Pue Gorman, 
 afterward United States Senator from Maryland, was 
 elected President of the National Association. 
 
 The eleventh annual convention, held in 1867, was 
 another surprise. It had representation from 237 clubs 
 from the following States: Connecticut, 22; Illinois, 56; 
 Indiana, 21; Maryland, 20; New York, 24; Ohio, 42; 
 Pennsylvania, 27; Wisconsin, 25. 
 
 An analysis of these figures is of interest as showing 
 that between the tenth and eleventh conventions of the 
 National Association an epidemic of Base Ball fever had 
 swept out into the Wes't, and that, whereas in 1866 only 
 a few Western States were represented by a mere handful 
 of delegates, in 1867 the four States of Illinois, Indiana, 
 Ohio and Wisconsin had 145 clubs represented, which was 
 nearly double the representation of the entire country the 
 year previous. There was also something to inspire con- 
 jecture in the fact that in this year, while the great 
 State of New York, where Base Ball had its birth, was 
 represented by only 24 clubs, Illinois alone had 56 — more 
 than double the number of the Empire State, and delegates 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 103 
 
 from Indiana and Wisconsin were about equal in numbers 
 to those from New York. 
 
 This great and rapidly increasing interest in the game 
 throughout the West was productive of noteworthy re- 
 sults. Not only were many clubs being formed in the 
 Mississippi Valley and beyond the Rockies, but really 
 formidable teams were springing up on every hand. The 
 great clubs of the Atlantic States, too, were beginning to 
 sit up and take notice of the records of some of the 
 players of the Middle West, while a very natural long- 
 ing to " take the conceit out " of the " farmers " gained 
 possession of the Eastern clubs. 
 
 Meanwhile the names of the foremost players of the 
 Eastern clubs were becoming as familiar as " household 
 words " to Western fans, so that desire to see the Wright 
 Brothers (Harry and George), Leggett, Berthrong, Wil- 
 liams, McBride, Reach, Fox, Start, Chapman, Ferguson 
 and other notables, was prevalent everywhere. Thus it 
 came about naturally, through the wish of the Eastern 
 players to vanquish the West, and the hope of the Western 
 boys to test conclusions with the fellows who had made the 
 game famous, that a tour was arranged having as its ob- 
 ject the playing of a series of matches between an Eastern 
 club and teams in cities of the West. 
 
 The National Base Ball Club, of Washington, D. C, 
 though an amateur organization, with membership largely 
 confined to government employes who had developed 
 ability to put up a strong game, conceived the idea of 
 taking upon itself the task of cleaning up the " Wild and 
 Wooly West." Mr. Arthur Pue Gorman, of Maryland, 
 
104 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 himself a fine player and an enthusiastic supporter of the 
 game, favored the scheme and at once gave to it his per- 
 sonal aid and encouragement. 
 
 On the 11th of July, 1867, therefore, the Nationals, 
 accompanied by a party of friends, started upon a trip 
 to the West that was to include in its itinerary the States 
 of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Illinois. The 
 club was under the personal management of its President, 
 Col. Frank Jones, and with him were the following 
 players : 
 
 George Wright, shortstop and captain ; W. F. Wil- 
 liams, a young law student, pitcher; Frank P. Norton, 
 clerk in the Treasury Department, catcher; G. H. E. 
 Fletcher, clerk in the Third Auditor's Office, first base; 
 E. A. Parker, clerk in Internal Revenue Office, second 
 base; George H. Fox, student at Georgetown College, 
 third base ; S. L. Studley, clerk in Treasury Department, 
 left field; Harry W. Berthrong, clerk in Comptroller's 
 Office, center field; Harry C. McLease, of the Auditor's 
 Office, right field ; E. G. Smith, clerk in the Fourth Audi- 
 tor's Office, substitute. Henry Chadwick was a member 
 of the party and official scorer. 
 
 The President of the Nationals had arranged a sched- 
 ule of games to be played on this trip, the list being as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 Capital Club, of Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnatis and 
 Buckeyes, at Cincinnati, Ohio ; Louisville Club, at Louis- 
 ville, Ky. ; the Westerns, at Indianapolis, Ind. ; the Em- 
 pires and Unions, at St. Louis, Mo. ; the Excelsiors and 
 Atlantics, at Chicago, 111., and the Forest City Club, of 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 105 
 
 Rockford, 111., which had been winning favor at the game, 
 also at Chicago. 
 
 This schedule involved the playing of games in five 
 States of the South and West and traveling a distance of 
 over 3,000 miles by rail and boat, at an expense of more 
 than $5,000. The sportsmanlike nature of the game in 
 those days may be known from the fact that, from begin- 
 ning to end, the visiting club bore all its own expenses, 
 absolutely refusing to share any gate money at any game 
 on the trip. 
 
 The tourists left Washington at four o'clock p. m. of 
 the day of their departure, a large company of friends 
 being present to see them started on their journey, and 
 the following gentlemen having interest enough in players 
 and game to accompany the Nationals on their tour: 
 Messrs. Hodges, Cronin, Brown, Patterson, Munson, St. 
 Clair, Ewer, Gramar, Dorsey, Stewart, Corvan and Price. 
 They were met on their arrival at Annapolis, Md., by Mr. 
 Gorman, who subsequently joined the party at Chicago. 
 
 At Columbus, the scene of the first game, the Nation- 
 als were received with demonstrations of marked favor and 
 most profuse hospitality. On July 12th they met the 
 Capital Club nine on a very poor field in the suburbs of 
 the city. Two namesakes were pitted against each other 
 as pitchers in this contest, J. Williams, afterwards Sec- 
 retary of the American Association, appearing for the 
 Capitals, while W. Williams filled the pitcher's box for 
 the Nationals. The Western Williams did not make good 
 in this game, a total of twenty-seven base hits being made 
 from his delivery, while the Columbus team got only ten 
 
106 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 hits from the National Williams. The score at the end of 
 seven innings — which were quite enough to satisfy spec- 
 tators and players — was 90 to 10 in favor of the Wash- 
 ington club, an unprecedented score for the West up to 
 that date. 
 
 After the customary banquet and other social func- 
 tions common to the game in those days, the Nationals 
 left for Cincinnati, where they arrived on the 14th, and 
 on the 15th, after a full day's enjoyment of the hospitality 
 of Cincinnati's players and people, they played the Cin- 
 cinnatis, on the Union grounds, which had been opened on 
 July 4th. As at Columbus, the Nationals were again vic- 
 torious, this time by a score of 53 to 10 in a full game. 
 For the Cincinnatis, the afterwards famous Harry Wright 
 pitched, and the noted cricketer, Rogerson, caught. 
 
 I have already remarked that cricket is not Base Ball. 
 It was not until Harry Wright put cricket in the back- 
 ground that he became noted as a Base Ball player and 
 manager. 
 
 The following day the Nationals met the rivals of the 
 Cincinnati Club, in the Buckeyes, also of the same city, 
 and defeated them, 88 to 12, in a six innings game. On 
 July 16th the Nationals left Cincinnati for Louisville, by 
 the steamer " General Buell," and next day engaged the 
 Louisville team at the Cedar Hill grounds. The result 
 was a defeat for Louisville by a score of 82 to 21, in nine 
 innings. 
 
 July 19th, the club from the Nation's capital city ar- 
 rived at Indianapolis, en route to St. Louis. Here they 
 played the Western Club, of the Hoosier capital, winning 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 107 
 
 by the score of 106 to 21 in a full game. It was in this 
 game that McVey, afterward to win enduring fame on the 
 diamond, played at second base for the Westerns, and 
 made his bow to the public as a future great one. The 
 game was played on the old Camp Burnside Grounds. 
 
 On the 22d of July the Nationals played their first 
 game at St. Louis with the Unions of that city, on one of 
 the hottest days of a very hot season, the mercury regis- 
 tering 104! in the shade on the ball grounds. Notwith- 
 standing the torrid heat, the game lasted four hours and 
 a half, and the poor clerks from the government offices at 
 Washington had to circle the bases for a grand total of 
 113 runs to 26 for the Unions in a nine innings game. 
 Next day the Nationals had no trouble in defeating the 
 Empire Club of St. Louis by 53 to 26, in six innings. 
 
 From St. Louis the Nationals went to Chicago, where 
 occurred the most sensational incident of the entire trip. 
 On July 25th this great team of splendid ball players, 
 that had visited Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Louis- 
 ville and St. Louis, winning every game played, and by 
 scores ranging from 113 to 26 to 53 to 26, in large cities, 
 met a nine from the pretty little city of Rockford, Illinois, 
 and suffered their first and only defeat; for, utterly 
 crushed and humiliated by the unexpected drubbing by the 
 schoolboys, after a game next day with the Chicago Ex- 
 celsiors, which they won easily by a score of 49 to 4, the 
 Nationals turned their faces homeward, and the players 
 were soon again at their desks at Washington, D. C. 
 
 The late Henry Chadwick, in his Base Ball memo- 
 randa, which came into my possession at his death as the 
 
108 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 gift of his estimable wife, describes the National-Forest 
 City game in these words : 
 
 " A Base Ball tourney had been held in Chicago on July 4, 1867, 
 in which the Excelsiors of that city and the Forest City Club, of 
 Rockford, had been the leading contestants. The former had defeated 
 the Forest City nine in two games, by very close scores of 45-41 
 in one, and 28-25 in anotlier, when the Forest Citys were invited to 
 meet the Nationals at Chicago on July 25th5 a day which proved the 
 most notable of the tour. The contest took place at Dexter Park, 
 before a vast crowd of spectators, the majority of who™ looked to 
 see the Nationals have almost a walk-over. In this game A. G. Spald- 
 ing was pitcher, and Ross Barnes shortstop for the Forest City nine; 
 these two afterwards becoming famous as star players of the Boston 
 professional team of the early seventies. Williams was pitcher for 
 the Nationals and Frank Norton catcher. The Nationals took the lead 
 in the first innings by 3 to 2; but in the next two innings they added 
 but five runs to their score, while the Forest Citys added thirteen to 
 theirs, thereby taking the lead by a score of fifteen to eight, to the 
 great surprise of the crowd and the delight of the Rockfords. The 
 Nationals tried hard to recover the lost ground. The final result, 
 however, was the success of the Forest Citys by a score of 29 to 33 
 in a nine innings game, twice interrupted by rain." 
 
 The Chicago papers taunted the Nationals on their 
 defeat, and anticipated a signal victory for their " Cham- 
 pions of the West," the Chicago Excelsiors, next day. 
 The crowds present on the 26th, when the Excelsiors met 
 the Nationals, was the largest ever seen at a match out 
 West up to that time, though the admission fee was half 
 a dollar. From the very outset of the contest the Na- 
 tionals played the finest game of their tour, not only in 
 pitching and batting, but especially in fielding, while the 
 Excelsiors, after the first innings, which ended seven to 
 nothing against them, " went up in the air," as the saying 
 is, and came out of the fight the most demoralized set of 
 ball players ever seen in Chicago. To be beaten at all 
 was bad enough, but to be whipped by a score of 49 to 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 109 
 
 4 by a nine their Rockford rivals had beaten the day 
 before, was galling in the extreme. 
 
 Next day the Chicago Tribune charged the Nationals 
 with throwing the game to Rockford " for betting pur- 
 poses." Mr. A. P. Gorman and President Jones, of the 
 Nationals, visited the Tribune office and compelled a 
 retraction of the charges. 
 
 Thus ended the great Western tour of the Washington 
 Nationals, the first tour of an Eastern Base Ball club to 
 the West. 
 
 I recall an incident in connection with this game which 
 may be of interest. I was the pitcher of the Forest City 
 Club in this victory over the famous Nationals, and, as a 
 lad of seventeen, experienced a severe case of stage fright 
 when I found myself in the pitcher's box, facing such re- 
 nowned players as George Wright, Norton, Berthrong, 
 Fox, and others of the visiting team. It was the first big 
 game before a large audience in which I had ever partici- 
 pated. The great reputations of the Eastern players and 
 the extraordinary one-sided scores by which they had 
 defeated clubs in Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, In- 
 dianapolis and St. Louis, caused me to shudder at the 
 contemplation of punishment my pitching was about to 
 receive. A great lump arose in my throat, and my heart 
 beat so like a trip-hammer that I imagined it could be 
 heard by everyone on the grounds. 
 
 I knew, also, that every player on the Rockford nine 
 had an idea that their kid pitcher would surely become 
 rattled and go to pieces as soon as the strong batters' of 
 the Nationals had opportunity to fall upon bi§ delivery. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME HI 
 
 They had good grounds for that fear. Every member of 
 the team cautioned me to take my time and keep cool; 
 but I was not so rattled but that I recognized the fact 
 that everyone of them was so scared that none could 
 speak above a whisper. The fact is, we were all fright- 
 ened nearly to death, with possibly the exception of Bob 
 Addy, who kept up his nerve and courage by "joshing" 
 the National players as they came to bat with his wit- 
 ticisms, which made him famous among ball players fcr 
 many years. 
 
 In the first innings, the Rpckfords made two runs and 
 the Nationals three, which in those days was called good 
 ball playing. In the second innings, five runs by the Na- 
 tionals and eight by the Rockfords gave the latter a lead 
 by ten to eight. In the third, the Nationals drew a blank 
 and Rockford made five runs, thus putting Rockford to 
 the good by a score of fifteen to eight for the Nationals. 
 The fourth and fifth yielded three runs to the Nationals 
 and one to the Rockfords. In the sixth innings the Na- 
 tionals made seven runs and the Rockfords eight, which 
 made the score at the end of the sixth innings. Nationals, 
 18 ; Rockford, 24. 
 
 While the Forest Citys had by this time gotten pretty 
 well settled and their stage-fright had disappeared, yet 
 none of us even then had the remotest idea that we were 
 destined to win the game over such a famous antagonist. 
 The thought or suggestion of such a thing at that stage 
 would probably have thrown us into another mental 
 spasm. 
 
 At this psychological moment, Col. Frank Jones, Pres- 
 
112 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 ident of the National Club, rushed up to George Wright, 
 who was about to take his position at the bat, and said, 
 in a louder voice possibly than he intended: 
 
 " Do you know, George, that this is the seventh in- 
 nings and we are six runs behind? You must discard 
 your heavy bat and take a lighter one; for to lose this 
 game would be to make our whole trip a failure." Col. 
 Jones' excited manner plainly indicated his anxiety. 
 
 This incident inspired the Rockfords with confidence 
 and determination, and for the first time we began to 
 realize that victory was not only possible, but probable, 
 and the playing of our whole team from that time for- 
 ward was brilliant. I have always given Col. Jones credit 
 for Rockford's victory. 
 
 None but a ball player can understand how much of 
 a factor little incidents of this kind are in a closely con- 
 tested match. 
 
 In the game of the following day, when the Nationals 
 administered their crushing defeat to the Chicago Excel- 
 siors, George Fox, of the Nationals, made the longest hit 
 I ever saw in any game on any grounds. It was one of 
 those terrific, swift drives just over the heads of the out- 
 fielders that is so difiicult to judge. The ball was hit in 
 such a way and with so much force that it flew on a 
 straight line to such an amazing distance that it became a 
 subject of comment to all who witnessed it for years there- 
 after. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 FIRST TOUR OF A WESTERN AMATEUR CLUB TO THE EAST 
 
 STORY OF THE FOREST CITY CLUB ITS REMARKABLE 
 
 CAREER AND SPLENDID RECORD OF VICTORIES. 
 
 1865-70 
 
 A MONG other agencies which at this time wrought so 
 .Z~\. marvelously in the making of popularity for our 
 national game, and in the production of great ball players, 
 none was more potent than the city just emerging from 
 the chrysalis stage of villagedom. It required the quality 
 of young manhood which had been developed in field and 
 furrow, in combination with that which had come from 
 cash desk and counter, from forge and furnace, to present 
 the American game in all its requirements of strength, 
 agility and capacity to deal with emergencies. For, bo 
 it known, comparatively few of those whose names 
 have found a place on the Base Ball Scroll of Fame came 
 originally from the big cities of our land. It was towns 
 like Rockford, Illinois, from whence came Ross Barnes; 
 Marshalltown, Iowa, with Anson to its credit; Fort 
 Wayne, Indiana, with Matthews as its contribution ; Roch- 
 ester, N. Y., with Sutton among its products; Corning, 
 N. Y., with Jim White, and a long list of other cities of 
 the third and fourth classes, whose splendid players at- 
 tracted attention of the country in the early seventies, giv- 
 ing hope even to the small town, village and hamlet, that, 
 enclosed in the overalls of some of their vigorous sons 
 115 
 
il6 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 might be an embryo pitcher or catcher, or shortstop or 
 baseman, or batsman, whose future achievements on the 
 diamond would make famous the burg that had nurtured 
 an artist of such phenomenal prowess. 
 
 In this chapter it is my purpose to write, briefly, the 
 story of the Forest City Base Ball Club, of Rockford, 
 Illinois, presenting it as a type of clubs in other small 
 cities, which in the early development of the game did 
 so much to add prestige to the pastime, and whose in- 
 fluence for the upbuilding and maintaining of the dignity 
 of the sport, as well as skill and science in play, is felt 
 unto this hour. I write of the Forest City Club, not be- 
 cause it was in all respects greater than any other — al- 
 though I shall be able to disclose for it a record of which 
 no friend need be ashamed — but because I was a part of 
 it ; because with it I began my active Base Ball career, and 
 because I know its story better perhaps than I do that of 
 any other Base Ball organization. 
 
 In writing of the Forest City Club, of Rockford, I am 
 compelled by the very nature of the case to introduce local 
 facts, probably of greater interest to me than to any- 
 one else in the world; but I would be guilty of gross injus- 
 tice, of base ingratitude, were I not in this, my only 
 work on the game, to acknowledge appreciation of the 
 sound and unselfish advice of some, the kind words of cheer 
 and encouragement from others, and were I to withhold 
 an expression of the high regard I have ever entertained 
 for my first comrades in the game, to whom I bade a 
 regretful farewell when I elected to make a business of 
 what had been theretofore simply a pleasant pastime. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME ll>f 
 
 Hence, as an apology for and in explanation of that 
 which seems purely personal in the few following pages, 
 I beg the reader to have in mind that much of sentiment 
 still clings to the memories of those days of my early Base 
 Ball career, and I could not refer to the times without 
 also recalling the men with whom I was then so closely 
 and so agreeably associated. 
 
 My association with the game of Base Ball began at 
 Rockford, in 1865. As a school boy, I belonged to a 
 club called the Pioneers. Since nobody in the team was 
 over sixteen years of age, the title may have appeared to 
 some as a misnomer; but it sounded all right. Most of 
 us had heard our fathers spoken of as " pioneers," and we 
 knew it could not mean anything bad. The Pioneers put 
 up a pretty fair article of ball, for boys — if I do say it — 
 and it was not long before we became ambitious. There 
 were at Rockford at that time two amateur rival nines — 
 the Forest Citys, just organized, and the Mercantiles. 
 These played occasional matches, the Forest Citys having 
 rather the better of the argument. 
 
 Ross Barnes, afterwards to win fame on the diamond 
 as one of the greatest second basemen of his time, and in 
 my opinion one of the best all around players the game 
 has produced, was a member of the Pioneers, and he and 
 I conceived the idea that we could " do " the Mercantiles, 
 v-hose players were for the most part salesmen in the 
 several stores of the city. A challenge was therefore 
 sent; but the tradesmen at first regarded it as a joke; 
 they were not in the game to play with children. How- 
 ever, after much insistence on our part, and some chaffing, 
 
118 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 perhaps, by members of the Forest Citys, the Mercantiles 
 finally accepted. The game took place one fine day in 
 the fall of 1865, with the Forest City players present and 
 rooting good and hard for " the kids." The game re- 
 sulted in a score of 26 to 2, in favor of the Pioneers. 
 
 Call it science, skill, luck, or whatever you please, I 
 had at that time, when only fifteen years old, acquired the 
 knack of pitching winning ball, and in the game with the 
 Mercantiles it was first recognized. The Forest Citys 
 immediately made overtures to Barnes and me and in 
 1 866 we both became members of that club. 
 
 The Forest City Club, at the time Barnes and I were 
 admitted to membership, consisted of Dr. S. J. Sawyer, 
 pitcher; A. Barker, catcher; H." S. Warner, shortstop; 
 G. E. King, first base; T. T. Webster, second base; S. 
 Lakin, third base ; W. Stearns, left field ; M. L. Wheeler, 
 center field; J. Brown, right field, and J. H. Manny, 
 scorer. The executive officers of the club were: H. H. 
 Waldo, President ; I. S. Hyatt, Vice-President ; George E. 
 King, Secretary ; George P. Ross, Treasurer. The Direc- 
 tors were E. C. Dunn, H. N. Starr and C. G. Manlove. 
 
 In the games following the reorganization of the 
 Forest City Club, the line-up was changed and the follow- 
 ing players appeared : Spalding, pitcher ; King, catcher ; 
 Cone, first base; Addy, second base; Stearns, Lighthart 
 or Stires, third base; Barnes, shortstop; Wheeler or 
 Warner, right field; Cheney or Osborne, center field; 
 Barker or Waxham, left field. 
 
 With a team thus placed, the Forest City Base Ball 
 Club entered upon its public career in 1866. Previous to 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 119 
 
 this time it had devoted its energies almost entirely to 
 practice games and matches with local and nearby nines. 
 Now, however, it began to receive and issue challenges, 
 with the result that in nearly every instance victory 
 favored the Rockford players. 
 
 It was thus early in my Base Ball career that I came 
 face to face for the first time with the business end of the 
 game. It came about in this way: The Forest Citys, 
 although a comparatively young organization, as we have 
 seen, had already attracted considerable attention by rea- 
 son of many victories ; and commercial travelers from 
 Chicago and other cities, who were fond of Base Ball, 
 would so schedule their trips as to be at Rockford when 
 we played. I was employed at the time at a very small 
 salary in a Rockford grocery, whose proprietor affected 
 to be quite proud of my efBciency as a pitcher — but who 
 regularly "docked" me when absent from the store. 
 Therefore, when I was approached one day by a Chicago 
 man with an offer o,f $40 per week to take a position as 
 bill clerk with a wholesale grocery house of that city, 
 with the understanding that my store duties would be 
 nominal, and a chance given to play ball frequently, with- 
 out affecting my salary to reduce it, I found no difficulty 
 so far as my Rockford job was concerned in making up 
 my mind as to what I ought to do. 
 
 But there were other considerations that might not be 
 so easily disposed of. I was a mere youth both in age and 
 in experience. I dared not trust my own judgment as to 
 what was best. My home was and had long been at Rock- 
 ford, with my widowed mother. Ought I, just as I was 
 
1^0 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 becoming a man, to leave her whose tender care and fond 
 affection had been so lavishly bestowed upon me through 
 the years of my boyhood life ? Would she approve of my 
 going to a large city, with its dangers in the busy whirl, 
 and its greater dangers in the temptations that so thickly 
 abound? 
 
 Moreover, what did this offer mean? That it meant 
 separation from the Forest City Club was quite appar- 
 ent; but that problem did not count; I could not afford 
 to rest my business interests on a mere sentiment. But 
 there was a moral side to the question which I might not 
 ignore. Were my services worth the proffered salary? 
 What did I know of the wholesale grocery business that I 
 should be offered $40 per week as bill clerk? Was I not 
 being paid for my skill as a ball player rather than as an 
 expert in the grocery trade? And, if so, would I not be 
 violating at least the spirit of that rule of the National 
 Association of Base Ball Players that forbade the pay-' 
 ment of salaries to players? 
 
 Again, from a mere business standpoint, would it be 
 wise for me at my age to sever the relations that had been 
 established at the home of my youth? All my acquaint- 
 ances were at Rockford. Did not they constitute an asset 
 with which I might not lightly part? All these, and 
 many other questions, presented themselves to my mind, 
 and I did what I would now advise any other boy to do 
 in like circumstances. I carried the whole subject to my 
 mother. I knew that she approved of my connection with 
 the game of Base Ball as a pastime ; but how she would 
 view it as a vocation I was not sure at all. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 121 
 
 When I broached the subject, I saw at once that it 
 distressed her. She, far better than I, realized what it 
 meant. The commercial aspect of the case, in making 
 use of whatever skiU I possessed as a ball player to gain 
 a competence, made her shrink at first. She had looked 
 upon the game as a means of health-giving exercise, and 
 had rejoiced in it. She had followed the early victories of 
 our club, and, like a loyal mother, had gloried in them. 
 But, to make a business of ball playing! That was alto- 
 gether different ; it required consideration ; perhaps advice. 
 Finally, the problem reduced itself — as have so many 
 problems in other Rockford households in the last half 
 century and more — to an appeal to Rockford's Grand Old 
 Man, Hiram H. Waldo, to whom I here pay the homage of 
 man's sincere tribute to man. I held him in honor in the 
 days of my youth. I esteemed him in my early manhood, 
 and now, in my maturer years, I count him as one of the 
 noblest, purest, most unselfish men I have ever known. 
 
 Mr. Waldo was at that time, President of the Forest 
 City Club, and yet we laid the severing of my connection 
 with that organization before him, assured that his advice 
 would be fair, honest, unbiased; as, indeed, it proved. I 
 remember well how we received the announcement of the 
 offer made to me to go to Chicago ; how we placed before 
 him the situation in all its bearings ; how I rather ear- 
 nestly pleaded the opportunity it presented for my 
 advancement in life. He heard the case quite patiently 
 and then said : 
 
 " You know, my boy, that, as a citizen of Rockford, I 
 don't want you to go; and perhaps, as President of the 
 
122 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Forest City Club, I ought to urge you to stay; but, as a 
 friend to whom you have come for advice, I must say to 
 you, accept the offer and go; but," he added, smiling, 
 "you needn't tell that I advised it." 
 
 And so, in the fall of 1867, I went to Chicago, osten- 
 sibly to accept a clerkship in a wholesale grocery, but 
 really to become a member of the Chicago Excelsior Base 
 Ball Club. It may interest some to know that I never 
 played but one game with the Excelsior team. Before 
 the next springtime had rolled around the great whole- 
 sale house with which I had become connected failed — not 
 entirely on account of the size of my salary, I trust — and 
 a few days later saw me back at Rockford, again a mem- 
 ber of the Forest City Club, where I was warmly wel- 
 comed, having received employment in the insurance office 
 of A. N. Nicholds, Secretary of the club, and on the Rock- 
 ford Register, at moderate salary, under the management 
 of E. H. Griggs, who had meantime been elected Secre- 
 tary of the National Association of Base Ball Players. 
 
 As to the question of my agreeing to accept a semi- 
 professional position on the Excelsior team of Chicago at 
 a time when professionalism of every kind was " tabu," I 
 have this to say: Although at this date there was no 
 strictly professional club in existence — the Cincinnati Red 
 Stockings not being organized as such until 1869 — the rule 
 prohibiting salaries was nevertheless a dead letter. Most 
 clubs of prominence, all over the country, had players 
 who were either directly or indirectly receiving financial 
 advantage from the game. Some held positions like that 
 proffered me; others were in the pay of individual lovers 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 123' 
 
 of the game. I believed that I foresaw the day soon com- 
 ing when professional Base Ball playing would be recog- 
 nized as legitimate everywhere. I was not able to under- 
 stand how it could be right to pay an actor, or a singer, 
 or an instrumentalist for entertaining the public, and 
 wrong to pay a ball player for doing exactly the same 
 thing in his way. I did not like the roundabout schemes 
 that were being worked in all large cities to secure good 
 players, by giving them nominal employment in stores, 
 warehouses, etc. It seemed to me to be educating young 
 men in a school of false pretense. I felt that the only 
 right thing to do was to come out openly and honor the 
 playing of the game as a legitimate avocation, and this 
 position I have ever since consistently maintained. 
 
 From the time Barnes and I became connected with 
 the Forest City Club, that organization had an almost 
 uninterrupted succession of victories. No team in the 
 Northwest was able to win from the Rockford nine until 
 the tournament in July, 1867, when the Chicago Excel- 
 siors took two games by close scores — and these games 
 were subsequently offset by a series, best two out of three, 
 played the following season for the championship of the 
 Northwest, in which the Forest Citys were victorious by 
 scores of 20 to 18 and 36 to 27, respectively. 
 
 It is not the scope or purpose of this work to publish 
 records. Those interested in statistics will find volum- 
 inous tables in the annual Base Ball Guides. But in the 
 case of the Forest City Club, whose story is unique among 
 amateur organizations, I feel that I owe it to that club 
 to make public its remarkable achievements: 
 
124 
 
 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Forest City, 
 
 133 to 8 
 37 to 23 
 13 to 14 
 39 to 16 
 SO to 11 
 24 to 10 
 42 to 3 
 
 Forest City, 
 
 Forest City, 
 
 Forest City 
 
 56 to 
 59 to 4 
 41 to 45 
 
 24 to 16 
 
 25 to 28 
 39 to 23 
 35 to 57 
 63 to 8 
 
 43 to 25 
 73 to 7 
 20 to 18 
 13 to 94 
 29 to 31 
 36 to 27 
 28 to 9 
 43 to 12 
 88 to 6 
 
 110 to 11 
 
 37 to 9 
 103 to 
 
 49 to 
 
 76 to 
 
 32 to 
 
 35 to 
 
 13 to 32 
 31 to 10 
 43 to 9 
 
 14 to 15 
 40 to 1 
 83 to 14 
 §2 to 10 
 
 1866 
 
 Mystic, Belvidere, Illinois. 
 Shaffer, Freeport, Illinois. 
 Cream City, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
 Clipper, Rochelle, Illinois. 
 Sinissippi, Rockford, Illinois. 
 Cream City, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 
 Badger, Beloit, Wisconsin. 
 
 1867 
 Phoenix, Belvidere, Illinois. 
 Byron, Byron, Illinois. 
 Excelsior, Chicago, Illinois. 
 Phoenix, Belvidere, Illinois. 
 Excelsior, Chicago, Illinois. 
 National, Washington, D. C. 
 Bloomington, Bloomington, Illinois. 
 Star, Marengo, Illinois. 
 
 1868 
 Byron, Byron, Illinois. 
 Harvard, Harvard, Illinois. 
 Excelsior, Chicago, Illinois. 
 Athletic, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
 Atlantic, Brooklyn, New York. 
 Excelsior, Chicago, Illinois. 
 Capitol City, Madison, Wisconsin. 
 Capitol City, Madison, Wisconsin. 
 Mutual, Janesville, Wisconsin. 
 
 1869 
 
 Harvard, Harvard, Illinois. 
 Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin. 
 Stillman Valley, Illinois. 
 Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin. 
 Clipper, Monmouth, Illinois. 
 Amateur, Chicago, Illinois. 
 Aetna, Chicago, Illinois. 
 Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 Garden City, Chicago, Illinois. 
 Garden City, Chicago, Illinois. 
 Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 Buckeye, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 Independent, Mansfield, Ohio. 
 Petrpit; Detroit, Michigan. 
 
Pores 
 
 t City, 
 
 33 to S3 
 
 (( 
 
 " 
 
 T to 28 
 
 (( 
 
 a 
 
 47 to 2 
 
 It 
 
 it 
 
 52 to 7 
 
 « 
 
 ti 
 
 44 to 11 
 
 (C 
 
 tt 
 
 70 to 6 
 
 " 
 
 (( 
 
 66 to 3 
 
 it 
 
 tc 
 
 101 to 13 
 
 it 
 
 (I 
 
 34 to 23 
 
 " 
 
 (C 
 
 41 to 10 
 
 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME X25 
 
 Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Oliio. 
 Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 Clipper, Monmouth, Illinois. 
 Occidental, Quincy, Illinois. 
 Union, St. Louis, Missouri. 
 Empire, St. Louis, Missouri. 
 Relic, Jacksonville, Illinois. 
 Liberty, Springfield, Illinois. 
 Picked Nine, Chicago, Illinois. 
 Illinois, Morris, Illinois. 
 
 Early in the spring of 1870, the business men of Rock- 
 ford, proud of their ball team, and recognizing how much 
 it had done in the way of advertising that enterprising 
 young city, raised a purse of $7,000 that the Forest City 
 Club might make the first tour ever made by a Western 
 amateur Base Ball club to the Eastern States- and match 
 their playing ability with that of the strong nines of that 
 section. 
 
 The following table shows the result of the tqur as 
 
 to games won and lost, with the scores of each: 
 
 Maple Leaf, Hamilton, Canada. 
 Niagaras, Buffalo, New York. 
 Eckfords, Syracuse, New York. 
 Ontarios, Oswego, New York. 
 Haymakers, Troy, New York. 
 Mutuals, Springfield, Massachusetts. 
 Unions, Morrisania, New York. 
 Mutuals, New York, New York. 
 Atlantic, Brooklyn, New York. 
 Athletics, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
 Marylands, Baltimore, Maryland. 
 Pastimes, Baltimore, Maryland. 
 Olympics, Washington, D. C. 
 Nationals, Washington, D. C. 
 Jeffersons, Washington, D. C. 
 Forest Citys, Cleveland, Ohio. 
 White Stockings, Chicago, Illinois. 
 
 An analysis of the record shows that out of a total 
 of 65 games played the Forest City Club won 51. In 
 
 3ity, as to 
 
 3 
 
 44 to 
 
 13 
 
 57 to 
 
 16 
 
 17 to 
 
 2 
 
 21 to 
 
 3 
 
 36 to 
 
 4 
 
 4 to 
 
 4 
 
 13 to 31 
 
 17 to 
 
 16 
 
 10 to 
 
 16 
 
 1 to 
 
 
 
 31 to 
 
 11 
 
 8 to 
 
 7 
 
 10 to 
 
 4 
 
 15 to 
 
 6 
 
 34 to 
 
 18 
 
 14 to 38 
 
126 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 these games the Rockford Club made 2,592 runs to 959 
 for all the other clubs combined — nearly three to one ! 
 
 In October of this year the Forest City team defeated 
 the great Cincinnati Red Stockings by a score of 12 to 5. 
 
 Such, then, was the career of the Forest City Base Ball 
 Club. When it is remembered that this organization was 
 composed entirely of young men living in and about Rock- 
 ford; that the club was strictly an amateur organization, 
 no player receiving salary; it must be conceded that the 
 record here published is unparalleled in the history of the 
 game for a similar club. 
 
 Before closing this chapter, which I fully realize has 
 dealt too much with things of which I was myself a part, 
 I desire once more to express my appreciation of the 
 membership of that club, one and all — not only as players ; 
 their records speak plainly enough on that point ; but as 
 gentlemen and friends whom I shall ever remember with 
 feelings of fraternal regard. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 FIRST PROFESSIONAL, BASE BALL CLUB THE CINCINNATI 
 
 RED STOCKINGS BOLD DECLARATION OP INDEPENDENCE 
 
 AND THEIR XJNEaUALLED RECORD OF VICTORIES. 
 
 1869-70 
 
 BEFORE the close of the decade of the 60's there were 
 mutterings of discontent, disparagement, if not of 
 actual disgust with existing conditions. It has already 
 been noted that from the very beginning of Base Ball his- 
 tory betting had been openly, widely, almost generally 
 indulged in at all contests of importance. 
 
 It is unnecessary, perhaps impossible, to catalogue all 
 the evils that followed in the train of this pernicious prac- 
 tice. It is essential to the story, however, to mention the 
 fact that one of the earliest legitimate effects of this 
 illegitimate custom was to beget another practice even 
 more prejudicial to the interests of Base Ball; for betting 
 on the result of games naturally begot collusion between 
 those who bet their money and some of those who played 
 the game. Per consequence, it Was soon discovered that 
 unprincipled players, under pretense of accident or 
 inability to make points at critical stages, were " throw- 
 ing" games. 
 
 Nor was this all. The determination of the founders 
 of Base Ball to maintain it as an amateur pastime had 
 been only partially successful from the start. The per- 
 fectly natural desire of every club to strengthen its play- 
 129 
 
130 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 ing corps found its earliest expression in the drafting, by 
 senior clubs, from the ranks of local junior teams the best 
 players among them. This absolutely legitimate practice 
 was soon followed by that of inducing the best players in 
 clubs of small cities and villages to join those of larger 
 cities, the ostensible advantage being set forth as the 
 increased opportunities of getting on in life. 
 
 It was, of course, but a very short step from this 
 custom to that of offering to exceptionally good players 
 positions in commercial or industrial enterprises, with the 
 understanding that salaries would be forthcoming. These 
 were usually paid in part by promoters of the ball clubs, 
 and partly by the firms in whose employ the players were 
 enrolled. It was always understood in such cases that, 
 while the player was ostensibly engaged by the house he 
 served, he was really expected to participate in all match 
 games played by the club to which he was to become 
 attached. 
 
 It will readily be seen that such a state of things could 
 not long continue. The public lost confidence in a game 
 the results of whose contests depended upon the interests 
 of the gambling fraternity, or the presence of veiled pro- 
 fessional players. Upright ball players knew that games 
 were occasionally sold by their unscrupulous companions. 
 Having lost faith in their fellows, they began to lose hope 
 in the future of the pastime itself, and, one by one, con- 
 scientious players were dropping oujb. The system, too, 
 of securing players by underhanded subterfuge also had 
 a demoralizing effect on the sport, so that after a while 
 players and public became outspoken in their criticisms of 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 131 
 
 conditions existing everywhere, and violent in their denun- 
 ciations of the management of the National Association 
 of Base Ball Players, under whose regime these out- 
 rageous abuses obtained. 
 
 It should be stated in this connection that the evils 
 complained of were not authorized by either the letter or 
 the spirit of the National Association rules. On the con- 
 trary, all practices prejudicial to the game were not only 
 not encouraged, but were vigorously forbidden by the 
 language of the rules and violently denounced by dele- 
 gates at each recurring convention of that body. But that 
 the National Association of Base Ball Players was unable 
 to deal with the problem of needed discipline confronting 
 it was quite apparent. It either lacked the will or the 
 courage or the ability to control the situation, and so, as 
 always and everywhere, abuses unchecked became intoler- 
 able. Having lost respect for the governing body, players 
 paid little heed to its mandates, interest in the sport sub- 
 sided, attendance at games fell off, while the small number 
 of clubs represented at annual conventions showed wide- 
 spread demoralization. 
 
 ., In addition to the factors already named, that were 
 rapidly leading up to the dissolution of the National 
 Association of Base Ball Players, was the political propa- 
 ganda. Under the original by-laws of the Association — 
 which had never been amended as to this point — repre- 
 sentation by proxy was provided for. This resulted in 
 all kiii3§x)f/ trouble. Men of mediocrity from remote dis- 
 tricts a;n<l obscure organizations were able to collect 
 proxies enough so that they could and did have themselves 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 133 
 
 elected to places of influence and importance that they 
 were not qualified to fill, and this in order that they 
 might manipulate the game to selfish ends. Thus the 
 legitimate purpose of the sport, which was to provide 
 entertainment for the public and healthful exercise for its 
 participants, was prostituted to ends of graft and greed. 
 The question prompting these mischief-makers was not 
 "How may we perpetuate the game of Base Ball in its 
 integrity and perfection.'"' but, "How may we secure the 
 largest personal advantage while in office .'' " I do not make 
 this charge of ofiicers of the Association as a rule, but 
 that there were present in power at this time ofiicials 
 who wrought havoc with the game will not be disputed. 
 
 Mutterings, loud and deep, showing the dissatisfaction 
 that was present in the minds of the press and public, 
 were heard everywhere from those who had any interest 
 whatever for the welfare of Base Ball in America. It was 
 quite apparent to everybody that something must soon 
 occur to change the existing order of things — and in this 
 one case it was the " expected " that happened. 
 
 The leading Base Ball club of Cincinnati, seeing the 
 inevitable, unwilling to be bound by rules which nobody 
 respected or obeyed, holding in utter contempt an organi- 
 zation that had failed to uphold the dignity and integrity 
 of a game of which it was- the nominal executive head, 
 threw down the gauntlet of defiance to the National Asso- 
 ciation of Base Ball Players^ — not by a flaming pronuncia- 
 mento, but by manly declaration that henceforth it would 
 be known as a professional organization. 
 
 It required a great deal of moral courage on the part 
 
134 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 of Harry Wriglit and his confreres to take this step. 
 There were at least three elements to be dealt with. Fir%t, 
 that portion of the public — and it was at that time proba- 
 bly in the majority — who believed that Base Ball was 
 simply an ordinary form of outdoor sport, a pastime, like 
 cricket in England, to be played in times of leisure, and 
 by gentlemen, for exercise, and only incidentally for the 
 entertainment of the public, had to be reckoned with. 
 This class felt that the game would suffer by profes- 
 sionalism; that it meant the introduction into the ranks 
 of any man who could play the game skillfully, without 
 regard to his " race, color or previous condition of servi- 
 tude." It meant, they thought, the introduction of 
 rowdies, drunkards and dead-beats. Somehow, it was felt 
 that the game would lose in character if it departed from 
 its original program, and they honestly deplored the pro- 
 posed innovation. 
 
 Another class to be dealt with was the gambling ele- 
 ment, and this opposition was not to be lightly considered. 
 They had so long been a controlling influence, that any- 
 thing threatening their ascendancy was sure to meet with 
 stubborn resistance. Of course, their chief interest in Base 
 Ball was what they could make out of it in the line of their 
 nefarious profession. They feared that if the executive 
 control of the game passed into the hands of men who 
 also had cash at stake, it was a sure thing that just in so 
 far as the management made money they must lose. They 
 knew, of course, that the clubs must depend upon gate 
 receipts for their income; that gate receipts depended 
 upon the restoration of public confidence, and that public 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 185 
 
 confidence could only be won back by the eradication of 
 the gambling evil. So the gamblers would fight, and fight 
 hard. 
 
 A third element, well worthy of sober thought, was 
 that represented by players in other clubs still affiliating 
 with the National Association, and obeying the letter, if 
 not the spirit, of its non-professional requirements. What 
 this class would do only the future could determine, 
 though the fact that many of them were even then in an 
 underhanded way practicing semi-professionalism gave 
 force to the belief that they would not long hold out. 
 
 Finally one club, actuated by the spirit that has char- 
 acterized every pioneer movement in history, decided to 
 blaze the way. Consequently, in 1869, under the manage- 
 ment of Harry Wright, who had then been playing Base 
 Ball for about ten years, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, 
 formed in 1866 as an amateur team, now determined to 
 organize as an out-and-out professional club, with a view 
 of measuring skill with the heretofore invincible clubs of 
 the East. 
 
 This club consisted of trained players, the best men 
 procurable, and every one to receive a substantial salary. 
 The players were Brainard, pitcher; Allison, catcher; 
 Gould, first base ; Sweasy, second base ; Waterman, third 
 base; George Wright, shortstop; Leonard, left field; 
 Harry Wright, center field ; McVey, right field. 
 
 A. B. Champion, a prominent lawyer of Cincinnati, 
 was President of the Club, and to him very largely was 
 due the success of the new professional movement. ' 
 
 The Eastern tour of the Red Stockings, in 1869, was 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME I37 
 
 preceded by a series of uninterrupted victories over West- 
 ern clubs. The trip Eastward saw its first contest with 
 the BuiFalo Niagaras, after which the Cincinnati Club 
 passed through Western New York to Massachusetts and 
 then to New York City, where they played their first 
 important game with the Mutuals. The result of this 
 contest was a score, unprecedented up to that time, of 
 4 to 2, the Red Stockings winning. Next day they met 
 and defeated the celebrated Atlantic Club by 32 to 10. 
 The Eckfords were next to go down to defeat, and by a 
 score of 24 to 5. From New York the Red Stockings 
 went to Philadelphia, en route disposing of the Irvington, 
 N. J., team by 20 to 4. At Philadelphia they encoun- 
 tered the Olympics, winning, 22 to 11, and following this 
 by a defeat of the great Athletics of that city by 27 to 
 18, and the Keystones by 45 to 30. Later the West- 
 erners visited Baltimore and Washington, easily defeat- 
 ing the best teams of both cities, the Marylands by 47 to 
 7, the Washington Nationals by a score of 24 to 8, and 
 the Olympics of the capital city by 16 to 5. 
 
 Thus ended the first Eastern tour of a Western Base 
 Ball club. It was also the first tour of a professional 
 ball club in any direction. Every game played was won 
 by the Red Stockings, presenting an important object les- 
 son in professionalism, for it demonstrated at once and 
 for all time the superiority of an organization of ball 
 players, chosen and trained and paid for the work they 
 were engaged to do, over any and all organizations 
 brought together as amateurs for the simple purpose of 
 playing ball for exercise and entertainment. 
 
138 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Returning to Cincinnati, the Red Stockings were vis- 
 ited by the Olympics, of Washington, which nine they 
 defeated in three straight games, the score of one being 
 71 to 15. They then played visiting nines from the West 
 for over a month, being victorious in every contest. 
 
 Next, they received the Haymakers, of Troy, New 
 York, which club they had previously defeated, but which, 
 on this occasion, played them to their first tie game, 17 to 
 17. About this time they won a close game from the For- 
 est City Club, of Rockford. The score was 14 to 13 in 
 their favor, the Red Stockings making three runs and 
 winning the game in the ninth inning. 
 
 Having met every club in the East without a reverse, 
 and having conquered every team in the Middle West, the 
 Red Stockings now conceived the idea of visiting the 
 Pacific Coast, stopping at St. Louis en route. At San 
 Francisco they defeated the Eagles, Pacific and Atlantic 
 nines of that city, every score but one being marked by 
 fifty runs to single figures. Returning, they defeated clubs 
 at Omaha and Nebraska City, and completed their tri- 
 umphant record on their own home grounds by vic- 
 tories over the Philadelphia Athletics and the Mutuals. 
 
 This sensational record, without a parallel then, has 
 never been equalled. Aside from its spectacular effect, in 
 calling attention to the great players of a great club and 
 their wonderiul achievements, it exerted a tremendous 
 influence, afterwards to be felt in the game itself, for it 
 portended the birth of a new era in which professional 
 ball should become thoroughly established, though not 
 without its serious vicissitudes. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 139 
 
 The Red Stockings had now played every prominent 
 club from Massachusetts to California without losing a 
 game, and this wonderful succession of victories was pon- 
 tinued not only through 1869, but also from April to 
 June in 1870, without a defeat. 
 
 From a record kept by Harry Wright, the great cap- 
 tain and manager of the Red Stockings, the following 
 facts concerning that club, its players and its record arc 
 gleaned: Out of 57 games played the Red Stockings won 
 56 and tied 1. In these games they scored a total of 
 2,395 runs to 574 for their adversaries. The nature of 
 the batting done is shown in a total of 169 home runs, or 
 an average of nearly three to a game. The number of 
 miles traveled by rail and boat was 11,877, without a 
 serious accident of any kind. Over 200,000 people wit- 
 nessed the games. The individual score of George Wright, 
 the famous shortstop, was the highest of any player on 
 the team. He played in 52 of the 57 games. His batting 
 average was .518. He made 339 runs, of which 59 were 
 home runs; one of them the longest hit up to that time. 
 
 Such is the story of the first professional Base Ball 
 club, as taken from the records. Aside from the achieve- 
 ments of the Red Stockings during their brief but meteoric 
 pareer, it will not be easy to estimate the influence of 
 their performances upon the future of the game. The 
 club, as organized by Harry Wright, passed out of exist- 
 ence in the fall of 1870, but it had paved the way for the 
 introduction of new means, new measures, new methods, 
 soon inaugurated, and which are an integral part of the 
 system to-day. 
 
SOME OF THE EED STOCKINGS 
 
 D. Allison. I. „ , . 1,,, ,, r C. J. Sweasv, 2b. 
 
 ATT J I f Cal. A. McVey, r.f. ^^ tt /- " 1 1 
 
 A. J. Leonard, l.f. C. H. Gould 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 141 
 
 As pertinent to the question of professionalisfn, I 
 recall very distinctly a bit of controversy with Harry 
 Wright when, in 1871, he came to Rockford to secure the 
 services of Roscoe Barnes, Fred Cone, and myself for 
 the Boston Club. The professional Red Stockings, of 
 Cincinnati, the pioneer professional club, had disbanded. 
 That organization, under Mr. Wright's management, had 
 demonstrated that professionalism not only stood for a 
 marked improvement in playing, but that the dreaded 
 opposition on the part of the public did not materialize, 
 since the simple announcement that the Red Stockings 
 were to appear had been sufficient always to attract 
 crowds. 
 
 But the experiment had not yet been tried in an East- 
 ern city. Hence^ when Wright came with his overtures to 
 Barnes, Cone, and myself, it was to join a club ostensibly 
 amateur but really professional; for all were to receive 
 good salaries. I knew, of course, that the manager of the 
 Bostons felt exactly as I did with regard to the subject; 
 but I could see that he was reluctant to break over .the 
 custom in vogue in New England and oppose the honest 
 prejudice existing in that section and all over the East 
 against professional Base Ball. 
 
 However, I was inclined to be obstinate in my views of 
 the matter. I had determined to enter Base Ball as a 
 profession. I was neither ashamed of the game nor of my 
 attachment to it. Mr. Wright was there offering us ade- 
 quate cash inducements to play on the Boston team. We 
 were willing to accept his offer. Why, then, go before the 
 public under the false pretense of being amateurs.'' The 
 
FEED WATERMAN, HAREY WRIGHT, ASA BRAIXARD 
 
 4 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 143 
 
 assumption of non-professionalism would not deceive any- 
 body. It was not possible that any could be found so 
 simple as to believe that George and Harry Wright, Cal 
 McVey and the rest were in the game merely for healthful 
 or philanthropic reasons. Then why engage in duplicity? 
 We went over the whole subject, threshed it out in 
 all its bearings, and finally agreed to come out openly 
 and above-board as a professional organization. The 
 result was even more gratifying than we had hoped. 
 Opposition in the East faded rapidly away. Soon after 
 the organization, in 1871, of the National Association of 
 Professional Ball Players, professionalism was firmly 
 rooted and established. 
 

 
 HMj 
 
 HI^^HH 
 
 
 
 
 ■ ^ 
 
 
 H 
 
 H^H 
 
 
 
 
 li 
 
 
 1 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 
 ni, liy American Sports I'l 
 
 IliM^l 
 
 V^T^IPPVI^^^^E 
 
 
 1 
 
 ^^^^PI^^B 
 
 K 
 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 ^H 
 
 ^^^ ",- 
 
 ' iMiT V- 
 
 -#W.;:^'^W^^Mr^i 
 
 
 71 
 
 
 1 
 
 wBB^ i^-xjf 
 
 
 sJ^Si^'^CvC 
 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 V -^w^ 
 
 "S*'\*!S^r^^^%#^ 
 
 
 
 
 K 
 >^ 
 
 w 
 o 
 
 73 
 
 
 
 bg 
 
 
 "V— *jr'desH9H^HHH 
 
 
 1 
 
 I 
 
 
 '^^ 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 H^ 
 
 
 , ,,.-.f II' ■•''■"'■ -^ ^-^'•p'^ "--^^'^n^'wi 
 
 
 il 
 
 J 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DEATH OF THE FIRST BASE BALL ASSOCIATION FIllST 
 
 DEFEAT OF THE FAMOUS RED STOCKINGS THE GREAT 
 
 ATHLETIC AND ATLANTIC BASE BALL CLUBS. 
 
 1870-71 
 
 IT IS the plan of this work, while telling in a general 
 way the story of our national game, to deal rather 
 with beginnings than with details. It has required 
 libraries of volumes to chronicle facts of which here only 
 the briefest outline can be given. Already consideration 
 has been given to the first ball, the first bat, the first 
 bases, the first diamond, the first grounds, the first club, 
 the first association, the first contest, the first gate money 
 receipts, the first row, the first tour, the first visit of an 
 Eastern club to the West, the first trip of a Westei-n 
 club to the East and the first tour of a professional club 
 in any direction. But it is manifestly impracticable to 
 trace in these pages the history of all the good clubs, of 
 all the skillful players, their many tours, their countless 
 victories and their occasional reverses. Hence, those who 
 might expect the minor details of the successful trips of 
 the Athleticsj of Philadelphia, and the Atlantics, of 
 Brooklyn, to have a place just here, where they would 
 chronologically belong, are reminded that- these tours were 
 simply less sensational repetitions of that of the pioneer 
 Excelsiors and Nationals, whose triumphant journeys 
 have been heretofore quite fully given. 
 147 
 
148 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Something is due, however, to Base Ball organizations 
 which at this period demonstrated the possession of sur- 
 prising and surpassing excellence, and that obligation is 
 met by giving the story of the games in which the great 
 Red Stockings, of Cincinnati, were first made to acknowl- 
 edge defeat — a calamity that seemed not only to break 
 the record of that club but the hearts of its players as 
 well — for the Red Stockings, under that title, did not out- 
 live another year. 
 
 It was on the 14th of June, 1870, that the World's 
 Champions of 1869, the theretofore unconquered Red 
 Stockings, of Cincinnati, had their victorious career 
 checked by the Atlantics, of Brooklyn. The game was 
 played at the City of Churches, on Long Island, and 
 attracted an immense concourse of spectators for the 
 time. The line-up of the Atlantics was as follows: Fer- 
 guson, catcher; Zettlein, pitcher; Start, first base; Pike, 
 second base ; Smith, third base ; Pearce, shortstop ; Chap- 
 man, right field; Hall, center field; McDonald, left field. 
 The gate receipts, at 50 cents as the admission fee, dis- 
 closed an attendance of 9,000 lovers of the game. No 
 grandstand, with upholstered cushions, contributed to 
 the comfort of the onlookers, but the entire crowd stood 
 throughout the long and exciting contest. . 
 
 The Red Stockings had their regular championship 
 team, composed of the following professional players: 
 Allison, catcher; Brainard, pitcher; Gould, first base; 
 Sweasy, second base; Waterman, third base; George 
 Wright, shortstop; McVey, right field; Harry Wright, 
 center field, and Leonard, left field. At the end of the 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME I49 
 
 first innings the score stood 3 to in favor of the Red 
 Stockings, who were playing with their usual confidence 
 and in splendid form. In the next three innings, how- 
 ever, the Atlantics got in four runs and shut out the vis- 
 itors, thereby securing a lead of one run. Friends of the 
 Atlantics began to enthuse over the situation; but the 
 Cincinnati players, with the sublime courage that ever 
 characterized their game, rallied, and in the next two 
 innings gained two runs to one for the Atlantics, tieing 
 the score, which remained unchanged in the ninth. 
 
 At the end of the ninth innings the Atlantics gathered 
 up their bats, and the crowd, assuming that the game 
 had ended with a draw, were preparing to leave the 
 grounds, when Harry Wright, captain and manager of 
 the Reds, with the bulldog tenacity for which his race — 
 the English — is famed the world over, protested to the 
 umpire that the game was not ended. He knew that the 
 rules required a tie game, under such circumstances, to 
 be continued. A sharp controversy ensued, in which the 
 captain of the Atlantics, quite satisfied -to having played 
 the world-beaters to a tie, contended that the game was 
 over. Finally the umpire and captains of both teams 
 agreed to refer the question to Mr. Henry Chadwick, 
 Chairman of the Committee on Rules of the National 
 Association of Base Ball Players, who was in attendance 
 at the game, and to abide by his decision. Mr. Chadwick 
 without hesitation declared that Mr. Wright's contention 
 was in accordance with the rules and that the game must 
 at once be resumed. 
 
 The tenth innings began under renewed excitement. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 151 
 
 though it was the general opinion that the Red Stockings 
 would win. In this innings the Atlantics had two men on 
 bases — McDonald on second and Pearce at first — when 
 Smith, the next man up, hit a pop-fly to George Wright 
 at short. Then was introduced the first recorded instance 
 of a play that later was not infrequently witnessed. 
 Holding up his hands as if to catch the easy ball, Wright 
 signalled to Waterman to get to his base. McDonald 
 and Pearce, certain that the batsman would be out on such 
 an easy fly — and not reckoning upon the fielder's choice — ■ 
 stood quietly at their bases. Then Wright purposely 
 trapped the ball by scooping it up on the first bound and 
 threw it to Waterman at third, who passed it to Sweasy 
 at second, and McDonald and Pearce being forced by 
 Smith's hit, made fair by Wright's strategic play, were 
 both declared out before they realized what had happened 
 to them. Of course. Smith made first in safety, but the 
 double play had cost the Atlantics two men, as Wright 
 intended, and the side was out, with ten innings played 
 and the score tied. 
 
 In the eleventh innings, the Red Stockings went to 
 bat and added two to their score. At this point the 
 Brooklyn crowd of spectators, losing all hope of victory 
 for the home team, started to leave the grounds — when 
 the unexpected happened. 
 
 The score now showed the Cincinnati team two runs 
 to the good, with two to tie and three to win as the 
 demand from the Atlantics in their half of the eleventh. 
 Brainard, of the Reds, who up to that innings had been 
 pitching a great game, suddenly had a streak of ill luck, 
 
152 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 or something. At any rate, he let down in the quality of 
 his work. The Atlantics, taking advantage of the fact 
 and playing the game for all there was in it, began to bat 
 fiercely. Smith opened with a clean base hit, and on a 
 wild pitch made third. Start then hit a long fly to the 
 outfield which McVey could not get because of the inter- 
 vening crowd. Smith tallied and Start reached third. 
 Ferguson made a clean hit, on which Start scored and the 
 game was a tie, with Ferguson on first and nobody out. 
 
 The excitement at this situation was intense. For a 
 while, so wild was the crowd over this unexpected turn in 
 the fortunes of the game, that it was impossible to pro- 
 ceed. The turmoil and confusion were so great that noth- 
 ing could be done. Things certainly did look good to 
 Brooklyn, and they seemed brighter still when, immedi- 
 ately after resuming the game, Zettlein hit a swift 
 grounder to Gould, which the first baseman failed to get, 
 thus advancing Ferguson to second. Gould, chagrined 
 at his mishap in failing to get Zettlein's ball, attempted 
 to stop Ferguson, threw wild, and Ferguson, seeing that 
 the ball was not well handled, took a forlorn chance and 
 succeeded in beating it home, scoring the winning run in 
 this historic eleven-inning game, which ended 8 to 7, 
 breaking the Red Stockings' theretofore uninterrupted 
 series of victories, lasting for over an entire year. 
 
 After this signal check to their long and triumphant 
 career, the Red Stockings did not encounter another 
 defeat until July 7th, on which date they played their 
 retuTn game with the Philadelphia Athletics, at Cincin- 
 nati. On June 22d the Cincinnati team had beaten the 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 153 
 
 Athletics at Philadelphia in a very close game, 27 to 25. 
 But on this occasion the Athletics had their revenge, beat- 
 ing the Red Stockings on their own grounds by a score 
 of 11 to 7. In this year, in addition to their victory 
 over the Red Stockings, in the game here referred to, the 
 Athletics played seventy-seven games, winning sixty-six 
 and tieing one. The official record, in its table of runs, 
 credits the Athletics with a grand total of 2,222 to 710 
 for their opponents. 
 
 The death of the National' Association of Base Ball 
 Players, which occurred in 1871, was expected, natural 
 and painless. Everybody who was interested in the wel- 
 fare of our national game had been looking forward to 
 this consummation, not only with resignation, but with 
 some degree of impatience. The organization had out- 
 lived its usefulness ; it had fallen into evil ways ; it had 
 been in very bad company; and so, when the hour of its 
 dissolution came, no sorrowing friends were there to speak 
 a tearful farewell. If fhe National Association of Base 
 Ball Players, following its demise, had any obsequies, they 
 do not appear of record. The " dear departed " seems to 
 have gone to its long rest unmourned, unhonored and 
 unsung. 
 
 The following, from the pen of the late Henry Chad- 
 wick, at that time editor of Beadle's Base Ball Player, the 
 official organ of the game — from which publication this 
 excerpt is made — will be of interest as telling the story of 
 the last hours of the Association : 
 
 " The National Association of Base Ball Players, which was 
 organized in 1857, existed until 1867 on the basis of individual club 
 representation. In the latter year, however, the original constitution 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 155 
 
 was practically ignored, its laws set aside and a reorganization effected 
 on the basis of a representation by delegates from State Base Ball 
 associations, a system perfect in its theory, and one which would be 
 thoroughly successful if carried out under a well written constitu- 
 tion. Each annual convention since 1867, however, has seen a dimin- 
 ished interest in the Association and its meetings at the hands of the 
 amateur class of the fraternity ; the crude and incomplete constitution 
 under which the reorganized association has governed the fraternity 
 having allowed the meetings to be controlled almost entirely by an 
 unscrupulous clique of men hailing from the professional clubs, 
 assisted by tools selected from some of the amateur organizations. 
 Under such circumstances, it is not surprising that the close of the 
 season of 1870, was marked by a so-called ' National Convention ' 
 which, in the character of its general proceedings and in the election 
 of its chief official, afforded a practical illustration of the fact that 
 the National Association, under its existing organization, had ceased 
 both to elicit and merit any further respect or consideration at the 
 hands of the reputable class of the fraternity. 
 
 "In the first place, the several State associations found it difficult 
 to obtain a representative quorum at their preliminary conventions. 
 New York, which by some peculiar tactics — well known in certain 
 political circles — entered the convention with a representation based 
 on the existence of eighty-five clabs, could scarcely raise a quorum of 
 delegates at the State convention, not over a dozen clubs sending dele- 
 gates; not over forty clubs existing in the State, nor has there been 
 for two years past. The clique in question obtained the controlling 
 power in the convention by presenting nine delegates, the majority of 
 whom were merely their serviceable tools. Massachusettss could not 
 raise even ten clubs, and had to come under the claim of fractional 
 club representation. New Jersey had but eleven clubs represented at 
 the State convention; Indiana but three; the District of Columbia but 
 five; Connecticut but ten, and Missouri the same. Illinois claimed 
 twenty odd, while other States, having State associations, ignored the 
 Association altogether. 
 
 " From the initiatory proceedings to the very close of the conven- 
 tion, ample evidence was shown that the majority vote of the delegates 
 had been manipulated in the interest of one man. Some few there 
 were of the delegates present, hailing from amateur clubs, who man- 
 fully battled against the ruling clique for the interests of the amateur 
 class of the fraternity, but they finally had to succumb, and all of 
 these retired in disgust from the farce in which they had been invol- 
 untary participants. It was well for the general interests of the fra- 
 ternity, however, that matters should have taken the course they did, 
 or otherwise we should have had to suffer the infliction of another like 
 convention. One result of the proceedings of this convention was to 
 occasion a movement to be started in favor of the organization of a 
 
156 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 National Amateur Association, in which no such characters as con- 
 trolled the convention in question can ever obtain influence or position. 
 " Before this convention adjourned, it rescinded the penalty 
 attached to Wansley since 186S, and that player, who instigated the 
 plot to sell the game between the Ecltford and Mutual Clubs in 186S, 
 is now a player 'in good standing' in the professional fraternity. 
 Unluclcily, the professional delegates afterwards not only violated 
 their written constitution, but stultified themselves, by adopting a reso- 
 lution of expulsion against Craver, of the Haymakers. In the one 
 case, however, the Mutual and Chicago delegates favored Wansley's 
 admission, and in the other they were bitterly down on Craver. It 
 was pointed out that no such action as that expelling Craver could 
 constitutionally be taken by the convention, as all matters of that 
 kind must be adjudicated by the judiciary committee. But the expla- 
 nation had no weight and the constitutional law was ignored. So 
 ended the last convention of the National Association of Base Ball 
 Players." 
 
 In December, 1871, a meeting was called for the for- 
 mation of an Amateur Association, and subsequently, in 
 March, 1872, an adjourned meeting was held for the 
 same purpose at New York. At this meeting seventeen 
 clubs were represented, seven of which were from leading 
 colleges. The election of officers resulted in the choice of 
 F. B. Wood, of the Champion Club, of Jersey City, as 
 President, who thus became the chief executive of the first 
 National Association of Amateur Base Ball Players. 
 This new amateur association continued for one year and 
 then ceased to exist. Since that time the game has been 
 under the direction and control of the professional 
 element. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 FIRST PROFESSIONAL BASE BALL ASSOCIATION CONDITIONS 
 
 LEADING UP TO ITS ORGANIZATION PROFESSIONALISM 
 
 THOROUGHLY ESTABLISHED LIST OF THE FIRST PRO- 
 FESSIONAL PLAYERS. ,„„„ „„ 
 
 1870-75 
 
 ^HE decade which opened with the year 1871 saw 
 several very important events in the history of Base 
 Ball, the first being the formal organization into a 
 national association of the professional ball players. 
 Heretofore professionals not only had been without an 
 organized status, but until recently they had been under 
 the ban of disapproval by the only recognized national 
 association. It may be well at this point, in order to 
 avoid confusion, to note the difference between the titles 
 of the new and the old bodies. The earlier and first organ- 
 ization of Base Ball clubs was known as " The National 
 Association of Base Ball Players." The one now organ- 
 ized was " The National Association of Professional Base 
 Ball Players," with the accent on the word " professional." 
 The meteoric career of the Cincinnati Red Stockings 
 had wrought a very great change in public sentiment, and 
 in the minds of players as well, regarding professionalism. 
 Genuine lovers of the sport, who admired the game for its 
 real worth as an entertaining pastime and invigorating 
 form of exercise, saw in the triumphs of the Reds the 
 dawn of a new era in Base Ball; for they were forced, 
 nolens volens, to recognize that professionalism had come 
 
 159 
 
160 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 ■ to stay ; that by it the game would be presented in its 
 highest state of perfection; that amateurs, devoting the 
 greater portion of their time to other pursuits, coiild not 
 hope to compete with those whose business it was to play 
 • the game — and play it as a business. Hence public oppo- 
 sition to professional Base Ball melted quickly away. 
 The best players needed no other incentive to make them 
 accept the situation, even gleefully, than was found in 
 their love for the sport, coupled with the prospect of 
 gaining a livelihood in a manner so perfectly in accord 
 with their tastes and inclinations. 
 
 Even before 1870, several full professional and semi- 
 professional clubs were in existence. Aside from the Red 
 Stockings, of Cincinnati, almost every large city had 
 clubs whose players were directly or indirectly in receipt 
 of forbidden emoluments from the game. In 1871 the fol- 
 lowing clubs were known as professional, and were playing 
 in that class : Athletics, of Philadelphia ; Atlantics, of 
 Brooklyn; Bostons, of Boston; White Stockings, of Chi- 
 cago; Forest Citys, of Cleveland; Forest Citys, of Rock- 
 ford; Haymakers, of Troy; Kekiongas, of Fort Wayne; 
 Marylands, of Baltimore; Mutuals, of New York; 
 Nationals, of Washington; Olympics, of Washington; 
 and Unions, of Morrisania. 
 
 However, at the meeting at which the National Asso- 
 ciation of Professional Base Ball Players was formed at 
 New York, March 4th, 1871, only the following cities were 
 represented: Boston, Brooklyn, New York, Philadelphia 
 and Troy, in the East; Chicago, Cleveland, Fort Wayne 
 and Bockford, in the West. At this, the first meeting of 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 161 
 
 the new Association, Mr. J. W. Kerns, of Troy, President 
 of the Haymakers, was elected President of the National 
 Association of Professional Base Ball Players. 
 
 Of the ten professional clubs entering the National 
 Championship contest of 1871 only eight finished the sea- 
 son. The champion Red Stockings, of Cincinnati, had 
 disbanded. The Kekiongas, of Fort Wayne, played no 
 official game after July. The Eckfords, of Brooklyn, 
 which did not enter the race until August, lost repre- 
 sentation in the pennant contest on account of tardiness. 
 The race closed with the clubs in the following order: 
 Athletics, of Philadelphia; Bostons, of Boston; White 
 Stockings, of Chicago; Haymakers, of Troy; Mutuals, of 
 New York; Forest Citys, of Cleveland; Nationals, of 
 Washington, and Forest Citys, of Rockford. 
 
 As showing the players who were prominent in the 
 game at that time, and who were the first recognized pro- 
 fessional players of Base Ball, the following list of con- 
 testants should be of interest: 
 
 Athletics, of Philadelphia — Malone, catcher ; McBrido, 
 pitcher; Fisler, first base; Reach, second base; Meyerle, 
 third base; RadclifFe, shortstop; Cuthbert, left field; 
 Sensenderfer, center field; Heubell, right field. 
 
 Bostons, of Boston — McVey, catcher; Spalding, 
 pitcher; Gould, first base; Barnes, second base; Shaffer, 
 third base; G. Wright, shortstop; Cone, left field; 
 H. Wright, center field; Birdsall, right field; Jackson, 
 substitute. 
 
 Eckfords, of Brooklyn — Hicks, catcher; Martin, 
 pitcher; Allison, first base; Swandell, second base; Nel- 
 
162 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 son, third base; Holdsworth, shortstop; Gedney, left 
 field; Shelly, center field; Chapman, right field; Allison, 
 substitute. 
 
 Forest Citys, of Cleveland — White, catcher; Pratt, 
 pitcher; Carleton, first base; Kimball, second base; Sut- 
 ton, third base; Bass, shortstop; Faber, left field; Alli- 
 son, center field; White, right field. 
 
 Forest Citys, of Rockford — Hastings, catcher ; Fisher, 
 pitcher; Mack, first base; Addy, second base; Anson, 
 third base ; Fulmer, shortstop ; Ham, left field ; Bird, cen- 
 ter field; Stires, right field. 
 
 Haymakers, of Troy — McGeary, catcher; McMullin, 
 pitcher; Flynn, first base; Craver, second base; Bellan, 
 third base; Flowers, shortstop; King, left field; Yorke, 
 center field; Pike, right field. 
 
 Mutuals, of New York — C. Mills, catcher; Wolters, 
 pitcher; Start, first base; Ferguson, second base; Smith, 
 third base; Pearce, shortstop; Hatfield, left field; Eggler, 
 center field; Patterson, right field. 
 
 Olympics, of Washington — Allison, catcher; Brain- 
 ard, pitcher; Mills, first base; Sweasy, second base; 
 Waterman, third base; Force, shortstop; Leonard, left 
 field ; Hall, center field ; Berthrong, right field. 
 
 At the First Annual Convention of the National Asso- 
 ciation of Professional Ball Players, held at Cleveland, in 
 March, 1872, Robert Ferguson, of the Brooklyn Atlan- 
 tics, was elected President, and it was declared as the pol- 
 icy of the association not to permit any outsider — that is, 
 anyone not a professional Base Ball player — to hold 
 office. 
 
 Eleven clubs, from Boston, Brooklyn, Baltimore, Chi- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 163 
 
 cago, Cleveland, Mansfield (Conn.), New York, Philadel- 
 phia, Troy and Washington, entered for the National 
 Championship series of 1872. Two clubs entered from 
 Washington — the Nationals and Olympics; but the 
 Nationals withdrew before the close of the season and had 
 no standing in the race, which closed with clubs in the fol- 
 lowing order: Bostons, Athletics, Marylands, Mutuals, 
 Haymakers, Forest Citys, of Cleveland; Atlantics, Olym- 
 pics, Mansfields and Eckfords. 
 
 In 1873 Mr. Robert Ferguson was elected to succeed 
 himself as President of the National Association of Pro- 
 fessional Ball Players. 
 
 As indicating the crudity of the game as played even 
 so late as that year (1873), it may be remarked that it 
 was thought necessary to adopt a rule forbidding the 
 catching of a fly ball in hat or cap, and giving the base 
 runner his base as penalty for any ball so caught. 
 
 It was further provided by this rule, that a ball so 
 caught became a dead ball, and could not be put in play 
 until returned to the pitcher, in his position. I recall an 
 amusing incident growing out of this " cap catch " rule. 
 In those early days of Base Ball, when the game was in 
 its formulative period, it was quite customary for bright 
 players to study out new schemes of play that would show 
 up defects in the playing rules, and, by applying these 
 technicalities in a regular match, attract the attention of 
 rule-makers and effect the desired change. 
 
 The players of our team — the Bostons — were sitting 
 in the hotel one evening, at Cleveland, when someone, com- 
 menting on the rule, asked what would happen in case the 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 165 
 
 bases were full and a ball should be caught in a cap by 
 ( ne of the players fielding his position. The official 
 umpire of the pending series of games, EUis by name, was 
 present, and the case was put up to him for a decision. 
 He was asked what he would rule in such an emergency. 
 He replied, "I don't know; but I hope I may never be 
 called upon to decide that point in a close game." 
 
 A few weeks later we were playing the Athletics at 
 Philadelphia. We always had a hard fight in the " City 
 of Brotherly Love," and the contest this day was particu- 
 larly close and strenuous, with the local crowd very bitter 
 against the " Bean Eaters " because of the intense rivalry 
 between these two leading clubs. 
 
 It happened that the Athletics got three men on bases 
 in the last innings, when the opportunity ' to test the " cap 
 catch " rule presented itself to my mind. Prompted by a 
 spirit of mischief, no doubt, I suggested to George Wright, 
 who was near me, playing at short, that this would be a 
 good time to try out the " cap catch " rule if an oppor- 
 tunity presented. I had a slow ball at that time, the 
 delivery of which was frequently followed by a pop-fly, 
 find this I pitched to the batsman, with the result that, 
 sure enough, he sent a nice, easy one over to short field. 
 Wright, reaching for his cap, deftly captured the ball 
 therein. He then quickly passed it to me, standing in 
 the pitcher's box. Under the rule, the ball was now in 
 play. I threw it home, from whence it was passed to third, 
 second and first, and judgment demanded of the umpire 
 on the play. 
 
 As a coincidence, it happened that the umpire on dutj 
 
166 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 that day was Ellis, the same with whom the subject had 
 been discussed one night at Cleveland. The effect of the 
 play on the crowd was simply paralyzing. None present 
 had ever seen anything like it, and nobody knew what 
 was up. The umpire, passing me, hissed : " That was 
 mean of you, Spalding." The spectators were wild with 
 rage. Shouts of " dirty ball," " Yankee trick," etc., etc., 
 came from all quarters. Interest was at once centered 
 on poor Ellis, the umpire. It was clear that if he declared 
 the base runners out he would be mobbed. If he decided 
 otherwise, he would do so in direct violation of the strict 
 letter of the rule. Meanwhile the crowd became more 
 and more riotous, now threatening our team, and now the 
 umpire. Through it all I kept a stiff upper lip, demand- 
 ing "judgment." "It's up to you, Mr. Umpire," I 
 shouted. " What's your decision .-"' 
 
 "I decide," said he after a short pause, during which 
 he looked into the faces of the angry mob, " that nobody's 
 out and that the batsman must resume his place at bat as 
 though nothing had happened." 
 
 I do not recall which team won that game, but I do 
 recall the fact that at the close of the contest four burly 
 policemen came on the field to escort me from the grounds. 
 
 "What's the matter now.f* Am I under arrest.-"' 
 
 " Naw, you ain't under arrest ; but the management 
 thought we'd better be on hand to protect you." 
 
 After the game was over and we had returned to our 
 hotel, I was plied with all kinds of questions about that 
 trick: "What about the umpire?" "Was his decision 
 right.?" and I made this reply: 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 167 
 
 "Technically, if for no other reason, he was wrong; 
 but as a matter of policy he was right; for if he had 
 decided otherwise than as he did there would have been a 
 riot, and somebody would have got a sore head." 
 
 Upon mature reflection, I am convinced that the 
 decision of Umpire Ellis in this instance was right from 
 every standpoint ; for, as umpire, it was his duty to see 
 that the spirit as well as the letter of the law was observed, 
 and this was a clear case where the letter of the rule had 
 been followed but the spirit violated. Umpire Ellis' 
 decision in this case was absolutely correct under the cir- 
 cumstances, for there are times in Base Ball games when 
 an umpire is justified in going outside the rules to pre- 
 serve fair play and make secure the dignity of the sport. 
 
 This incident is narrated, not so much on account of 
 the interest attaching to it, as to indicate how the evolu- 
 tion of the game of Base Ball, from its crude form in the 
 earlier days to its present degree of perfection, has been 
 largely wrought through observation and experience of 
 incongruous rules by players themselves. 
 
 The season of 1873 saw nine clubs entered for the 
 championship. Only eight, however, were accorded a 
 place at the close. Boston again won the first honor, 
 with other clubs following in this order: Philadelphias, 
 Marylands, Athletics, Mutuals, Atlantics, Washingtons, 
 and Resolutes, of New Jersey. In this year Adrian C. 
 Anson, who had heretofore played with the Forest Citys, 
 of Rockford, and Tim Murnane appeared in the Athletic 
 nine. 
 
 In 1874 a new rule for the playing of Base Ball was 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 169 
 
 adopted. It provided for ten men and a ten innings game. 
 The argument that led to the adoption of this rule was 
 that, as played, the game had a lopsided field; that 
 between first and second bases was a hole that needed pro- 
 tection by a second shortstop. The experiment was 
 tried, but was soon abandoned and the rule rescinded, as 
 the innovation had added nothing to the interest or per- 
 fection of the game. 
 
 In this year, 1874, eight clubs again entered the cham- 
 pionship contest, only one (the Chicago Club) being from 
 the West. Eastern cities represented were Boston, Balti- 
 more, Brooklyn, Hartford, New York and Philadelphia. 
 The City of Brotherly Love had two clubs. Out of 232 
 games scheduled 96 were not played at all, clubs ignoring 
 them, consulting only their own desires or convenience. 
 The Bostons again led in the race, the standing at the 
 close being as follows: Bostons, Mutuals, Athletics, 
 Philadelphias, Chicagos, Atlantics, Hartfords and Mary- 
 lands. 
 
 Thirteen clubs entered the lists in 1875 for the Asso- 
 ciation championship pennant. But the number thirteen 
 proved to be unlucky, for the season's play was charac- 
 terized by so many fiagrant abuses that it sounded the 
 death knell of the National Association of Professional 
 Base Ball Players and opened up another important era 
 in the game. 
 
 The pennant for the season of 1876 was again won by 
 Boston, and for the fourth time in succession. Other 
 clubs followed in this order: Athletics, Hartfords, St. 
 Louis, Philadelphias, Chicagos. Mutuals, St. Louis Reds, 
 
A HOT PROPOSITION IN THE EARLY DAYS 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 171 
 
 Washingtons, New Havens, Centennials, Westerns and 
 Atlantics. 
 
 It was during this season's play that a remarkable 
 game occurred between the Chicago White Stockings and 
 the Hartford Dark Blues. Billy McLean, the quondam 
 prize fighter, of Philadelphia, acted as umpire. Ten 
 innings had been played without a run being scored on 
 either side, when the Chicagos got in one in their half of 
 the eleventh innings, winning by 1 to 0. 
 
 In evidence of the tremendous strides that had been 
 taken in the playing of the game in the few years since 
 contests were characterized by two figures on each side, 
 and occasionally by three figures for the v.inners, the fol- 
 lowing record of games won by the Bostons in the contest 
 of 1875 will be in point : Boston vs. St. Louis, 2 to 1 ; 
 Hartfords, 3 to 1 ; Mutuals, 4 to 1 ; Hartfords, 3 to 2 ; 
 Hartfords, 4 to ; Hartfords, 4 to 1 ; Philadelphias, 4 to 
 3; Centennials, 5 to 0; St. Louis, 5 to 0. On the other 
 hand, Boston was defeated by Chicago in this season's 
 contest 1 to 0; and by the same/ club a second time by 
 2 to 0, and by St. Louis by a score of 5 to 3. Here was a 
 demonstration of what professional Base Ball had accom- 
 plished in the improvement of the game. 
 
 In 1876 eight clubs, representing Chicago, Haitford, 
 St. Louis, Boston, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia 
 and Cincinnati, contested for the championship, and 
 closed the season in the order above printed. 
 
 Next year, 1877, only six clubs comprised the circuit, 
 and of these one (Cincinnati) forfeited its membership by 
 non-payments. Boston again took its place as winner, 
 
172 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 the teams closing the season as appears below: Boston, 
 Louisville, Chicago, Hartford, St. Louis. 
 
 In the following year, 1878, the Louisville, New York 
 and Hartford clubs withdrew, but as Cincinnati had made 
 good its shortage and been reinstated, and as Providence, 
 Indianapolis and Milwaukee had been admitted, the cir- 
 cuit was again composed of six clubs, the championship 
 season closing with the clubs in the following order: 
 Boston, Cincinnati, Providence, Chicago, Indianapolis, 
 Milwaukee. 
 
 In 1879, Buffalo, Cleveland, Syracuse and Troy added 
 clubs to the contest, but, as Indianapolis and Milwaukee 
 had withdrawn, eight clubs were left to close the season 
 as follows : Providence, Boston, Chicago, Buffalo, Cincin- 
 nati, Syracuse, Cleveland and Troy. 
 
 Thus ends the championship story of the decade of 
 the seventies, a story which chronologically overlaps the 
 period that saw the death of the National Association of 
 Professional Base Ball Players, and the birth of the 
 National League of Base Ball Clubs, which must form the 
 subject for another chapter. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 FIRST FOREIGN TOUR OF AMERICAN BALL TEAMS EIGHTEEN 
 
 AMERICAN BALL PLAYERS DEFEAT THE CRACK ELEVENS' 
 OF GREAT BRITAIN AT CRICKET BOSTONS AND ATH- 
 LETICS IN EUROPE. ,„„, 
 
 1874< 
 
 THE decade of the seventies recorded an event of con- 
 siderable import to Base Ball, which chronologi- 
 cally belongs here. During the life of the National Asso- 
 ciation of Professional Base Ball Players, and before, the 
 leading cricketers of England had been making frequent 
 pilgrimages to the United States, with a view of exploit- 
 ing Great Britain's national game, and also to win addi- 
 tional cricket laurels from Americans, who had become 
 somewhat interested in the sport. Finally, in 1874, pro- 
 moters of Base Ball in this country conceived the idea 
 of returning the compliment by sending exponents of the 
 American game to England, that the new sport might be 
 presented in the Old Country, and perhaps gain a foot- 
 ing there. 
 
 While playing with the Boston team, in 1874, I 
 became possessed with an intense yearning to cross the 
 Atlantic. I wanted to go to England, but I hadn't the 
 price. How to " raise the wind," therefore, was the prob- 
 lem I had to face. It occurred to me that since Base Ball 
 had caught on so greatly in popular favor at home it 
 might be worked for a special trip for me, to be followed 
 by a second one, in which a couple of teams could be 
 175 
 
176 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 taken over to introduce the American game to European 
 soil. I was sanguine enough to believe that, once our 
 English cousins saw our game, it would forthwith be 
 adopted there, as here. I didn't know our English 
 cousins then as well as I have come to know them since. 
 
 The preliminaries were not difficult of arrangement. 
 I had already entered into a sort of conspiracy, in collu- 
 sion with Father Chadwick and other writers for the 
 sporting press, and very soon the scheme was so urgently 
 fostered and so successfully promoted that "the mag- 
 nates " were quite convinced, and I found myself ei'i 
 route to England, as the avant courier of such an 
 undertaking. 
 
 I had been provided with so many excellent letters of 
 introduction, that upon my arrival in Britain I was able 
 to secure an early audience at the celebrated Marylebone 
 Cricket Club, with a membership composed very largely 
 of members of the nobility. Upon a date appointed, I 
 was received with utmost courtesy, and was asked to 
 state, in open meeting, the purpose of my mission. 
 
 It should be remembered that I was at that time a 
 mere stripling, with very little experience in business or 
 observation of society. It goes without saying that I 
 had not been hobnobbing with " Dooks " on this side the 
 Atlantic, and when I found myself suddenly in the pres- 
 ence of so much nobility it nearly took away my breath. 
 However, I did the best I could. I explained to them 
 that America had just developed a new form of outdoor 
 sport, and that, because all the world knew that the home 
 of true sportsmanship in all its phases was England, we 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME I77 
 
 turned naturally to their country to exploit our game. 
 They had been for years sending their splendid cricketers 
 to America, and now we would like to bring over a couple 
 of Base Ball teams, and give a few exhibitions. Of course 
 I knew that there would be no use to come without the 
 favor and patronage of the great Marylebone Cricket 
 Club, but even that honor, in the interests of sport, I 
 hoped might be forthcoming. I talked at some length 
 and with great earnestness, because I began to feel the 
 responsibility of my position. It was no longer a question 
 of my personal picnic ; but a sort of international prob- 
 lem, with the sportsmen of Great Britain possibly invit- 
 ing sportsmen of America to visit them and exhibit to 
 the old nation the new nation's adopted game. I think, 
 in my ardor to win out, I made mention of the fact that 
 we had some cricketers among our players, and might be 
 able to do something in the national games of both 
 countries. 
 
 At last I finished. I knew my face was red with the 
 oratorical effort, and I could feel the perspiration trick- 
 ling down my spinal column. Then, just as I supposed 
 all was over except the fireworks, I saw approaching me 
 an attenuated old fellow, of about eighty, bearing in his 
 hand an ear trumpet as big as a megaphone. I could 
 tell by the deference paid to the old gentleman that he was 
 "classy," and I awaited his approach with some trepi- 
 dation. He came, took a seat beside me and asked: 
 
 "Young man, will you kindly repeat to me what you 
 have been saying to the others.'"' 
 
 Please remember that the Marylebone Cricket Club 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME I79 
 
 is composed of gentlemen. They didn't shout or scream 
 with laughter at my plight, as a company of my fellow 
 countrymen would have done, and as I felt perfectly 
 assured that they would do, but even they were unable to 
 entirely control their risibilities, for, as I began the trying 
 task of retelling my story to His Lordship, the Deaf, I 
 could detect here and there a smile struggling with the 
 facial muscles of my well-bred hosts. 
 
 Next day I was officially notified that the Marylebone 
 Cricket Club would be very pleased to welcome the Ameri- 
 can Base Ball clubs, would arrange grounds for their 
 exhibitiohs, and would be delighted to schedule games of 
 Cricket to be played between American and British 
 Cricketers. I saw that I had been too previous perhaps 
 in suggesting the cricket contests, and when I began to 
 " work " the newspapers, in my capacity as press agent, 
 I found that the cricket end was altogether most attrac- 
 tive from their viewpoint. 
 
 Mr. Charles W. AUcock, the recognized cricket 
 authority of England, upon whom I most depended for 
 help along publicity lines, was especially enthusiastic 
 about the cricket. The fact is, he didn't know an earthly 
 thing about Base Ball, and he knew that he would be out 
 of ammunition in a short time so far as our game was 
 concerned. Therefore, when we arrived, late in the sea- 
 son, with eighteen American ball players, we found the 
 British public thoroughly advised of the forthcoming 
 cricket matches and only slightly informed about the 
 exhibition ball games. 
 
 Now, it happened that, aside from Harry and George 
 
180 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Wright and Dick McBride, and possibly two or three 
 others, there wasn't a man in the whole American bunch 
 who had ever played a game of cricket in his life, and 
 most of them had never seen one. Meanwhile, the London 
 sporting papers were promising a series of fine cricket 
 matches — and we were certainly up against it. However, 
 as we had eighteen men — and I urged that no one wanted 
 to be left out of the cricket games — it was agreed that 
 we should, in all cricket matches, play at the odds of 
 eighteen to eleven in our favor, which, considering the 
 fielding ability of the Americans, was greatly to our 
 advantage. 
 
 I recall very distinctly an incident that occurred one 
 morning preceding our first cricket match. We had 
 gone out to practice on the Liverpool Cricket Grounds, 
 and Mr. Allcock was present. We had hardly begun when 
 he came to me and said : 
 
 "For Heaven's sake, Spalding, what are your men 
 trying to do.-"' 
 
 I explained that they were just engaging in a little 
 preliminary practice. 
 
 " But, man alive," he expostulated, " that isn't cricket. 
 Why, you led me to suppose that your fellows were 
 cricketers as well as ball players, and here have I been 
 filling the London papers with assurances of close 
 matches. Why, Spalding, your men don't know the rudi- 
 ments of the game." 
 
 I confess that I was quite as worried as he; but this 
 was no time to show my anxiety, and so I told him not to 
 be uneasy. " You'll see," said I, " when the game comes 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 181 
 
 off what we can do. Of course we don't pretend to play 
 cricket in the fine, graceful form you are familiar with; 
 but we get there, just the same. We are not much in 
 practice, but we are great in matches." 
 
 It happened that our first contest at cricket was with 
 the famous Marylebone " All-English " eleven, the finest 
 cricketers in England. The game opened with the Brit- 
 ishers at bat. We had so many men in the field that it 
 seemed impossible that any balls could get away, and yet, 
 at the close of the afternoon's play, the Englishmen had 
 scored 105 runs in their inning. Next day the game was 
 resumed, with two of our three cricketers — Harry Wright 
 and McBride — first at bat. Harry went out on the first 
 ball bowled, and, after making two runs, McBride fol- 
 lowed suit. I followed Wright, and Anson took McBride's 
 place. 
 
 In cricket, as I knew, the duty of the batter is to 
 defend his wicket and prevent it being bowled over. 
 Incidentally, he is expected to hit the ball and make 
 some runs, and, whether in defending his wicket or mak- 
 ing his runs, he is expected to play gracefully and in 
 "good form." I shall not undertake here to explain 
 what "good form" requires. I gave no thought what- 
 ever to the gracefulness of my posing or to anything 
 else than making points. The first ball that threatened 
 my wicket I knocked over the fence, outside the grounds, 
 and the umpire shouted : " Four runs ; you needn't leave 
 your place on a hit like that." 
 
 I had been accustomed to bat with a small, round ash 
 club, and with the great board paddle now in my hands it 
 
'^^;?5^ 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 183 
 
 just seemed impossible to miss. The second ball bowled 
 was also hit outside the grounds, and likewise the third, 
 and I felt myself immortalized by making twelve runs on 
 my first " over " without leaving my position. Before I 
 was bowled out, I had started our score with twenty-three 
 runs, and Anson had scored fifteen runs. My experi- 
 ence at bat was repeated in the performances of others. 
 The boys, seeing how easy it was, gained confidence and 
 batted the ball all over the South of England. Harry 
 Wright and McBride, the only members of our crowd 
 who were accounted first-class cricketers, and who played 
 in strictly "good form," were easy picking for the Eng- 
 lish bowlers; but George Wright put up the real thing, 
 both as to form and achievement, and helped our score 
 amazingly. 
 
 Harry Wright was captain of the American team and 
 an experienced cricketer of English birth. He naturally 
 felt considerable chagrin at our lack of " form." 
 
 He was inclined to instruct our men to play carefully 
 and guard their wickets by more "blocking" and less 
 wild slugging. I expostulated with him on these instruc- 
 tions, insisting that for an American ball player to 
 attempt to "block" as a trained cricketer would do 
 was an utter impossibility, but that slugging, or rather 
 lunging at every ball bowled, was our only hope of suc- 
 cess. "Good form" in cricket requires the batsman to 
 invariably block all balls bowled on the wicket and to 
 strike at balls oif the wicket; but in Base Ball the bats- 
 man should strike at good balls, over the plate (or wicket), 
 and let the bad balls, or those off^ the wicket, go by. 
 
184 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 This natural instinct of the ball player could not be 
 readily changed to conform to the cricketer's custom of 
 "blocking," so it was decided to violate aU conventional 
 cricket " form " and slug at every ball bowled. The bet- 
 ter and more accurately the Englishmen bowled, the more 
 hits we could make, for such balls in our eyes were what 
 we would term " good balls." 
 
 The result was that we made 107 runs in our inning 
 to 105 for the Britishers, and American cricket stock 
 went soaring. The London newspapers, in commenting 
 on the play of the American ball players, declared that 
 while in cricket they were not up to much in " form," 
 their batting and fielding were simply marvelous. 
 
 The history of that day's game was repeated in every 
 subsequent contest played in Great Britain. Not once 
 were we defeated. Following the first game, which was 
 played at the Lords' Grounds, in London, with the above 
 score of 107 to 105 in one inning to each side, at the 
 Prince's Grounds we defeated the Cricket Club by 110 in 
 one inning against 60 in their two innings. At the Rich- 
 mond Grounds the game was drawn, the English crick- 
 eters being disposed of for 108 in their innings, while the 
 Americans had 45 with only six wickets down when rain 
 stopped the game. At Surrey Oval the ball players 
 scored 100 in their first inning to 27 by the cricketers, 
 the game not being played out. At Sheffield the Ameri- 
 cans defeated a Sheffield team by 130 runs in one inning 
 to 43 and 45, a total of 88 in their two innings. At Man- 
 chester they defeated the Manchester twelve by 221 to 95 
 in a two-innings game. In playing against an "All- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 185 
 
 Irish" team, at Dublin, the ball players won by 168 
 to 78. 
 
 The American ball players who accompanied me to 
 Great Britain upon the occasion of this first visit of such 
 an organization to foreign shores constituted two teams 
 that had demonstrated their superiority in many hard- 
 fought contests. They were the players of the Boston 
 Champions and the Philadelphia Athletics, with the fol- 
 lowing line-ups for each team: 
 
 Bostons. 
 
 A. G. Spalding Pitcher . . . 
 
 C. McVey Catcher . . . 
 
 J. O'Rourke and Kent . First Base . . 
 
 Ross C. Barnes Second Base . 
 
 H. Shaffer Third Base. . 
 
 George Wright Shortstop . . 
 
 A. J. Leonard Left Field . . 
 
 Harry Wright Center Field . 
 
 G. W. Hall Right Field. . 
 
 Thos. J. Beals, J. B. Sensenderfer, S. Wright, Jr., and 
 Tim Murnane accompanied the teams as utility men. Mr. 
 Chas. H. Porter, President of the Boston Club, and Mr. 
 Ferguson, President of the Athletics, had general charge 
 of the trip. About eighty American tourists accom- 
 panied the two clubs on this memorable tour. 
 
 The teams as above listed played in fourteen exhibi- 
 tions of the American National Game of Base Ball in 
 England and Ireland; two at Liverpool, two at Manches- 
 ter, seven at London, one at Sheffield and two at Dublin. 
 Of these the Bostons won eight and the Athletics six. 
 
 Athletics. 
 .J. D. McBride 
 ... J. E. Clapp 
 . . . W. D. Fisler 
 
 J. Battin 
 
 . . E. B. Sutton 
 M. H. McGeary 
 .A. W. Gedney 
 J. F. McMullen 
 . . .A. C. Anson 
 
186 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 The result of this tour of American Base Ball clubs to 
 the British Isles in its effect was even more than had been 
 hoped for, since it elicited from the London Field, the 
 leading sporting journal of that city, the following com- 
 mendation, in addition to setting the minds of the British 
 sporting public at work to conjecture how the Americans 
 came to be successful in all their cricket matches : 
 
 " Base Ball is a scientific game, more difficult than many, who 
 are in the habit of judging from the outward semblance, can possibly 
 imagine. It is, in fact, the cricket of the American continent, con- 
 siderably altered since its first origin, as has been cricket, by the 
 yearly recourse to the improvements necessitated by the experiences 
 of each season. In the cricket field there is sometimes a wearisome 
 monotony that is utterly unknown in Base Ball. To watch it played 
 is most interesting, as the attention is concentrated for but a short 
 time, and not allowed to succumb to undue pressure of prolonged 
 suspense. The broad principles of Base Ball are not by any means 
 difficult of comprehension. The theory of the game is not unlike that 
 of 'Rounders,' in that bases have to be run; but the details are in 
 every way dissimilar. To play Base Ball requires judgment, courage, 
 presence of mind and the possession of much the same qualities as 
 cricket. To see it played by experts will astonish those who only 
 know it by written descriptions, for it is a fast game, full of change 
 and excitement, and not in the least degree wearisome. To see the 
 best players field, even, is a sight that ought to do a cricketer's heart 
 good, the agility, dash and accuracy of timing and catching by the 
 Americans being wonderful." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
-i*''». 
 
 ROBERT FERGUSON 
 Only Player-President of Major League 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 STATEMENT OF CAUSES THAT LED TO THE FORMATION OF 
 THE NATIONAL LEAGUE INABILITY OF FORMER ASSO- 
 CIATIONS TO CORRECT DEMORALIZING ABUSES. 
 
 1875-80 
 
 IT IS the purpose in this chapter to consider events 
 leading up to the organization of the National League 
 of Professional Base Ball Clubs, an alliance which, 
 through many trials and discouragements, has success- 
 fully weathered all the storms that have beaten about its 
 head during thirty-five years of all kinds of weather, and 
 which stands to-day the honored pioneer Major League 
 in Base Ball history. 
 
 The seasons of 1873 and 1874 had been characterized 
 by an increase of the abuses and evils which the National 
 Association of Professional Base Ball Players had in- 
 herited from the National Association of Amateur Base 
 Ball Players. It may be possible that had the professional 
 rnanagement been in control of affairs at the beginning of 
 organized Base Ball things might have been different. We 
 have, however, to deal with things as they were, not as 
 they might have been. And they were " rotten." Gam- 
 bling,' in all its features of pool selling, side betting, etc., 
 was still openly engaged in. Not an important game was 
 played on any grounds where pools on same were not 
 sold. A few players, too, had become so corrupt that 
 nobody could be certain as to whether the issue of any 
 189 
 
jQQ AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 game in which these players participated would be deter- 
 mined on its merits. The occasional throwing of games 
 was practiced by some, and no punishment meted out to 
 the offenders. Years before, one Wansley, convicted of 
 selling a game between the Eckfords and Mutuals, had 
 been reinstated " in good standing." Liquor selling, 
 either on the grounds or in close proximity thereto, was 
 so general as to make scenes of drunkenness and riot of 
 every day occurrence, not only among spectators, but now 
 and then in the ranks of the players themselves. Many 
 games had fist fights, and almost every team had its 
 " lushers." The effect of this condition was exactly what 
 might have been expected. A game characterized by such 
 scenes, whose spectators consisted for the most part of 
 gamblers, rowdies, and their natural associates, could not 
 possibly attract honest men or decent women to its exhibi- 
 tions. Consequently, the attendance fell away to such a 
 degree that the season of 1875 closed with bankruptcy 
 facing every professional club in the country. 
 
 It was at this time in the fortunes of the American 
 game that Mr. Henry Chadwick, with true prophetic 
 vision, drew the following pen picture of existing condi- 
 tions in the official publication of 1873, which he was then 
 editing : 
 
 " When the system of professional ball playing as practiced in 
 1872 shall be among the things that were, on its tombstone — if it have 
 any — will be found the inscription, 'Died of Pool-Selling.' When 
 professional playing was first inaugurated, the first obstacle pre- 
 sented in its slow progress to a reputable popularity was ' revolving ' 
 (a term used to designate contract jumping). This evil, however, soon 
 disappeared when the system was governed by ofScial authority ema- 
 nating from a regular organization of professional clubs. In its 
 place, however, an evil of far greater magnitude has sprung up, and 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 191 
 
 the past season's experience stands forth as affording unmistakable 
 evidence of the fact that the greatest evil the system of professional 
 ball playing ever encountered or is likely to encounter is that arising 
 from the pool-selling business inaugurated in 1871. The cause of its 
 introduction was a very loose system of arranging wagers on the 
 games, there being constant disputes arising from the want of some 
 reliable depository of the stakes of the betting class. To remedy this, 
 the pool-selling system was introduced, with the sole view of putting 
 an end to the quarreling and bickering incident to the ' betting 
 exchange ' business which had previously prevailed. Unfortunately for 
 the professionals, this pool-selling innovation has proved more dam- 
 aging in its results than any one dreamed of, the evils before existing 
 in the betting-mart being trifling in comparison. Before pools were 
 sold on games, it was only by a rough and unreliable estimate that 
 any idea of the amount bet on a match could be ascertained, except in 
 such cases of individual investments where a man would bet $1,000 or 
 more in place of $25 or $50 on a match. But now the amount of 
 money pending in a contest on which pools have been sold can be 
 known to the interested few to a dollar, and hence the temptation to 
 fraudulent arrangements for losing matches for betting purposes 
 becomes so great as almost to be irresistible. Since the introduc- 
 tion of pool-selling at Base Ball matches, pools amounting to over 
 $30,000 have been known to be sold on a single match, and it has been 
 in the power of parties knowing the aggregate amount of money 
 invested, and who also knew which club the larger amount was invested 
 on, to so manipulate things as to make the contest terminate just as 
 the special ' ring ' of the day desired it should. What benefit therefore 
 pool-selling yielded in supplying a regular responsibility in the pay- 
 ment of bets in the place of the previous loose way of staking 
 money was more than offset by the great temptations to fraud the 
 knowledge of the amounts invested on the favorite club afforded and 
 which the pool business admitted of. But, aside from the special evil 
 of the system referred to, the very e^cistence of the betting niart on 
 the ball field has been found to be demoralizing in the extreme. 
 Where this system of open betting exists, it is characterized by a. 
 suspicion of foul play by the contesting nines whenever either glaring 
 errors or one-sided scores mark the playing of the game. Besides, 
 during the .-ontest, the class of fellows who patronize the game 
 simply to pick p dollars by it, indulge in the vilest abuse and pro- 
 fanity in their comments on those errors of the play which damage 
 the chances of winning their bets or pools. In fact, in every way 
 likely to affect the interests of professional ball playing, is the pool- 
 selling business an evil, and one, too, that has done more to lower 
 the status of professional ball playing and to bring into question 
 the honesty of the professional class than half a dozen such exposures 
 of fraud as the Wansley case of 1865," 
 
192 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 As shown heretofore, there was no stability in the 
 fabric of the organization. A club standing well at the 
 front in one season's race for the pennant would be out 
 of the game the following year. There was no tie to bind 
 the clubs in a bond strong enough to hold them -together. 
 The game had loyal friends and true, many of them, who 
 were willing to back it with time and money; but a single 
 season was usually quite sufHcient to satisfy any capi- 
 talist who was willing, temporarily, to act as " angel," 
 that the emissaries from the lower regions had control of 
 the sport and that Base Ball, under then existing condi- 
 tions, was only a hole in the ground into which he might 
 pour his wealth as water, without hope of possible 
 recovery. 
 
 What, then, was the matter.'' It was quite evident 
 that the National Association of Professional Base Ball 
 Players was no better equipped to deal with the situation 
 than had been its predecessor. The abuses that had 
 played havoc with the old association were not only con- 
 tinued, but were rapidly increasing in numbers and 
 strength under the new organization. It was not concei^■- 
 able that the men who were depending upon the game as a 
 means of obtaining a livelihood were desirous of deliber- 
 ately wrecking it. Nor could it be imagined that those 
 who year after year met in convention and roundly 
 denounced the outrageous practices that had attached 
 themselves to Base Ball were dishonest in their clamor 
 against those wrongs. All were agreed that the game 
 must be reformed. But how.'' 
 
 About this time it began to be apparent to some that 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME iQg 
 
 the system in vogue for the business management of the 
 sport was defective; that mean s oug ht toL_be^ adopted J g., 
 sepa rate _the_contxQL_af_the_exgcutive management from_ 
 the players and the playing^f the game. The idea was 
 as old as the hills; but its application to Base Ball had 
 not yet been made. It was, in fact, the irrepressible con- 
 flict between Labor and Capital asserting itself under a 
 new guise. 
 
 The experiment of business control of Base Ball by 
 the men who played the game had been tested under several 
 administrations of the National Association of Base Ball 
 Players and the National Association of Professional 
 Base Ball Players. No further evidence of the inability of 
 ball players, whether amateurs or professionals, to man- 
 age both ends of the Base Ball enterprise at the same time 
 was needed than was presented in conditions apparent to 
 everybody — and especially in the overdrawn bank accounts 
 of those who had undertaken to finance the sport. 
 
 Now, this picture of the situation as it was carries 
 with it no reflection whatever upon the business acumen 
 or executive ability of ball players as individuals. Scores 
 of those who have won fame on the diamond have also won 
 fortunes in business. But no ball player, in my recollec- 
 tion, ever made a success of any other business while he 
 was building up his reputation as an artist on the 
 diamond. The two branches are entirely unlike in their 
 demands. One calls for the exercise of functions differing 
 altogether from those which are required in the other. 
 No man can do his best at ball playing unless his whole 
 soul is in the effort. The man whose whole soul is absorbed 
 
194 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 in the business of playing ball has no soul left for the 
 other business — ^just as important in its way — of con- 
 ducting the details of managing men, administering disci- 
 pline, arranging schedules and finding the ways and means 
 of financing a team. 
 
 And so there came a day in the fall of 1875 when cer- 
 tain men — to be spoken of more personally later on — 
 desirous of the success of the national game, determined 
 upon a reorganization on lines diflPering entirely from 
 those that had previously obtained. They proposed an 
 organization that should draw a sharp line of distinction 
 between the terms " Club " and " Team." Heretofore 
 Base Ball Clubs had won and lost games, matches, tourna- 
 ments, trophies. Henceforth this would be changed. The 
 function of Base Ball Clubs in the future would be to man- 
 age Base Ball Teams. Clubs would form leagues, secure 
 grounds, erect grandstands, lease and own property, make 
 schedules, fix dates, pay salaries, assess fines, discipline 
 players, make contracts, control the sport in all its rela- 
 tions to the public, and thus, relieving the players of all 
 care and responsibility for the legitimate functions of 
 management, require of them the very best performance 
 of which they were capable, in the entertainment of the 
 public, for which service they were to receive commen- 
 surate pay. 
 
 This then was the germ, yet in its chrysalis state, that 
 was incubating in the minds of devotees of the game — 
 some of them players and some not — during the closing 
 hours of the life of the National Association of Profes- 
 sional Base Ball Players, in 1875. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 195 
 
 Just here a word should be spoken in justice to the 
 memory of the man who for the greater part of its exist- 
 ence was President of the National Association of Base 
 Ball Players. Robert Ferguson was not only one of the 
 best ball players of his time, but he was a man of sterling 
 integrity and splendid courage. He knew all about the 
 iniquitous practices which had become attached to the 
 game as barnacles to a ship, and he was sincerely desirous 
 of eradicating them. But he lacked the essential qualifi- 
 cations of a reformer. It was written and widely pub- 
 lished at the time, that, upon occasion of one of the notable 
 contests in which the club that he headed as captain- 
 manager was engaged, he went among the members of the 
 gambling fraternity, who, as usual, were practicing their 
 nefarious calling on the grounds, and, in the presence of 
 a great throng attracted by the vehemence of his language 
 and actions, berated the gamblers with fierce invective, 
 charging them with having conspired to debauch the 
 honor of his players, and threatening them with personal 
 chastisement if they did not at once desist. 
 
 Had Ferguson at this time been surrounded by men 
 such as later on took control of the game, much of humili- 
 ation might have been spared to players in coming years, 
 and the game itself would never have suffered the disgrace 
 that came to it from failure to act along sane lines at this 
 important juncture. 
 
 The trouble with Ferguson — as with many other 
 players in those days — was not lack of intelligence, cour- 
 age or integrity; but, rather, a want of diplomacy. He 
 was no master of the arts of finesse. He had no tact. He 
 
196 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 knew nothing of the subtle science of handhng men bj 
 strategy rather than by force. Could it have been pos- 
 sible to eliminate gambling by physical demonstrations, 
 Robert Ferguson would have cleared the Base Ball atmos- 
 phere of one of its most unsanitary conditions at that 
 time; and this was true of many other well meaning but 
 inefficient leaders in those days of the game's early evolu- 
 tion. It was this fact that later on made it very clear 
 that there must be a separation between the playing and 
 business ends of the sport; that no man could be a 
 success in both offices at the same time ; that the manager 
 must be equipped to manage, while the player need only 
 be qualified to play the game. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 s 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 FIRST GREAT BASE BALL LEAGUE AND LEADER POWERFUL 
 
 INFLUENCE OF THE PERSONALITY OF WILLIAM A. HUL- 
 BERT UPON THE FORTUNES OF THE NATIONAL GAME. 
 
 1875-76 
 AS IN the history of nations, so in that of all enter- 
 XjL prises of magnitude, there arise from time to time 
 men cast in heroic molds, the impress of whose acts upon 
 the issues at hand is felt for many years. At the time 
 of the organization of the National League of Professional 
 Base BallClubs such a man was present in the person of 
 WiUiam A. Hulbert. 
 
 He was not a professional ball player ; had never been 
 a player of the game. He was simply one among count- 
 less thousands of Americans who enjoyed the great 
 national pastime, and was a frequent spectator at its exhi- 
 bitions. His home was at Chicago. Being a loyal parti- 
 san of the city where he lived, he stood for the interests of 
 the great Western metropolis, and incidentally for those 
 of the whole Mississippi Valley. It was borne to him one 
 day that the reason why Chicago — whose phenomenal 
 achieA'ements on other lines were attracting the wonder 
 of all the world — could make no better showing on the 
 diamond was because the East was in league against her ; 
 that certain Base Ball magnates in the Atlantic States 
 were in control of the game ; were manipulating things to 
 the detriment of Chicago and all Western cities; that if 
 199 
 
200 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 the Chicago Club signed an exceptionally strong player 
 he was sure to be stolen from her ; that contracts had no 
 force, because the fellows down East would and did offer 
 players increased salaries and date new contracts back 
 to suit their own ends. 
 
 To a man of William A. Hulbert's fibre this sort of 
 thing was a firebrand to kindle all the heat of an ardent 
 and combative nature. 
 
 It was something to be resented, to be fought, to be 
 overcome. And so when, in 1875, he was urged to accept 
 the Presidency of the Chicago Base Ball Club, he did not 
 turn the matter down, as he might have done under dif- 
 ferent circumstances, but took it under advisement, and 
 asked for time. 
 
 It was at this stage that I first met Mr. Hulbert. I 
 had been playing on the Boston team as a professional for 
 several years. Our nine had won the pennant three years 
 in succession and had it cinched for the fourth. It was 
 becoming monotonous. The effect of such an uninter- 
 rupted succession of all-season victories was to destroy 
 interest in the game. " There's no use going." " Boston's 
 sure to win." "She's hasn't lost a game on the home 
 grounds this year." Such expressions were heard every 
 day, and gate receipts were small. For myself, I felt 
 that the time was ripe for a change. Moreover, I was 
 heartily disgusted with what I saw going on all about us. 
 I knew that gambling was practiced everywhere; that 
 such players as had not stamina to resist the overtures 
 made to them were being caused to swerve from the legiti- 
 mate ends of the game, and to serve the illegitimate pur- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 201 
 
 poses of the gamesters. I do not claim for myself amy 
 degree of puritanical perfection; but I was sick and sore 
 of existing conditions ; ready to get away from them — the 
 sooner the better. I had made up my mind fully to one 
 thing; that unless a change soon took place in the manage- 
 ment of the game, I was done with it at once and forever. 
 
 I was greatly impressed by the personality of Mr. 
 Hulbert at our first meeting, in Chicago, early in 1875. 
 He seemed strong, forceful, self-reliant. I admired his 
 business-like way of considering things. I was sure that 
 he was a man of tremendous energy — and courage. He 
 told me of the interest of Chicago in Base Ball; how that 
 thousands of lovers of the game at Chicago were wild for 
 a winning team, but couldn't get one; how she had been 
 repeatedly robbed of her players, and, under Eastern con- 
 trol of the Professional Association, had no recourse. It 
 seemed to me that he was more deeply chagrined at the 
 insult to Chicago than over that city^s failure to make a 
 creditable representation in the game. I told him that I 
 was quite familiar with the entire situation; that it was 
 the same all over the West — no city had any show under 
 the present regime ; that the spirit of gambling and graft 
 held possession of the sport everywhere; that the public 
 was disgusted and wouldn't patronize the pastime, and, 
 finally, that unless there was a new deal throughout, with 
 a cleaning out of the gamblers, both in and outside the 
 Base Ball profession, I, for one, proposed to quit. 
 
 We talked for quite a while upon the different phases 
 of the situation, and then he said to me: "Spalding, 
 you've no business playing in Boston; you're a Western 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 203 
 
 boy, and you belong right here. If you'll come to Chi- 
 cago, I'U accept the Presidency of this Club, and we'll 
 give those fellows a fight for their lives." 
 
 I gave him to understand that I was not averse to 
 such a movement, and said that, if I did come, I would 
 bring a team of pennant winners. Later in the season, in 
 June, 1875, he called upon me at Boston, as President of 
 the Chicago Club. He there and then signed Barnes, 
 McVey, White and myself, and I accompanied him to 
 Philadelphia, where Anson and Sutton had already been 
 secured through my efforts. This left three places on the 
 team which could be readily filled from strong players on 
 the Chicago nine, consisting of Hines, Glenn and Peters. 
 
 Every effort was made to keep this matter a secret 
 until the close of the season, chiefly because there was a 
 rule in force at that time to the effect that a player sign- 
 ing a contract with any club during the playing season, 
 except with the one with which he was then engaged, would 
 subject him to expulsion from the Association, which 
 meant expulsion from professional Base Ball. 
 
 This secret lasted about two weeks, when'an announce- 
 ment appeared in a Chicago paper that the four Boston 
 and two Philadelphia players above named had been 
 signed for the Chicago Club for 1876. This announce- 
 ment occasioned a great sensation in Boston and Phila- 
 delphia, and, in fact, everywhere throughout the country. 
 
 As I write this story, many amusing incidents are 
 recalled of our experiences at Boston during the balance 
 of that season. The Monday morning when the announce- 
 ment appeared in the Boston papers it so happened that 
 
204 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 I, being out of the city, spending Sunday with some 
 friends, did not read the papers, and I arrived at the 
 grounds j ust in time to don my uniform and get onto the 
 field in time to play in a game against the St. Louis team. 
 
 I was alone in the dressing room, when Ross Barnes 
 came in and said: 
 
 " Well, you will get a chilly reception when you come 
 on the field." 
 
 "What's the matter now.'"' I asked. 
 
 " Why, don't you know.?" said Barnes. " HaVen't you 
 read the morning papers.'"' 
 
 I replied that I had not, whereupon he continued : 
 
 "The jig is up. The secret is out and H — 's to pay. 
 McVey, White and I took to the woods early in the day 
 and just arrived at the grounds a few minutes ago. 
 Everybody seems to take it as a huge joke," added 
 Barnes, " and we have treated it the same way, and have 
 neither affirmed nor denied the rumor." 
 
 I knew that the Boston crowd would consider me the 
 head devil in this secession movement, so I made a clean 
 breast of the whole affair, and turned the joke into a 
 reality by announcing that the statement was absolutely 
 true. We had been dubbed the "Big Four," and for the 
 balance of that season were caricatured, ridiculed, and 
 even accused of treason. Boys would follow us on the 
 streets, shouting "Oh, you seceders; your White Stock- 
 ings will get soiled," and would hurl all kinds of facetious 
 remarks at us. 
 
 The " Big Four " had certainly been popular in Bos- 
 ton up to the time of our so-called secession movement. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 205 
 
 We knew that we had been magnificently treated by the 
 Boston public and the Boston Club officials, and our asso- 
 ciations with the two Wright brothers and other members 
 of the original Boston team had been exceedingly pleasant. 
 If at that time we had felt free to follow our inclinations, 
 we would most gladly have given up the whole business 
 and remained in Boston. But we had gone too far. We 
 had signed contracts with President Hulbert to go to 
 Chicago the following year. Because of this he had 
 accepted the Presidency of the Chicago Club and assumed 
 financial obligations based upon our assurance that wo 
 would be with him in 1876. Our inclinations drew us back 
 towards Boston, but our duty surely called us to Chicago. 
 We therefore unanimously decided to go, regardless of 
 what inducements might be offered to remain. 
 
 To the credit of Mr. N. T. Appolonio, then President 
 of the Boston Club, who was criticised severely for permit- 
 ting the "Big Four" to leave, I have to say that, while 
 regretting our action, he did not put a stone in our path, 
 nor did he urge us to break our contracts with Chicago, 
 although he did intimate that, if it was simply a matter of 
 salary, Boston would pay us higher salaries than Chicago 
 had offered or would give. 
 
 The professionals of that period never looked kindly 
 iUpon the rule expelling a player for signing a contract 
 with another club during the playing season. The club 
 |ofGcials gave it out that the reason for the rule was that 
 players might lose interest and not do their best to win 
 ifor their club if permitted to sign contracts to play else- 
 where next season. 
 
N. E. YOUNG 
 
 J 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 207 
 
 Now, it is just, as natural for a ball player to play his 
 best to win as it is for a duck to swim. They don't know 
 any other way to play the game. The "Big Four" and 
 their associates on the Boston team of 1875 were deter- 
 mined to show the fallacy of the idea that good players 
 ever lose interest in Base Ball. We rather overdid the 
 thing, for the Boston nine never lost a game during 1875 
 on the home grounds, and closed the season with a record 
 of 71 games won and 8 lost, or a percentage of .899, which 
 record has never been equalled in professional Base Ball. 
 
 After the close of the season of 1875 there were mut- 
 terings in the press to the effect that at the next annual 
 meeting of the National Association of Professional Base 
 Ball Players, which was to be held in March, 1876, the 
 Boston " Big Four " and Anson and Sutton, of the Phila- 
 delphia Athletics, would be expelled for violation of the 
 rule prohibiting players from signing contracts with 
 other clubs during a pending season. I discussed this 
 phase of the question with Mr. Hulbert while visiting at 
 his home in Chicago in the fall of 1875." I probably 
 exhibited some uneasiness on that subject, but Mr. Hul- 
 bert answered by assuring me that whatever happened 
 Chicago would pay the salaries of her players in full. 
 Chicago, he said, had been working for years to get a 
 winning ball team, and now that she had finally secured 
 one, he proposed that Chicago should have what was com- 
 ing to her. 
 
 William A. Hulbert was a typical Chicago man. He 
 never spoke of what he would do, or what his club would 
 do, but it was always what Chicago would do. " I would- 
 
208 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 rather be a lamp-post in Chicago than a millionaire in any 
 other city," was one of his frequent and characteristic 
 expressions. 
 
 In again referring, that same evening, to our possible 
 expulsion, Mr. Hulbert said: "Why, they can't expel 
 you. They would not dare do it, for in the eyes of the 
 public you six players are stronger than the whole Asso- 
 ciation." For a few moments I noticed that he was 
 engrossed in deep thought, when suddenly he rose from 
 his chair and said: 
 
 " Spalding, I have a new scheme. Let us anticipate 
 the Eastern cusses and organize a new association before 
 the March meeting, and then see who will do the expell- 
 ing." It was an inspiration. I shared his enthusiasm, 
 and thus was a new association conceived, and out of it 
 all came the National League of Professional Base Ball 
 Clubs. 
 
 We had daily conferences concerning this new project. 
 In trying to fix upon a name for the embryonic organiza- 
 tion, I recall that Mr. Hulbert said: "Let us get away 
 from the old, worn-out title, " National Association of 
 Base Ball Players," and call it "The National League of 
 Professional Base Ball Clubs." 
 
 We spent considerable time in drafting a new Consti- 
 tution for the League baby, and when it was finished we 
 were quite proud of our work. That Constitution, with a 
 few changes made from time to time to meet new condi- 
 tions, has stood the test since 1876, and has resulted in 
 making the National League of Professional Base Ball 
 Clubs the leading organization in the annals of the sport. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 209 
 
 In response to my expressions of enthusiasm over this 
 new League Constitution and what it meant for the future 
 of professional Base Ball, I recall the following charac- 
 teristic remark of Mr. Hulbert: 
 
 " Why, Spalding, the wit of man cannot devise a plan 
 or frame a form of government that wiU control the game 
 of Base Ball for over five years." 
 
 And yet the principles engrafted in that Constitution 
 have controlled the game for thirty-five years! 
 
 The next move of this active man, who had just broken 
 into the ranks of Base Ball magnates, was to secure a 
 secret meeting, at Louisville, with managers from Cin- 
 cinnati, St. Louis and Louisville Clubs. I was present at 
 that meeting, and Mr. Hulbert laid before the company 
 the program we had mapped out. He went over the cur- 
 rent history of the game, showed conditions just as they 
 were, declared that gambling in every form must be eradi- 
 cated at once and forever, and closed with the announce- 
 ment that it was proposed to organize a National League 
 of Professional Base Ball Clubs, under rules which should 
 protect players and management and reduce the game to 
 a business system such as had never heretofore obtained. 
 There were present at this meeting Messrs. Charles A. 
 Fowle, John J. Joyce, W. N. Haldeman, Thos. Shirley, 
 Chas. E. Chase, Wm. A. Hulbert and A. G. Spalding. 
 All the managers in attendance agreed to every proposi- 
 tion presented, and powers of attorney from Cincinnati, 
 St. Louis, Louisville and Chicago were made out to Mr. 
 Hulbert and Mr. Fowle, and they were clothed with full 
 powers. 
 
210 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Armed with these credentials, Mr. Hulbert sent per- 
 sonal notices to accredited representatives of each of the 
 Eastern professional clubs, viz. : President G. W. Thomp- 
 son, of the Athletics, of Philadelphia; President N. T. 
 Appolonio, of the Boston Club; President M. G. Bulke- 
 ley, of the Hartford Club; and President W. H. Cam- 
 meyer, of the Mutuals, of Brooklyn, that he would be 
 pleased to meet them at his hotel — the Grand Central — 
 in New York City, at a given hour — the time differing 
 ' in each invitation — on the morning of February 2d, 1876. 
 On the date appointed Mr. Hulbert was present at the 
 place named to receive his company. One after another 
 came until all had arrived. Then this aggressive Base 
 Ball magnate from the West, who had never been present 
 at a similar meeting in his life, went to the door of his 
 room, locked it, put the key in his pocket, and, turning, 
 addressed his astonished guests something after this 
 manner : 
 
 " Gentlemen, you have no occasion for uneasiness. I 
 have locked that door simply to prevent any intrusions 
 from without, and incidentally to make it impossible for 
 any of you to go out until I have finished what I have 
 to say to you, which I promise shall not take an hour." 
 He then laid before the assembled auditors the Base Ball 
 situation in all its varied interests. He pointed out the 
 evils of gambling that were threatening the very life of 
 the game, reducing receipts, demoralizing players. He 
 spoke of the abuse of " revolving," and paid his respects 
 to the managers — some of whom were present— who were 
 engaged in the reprehensible work of inducing players to 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 211 
 
 violate their legal contracts. He showed that the 
 National Association of Professional Base Ball Players 
 had been either unable or unwilling to correct the abuses, 
 in either of which events it was unfit for further control 
 of the game. He closed his remarks by producing a 
 constitution which we had prepared in advance for adop- 
 tion by a new organization, to be then and there formed 
 under the title of " The National League of Professional 
 Base Ball Clubs." Section II. of this constitution 
 declared the objects of the new League in the following 
 unmistakable language : 
 
 First — To encourage, foster and elevate the game of 
 Base Ball. 
 
 Second — To enact and enforce proper rules for the 
 exhibition and conduct of the game. 
 
 Third — To make Base Ball playing respectable and 
 honorable. 
 
 When Mr. Hulbert had finished, if there had been any 
 fight in his auditors when he locked the door it had 
 entirely oozed away. A Quaker prayer meeting could 
 not have been more decorous than the proceedings from 
 that time until the adjournment which soon followed. 
 
 Mr. Hulbert magnificently dominated the whole situa- 
 tion. The new man from the West had risen supreme 
 and was absolute monarch in that assemblage. His 
 " mailed fist " was strong enough to brush away any 
 opposition that might manifest itself; but there was no 
 opposition in sight. Mr. Hulbert nominated Mr. Morgan 
 G. Bulkeley, of Hartford, as the first President of the 
 National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, and 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME ^13 
 
 when that gentleman would have waived the honor, on 
 account of other conflicting engagements, Mr. Hulbert 
 urged his acceptance as a tribute due to the East, where 
 Base Ball had its origin and early development — and Mr. 
 Bulkeley accepted. The selection of Mr. N. E. Young 
 as Secretary of the League closed the eventful meeting, 
 at which Mr. Hulbert demonstrated his skill and power 
 as an organizer and ruler among men. 
 
 In closing this chapter, I wish to claim for William 
 A. Hulbert that which is due to him as one who appeared 
 in the history of Base Ball just at a time when such a 
 man was needed, and as one who did more than any other 
 among magnates to save and maintain the game in its 
 integrity. 
 
 In December, 1876, before the National League had 
 been a year in existence, William A. Hulbert was elected 
 President, a position he held up to the time of his death. 
 To him came the great struggle that attended the early 
 years of the League. Upon his shoulders were loaded 
 most of the heavy burdens of those days of formative and 
 creative duty. Against him were directed the assaults 
 of enemies of the League — and of the game. He was the 
 recipient of the abuse of gamblers and of the innuendoes 
 of their apologists. 
 
 The struggles he encountered cheerfully, for he was 
 a born fighter ; the duties he assumed willingly, for he was 
 an industrious worker ; the planning he undertook intelli- 
 gently, for he was a master of business system, and the 
 opposition of the rabble amused, while it injured him 
 not at all. 
 
 William A. Hulbert was not a purist. He was never 
 
214 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 charged with religious bigotry or fanaticism of any kind 
 other than that which manifests itself in a great love for 
 our national game. His name was not enrolled among 
 the list of moral reformers. He thought this world was 
 good enough for him — for anybody, and he enjoyed it 
 in his own way. And yet this man stood like a stone 
 wall, protecting the game of Base Ball in its integrity 
 and turning hack the assaults of every foe who sought 
 to introduce elements of dishonesty, discord or degenera- 
 tion. He demanded always clean management, a clean 
 game, and the best interests of manly sport. 
 
 There have been other forceful men at the head of 
 our national organizations, men of high purpose, good 
 judgment and fine executive ability. But in all the history 
 of Base Ball no man has yet appeared who possessed in 
 combination more of the essential attributes of a great 
 leader and organizer of men than did William A. Hulbert. 
 
 Mr. Hulbert continued as President of the National 
 League until his death, at his home in Chicago, April 
 10th, 1882. 
 
 A monument was erected at his grave in Graceland 
 Cemetery, bearing the names of the eight clubs then mem- 
 bers of the National League. 
 
 God bless his memory. 
 
 I ask all living professional Base Ball players to join 
 me in raising our hats to the memory of William A, Hul- 
 bert, the man who saved the game ! 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
WHEN GAMBLING CONTROLLED 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FIRST DETERMINED STRUGGLE AGAINST PREVAILING EVILS 
 
 HOW GAMBLING AND POOL SELLING WERE ERADICATED 
 FROM THE GROUNDS AND FROM THE GAME. 
 
 1875-80 
 
 THAT the men who took upon their shoulders the task 
 of organizing and maintaining the National League 
 of Professional Base Ball Clubs realized the herculean pro- 
 portions of the enterprise in which they were engaging is 
 not to be believed; else they might never have under- 
 taken it. They did know, however, that they would have 
 opposition. They knew that an immediate and bitter 
 struggle with the whole gambling fraternity would follow 
 the inauguration of their plans ; for the men who organ- 
 ized the National League were aware that gambling and 
 Base Ball must be divorced. The union had never been 
 legitimate. It had been forced upon the game by the 
 weakness of its parents and the aggressiveness of its 
 adventurous wooer. The alliance was an unholy one, and 
 its offspring were bastards, all. The only hope for the 
 future of the pastime was to separate it at once and 
 forever from, its evil consort. That of itself would mean 
 a struggle; but the new sponsors welcomed the conflict, 
 because it was a fight for the very life of the sport they 
 loved, and they were willing to make sacrifice for it. 
 
 They knew also that there would be opposition from 
 another source. Quite conscious were they that there 
 217 
 
218 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 were players, and good players, too, who would not take 
 kindly to the proposed League organization. Such dis- 
 honest players were comparatively few in numbers — 
 probably not exceeding five per cent, of those active in 
 the professional game ; but they constituted a mischievous 
 and demoralizing element. The new leaders could not 
 expect sympathy or co-operation in their fight against 
 gambling from those who had been in collusion with gam- 
 blers. How to secure the confidence and loyalty of this 
 small class, and at the same time retain the respect of 
 the many clean-handed players, was one of many vexed 
 problems that came before the new League organizers. 
 So long as ball-players had been managing the affairs of 
 the game the salary question was not so serious. It 
 resolved itself into a division of the surplus — had there 
 ever been any, after necessary expenses had been paid — 
 be the balance what it might. But, under League control, 
 with club management of teams and fixed salaries; with 
 the essential declaration that players were to play ball 
 and the management would do the rest, there loomed 
 large upon the horizon of the Base Ball game a legal 
 responsibility to be assumed — and by somebody who 
 could be found on pay day. 
 
 With these and other problems confronting them, the 
 League managers entered upon the discharge of their 
 onerous duties earnestly and vigorously. One of the first 
 things they did was to dignify the sport by advancing 
 the membership fee from a paltry $10 per annum to 
 $100 for each club. They made certain the possibility 
 of remunerative gate receipts by requiring a bona fide 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 219 
 
 population of at least 75,000 from any city seeking a 
 franchise. They adopted a form of player's contract that 
 would do away with or lessen the practice, so generally 
 engaged in, of "revolving." They provided a penalty of 
 expulsion for any player violating his contract, and any- 
 one thus expelled was to be forever ineligible to reinstate- 
 ment in any League club. They forbade bookmaking or 
 liquor selling on any League ball grounds, and players 
 were made subject to expulsion for being interested in 
 any side-bet or for purchasing pools on any game. True, 
 both preceding Associations had forbidden gambling and 
 pool-selling in their constitutions ; but neither had 
 enforced nor successfully attempted the enforcement of 
 provisions along this line. It was yet to be seen whether 
 the National League would rise to the emergency its 
 predecessors had so signally failed to meet. 
 
 The cities represented in the first circuit of the 
 National League were Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Hart- 
 ford, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis. The 
 players of the respective teams were as follows : 
 
 Boston — Harry Wright, manager; J. E. Borden, T. 
 H. Murnane, T. L. Beals, H. C. Shafer, A. J. Leonard, 
 J. H. O'Rourke, J. F. Manning, F. T. Whitney, George 
 Wright, John F. Morrill, Lewis Brown and T. McGinley. 
 
 Chicago — A. G. Spalding, manager; James White, 
 A. C. Anson, Ross Barnes, C. A. McVey, J. P. Peters, 
 J. W. Glenn, P. A. Hines, R. Addy, J. F. Cone, Oscar 
 Bielaski and F. H. Andrus. 
 
 Cincinnati — C. H. Gould, manager; S. J. Fields, W. 
 C, Fisher, C. J. Sweasy, H. Kessler, E. Snyder, C. W. 
 
WHEN WHISKEY THREATENED 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 221 
 
 Jones, R. Clark, D. P. Pierson, A. S. Booth, Henry Dean 
 and William Foley. 
 
 Hartford — Robert Ferguson, manager; D. Allison, 
 W. A. Cummings, Thomas H. Bond, E. Mills, John J. 
 Burdock, Thomas Carey, Thomas York, J. J. Remsen, 
 J. Cassidy, Richard Higham and W. H. Harbridge. 
 
 Louisville — J. C. Chapman, manager; James A. 
 Devlin, Scott Hastings, Charles N. Snyder, W. L. Hague, 
 J. Gerhardt, Charles Fulmer, A. A. Allison, J. C. Carbine, 
 George BeChtel, J. J. Ryan, W. H. Holbert, W. Somer- 
 ville and H. Collins. 
 
 New York (Mutuals) — W. H. Cammeyer, manager; 
 Robert Matthews, N. H. Hicks, Joe Start, James Halli- 
 nan, A. H. Nichols, E. Booth, W. H. Craver, James 
 Holdsworth and Fred Treacey. 
 
 Philadelphia (Athletics) — A. H. Wright, manager; 
 Alonzo Knight, W. R. Coons, W. D. Fisler, W. Fouser, 
 D. W. Force, George Zettlein, E. B. Sutton, G. W. Hall, 
 Levi Meyerle, David Eggler and Fergus G. Malone. 
 
 St. Louis — S. W. Graffen, manager; George W. 
 Bradley, Lipman Pike, E. E. Cuthbert, J. V. Battin, R. 
 J. Pearce, J. W. Blong, D. J. Mack, T. P. MiUer, H. T. 
 Dehlman, M. H. McGeary and John E. Clapp. 
 
 At the first annual meeting of the National League, 
 held in December, 1876, a test of the quality of the man- 
 agement of liiat organization came in the fact that the 
 Athletics, of Philadelphia, and Mutuals, of New York, 
 clubs from the two largest cities represented in the 
 League, relying upon the practice of former Associations 
 in the way of condoning similar offenses, had declined to 
 
222 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 play their return games scheduled in the West, thereby 
 forfeiting their membership in the League. They argued 
 that these big cities were more important to the League 
 than was the League to New York and Philadelphia. 
 Very greatly to their surprise, both Athletics and 
 Mutuals were summarily expelled! This left the League 
 for 1877 to consist of six clubs only. 
 
 At this meeting of the League Mr. William A. Hulbert 
 was elected to succeed Mr. Bulkeley as President, and 
 N. E. Young was re-elected Secretary. 
 
 The championship pennant was won by Chicago, the 
 teams closing the season in the following order : Chicago, 
 Hartford, St. Louis, Boston, Louisville, New York, Phila- 
 delphia and Cincinnati. It is worthy of note in this con- 
 nection that honors now were almost evenly divided, as 
 between East and West, as shown by the alternating of 
 the nines in the order of their standing in the race. 
 
 It should not be inferred that no other clubs than 
 those composing the National League were in existence at 
 this time. Reading, Pa. ; Columbus, O. ; Fall River, 
 Mass. ; Providence, R. I. ; Binghamton, N. Y. ; Syracuse, 
 N. Y. ; Indianapolis, Ind. ; St. Louis, Mo.; Wilmington, 
 Del. ; Pittsburg, Pa., and many other cities, had formid- 
 able semi-professional teams that played regularly sched- 
 uled games. 
 
 The season of 1877 was one abounding in vicissitudes 
 for the National League. Had its organization been no 
 stronger; had its executives been no more determined 
 than had been those of preceding Associations, the League 
 would in that memorable year have joined the great 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 223 
 
 majority, dying in infancy. As it was, the game made 
 slow progress, not many new clubs were organized, while 
 financial failures attended most ventures in a professional 
 way. Not all League clubs lost money, but most of them 
 did, and the gambling element was in high feather because 
 of its assurance that the old order of things would soon 
 be reinstated. 
 
 However, the League managers were immovable in 
 their determination that the game should be kept clean 
 and honest. Every case requiring discipline, whether of 
 club or player, received it promptly, and in allopathic 
 doses. So far as the executive heads of offending clubs 
 were concerned, had they been rolling in wealth, no more 
 unyielding temper could have been displayed by the 
 League management. The effect was just what had been 
 intended and hoped for. Confidence, always quick to take 
 alarm in times of trouble and fly away, began slowly to 
 return. It was evidenced in 1878 by an unexpected 
 increase in the number of new clubs organized throughout 
 the country, by unwonted interest and approval on the 
 part of the press, and by revived activity at the turn- 
 stiles. 
 
 This renewed interest in the sport was doubtless due 
 in part to certain changes introduced in the game itself 
 under League control. Players and managers had been 
 alike agreed for some time that the use of a " lively ball," 
 that is, one containing so much rubber as to cause the 
 sphere to bound inordinately, was prejudicial to the best 
 presentation of the game. It made the exhibitions too 
 long. Nightfall saw many contests unfinished that had 
 
224 AMERICA'S NATIONAL, GAME 
 
 begun early in the afternoon. The use of the "lively 
 ball" made the game uncertg.in. A batted ball would 
 strike the ground at a distance from the fielder that would 
 make its capture under favorable conditions easy and 
 sure; but, because of some inequality of surface, or the 
 presence of some impediment unseen, it would be deflected 
 and with such suddenness and unlocked for rapidity that 
 it was impossible to prevent its escape, or to check the 
 base running epidemic that almost invariably followed a 
 mishap of this kind. Moreover, the "lively ball" was 
 accountable for such ridiculous scores that its abandon- 
 ment was decided upon as a means of making the sport 
 more interesting to spectators and less enervating to 
 players. It is of record that, in one of its games, the 
 Niagara team, of Buffalo, won by a score of 201 to 11. 
 
 So, in place of the "lively ball," yielding a score of 
 three figures to the winners, a " dead ball," containing no 
 elasticity whatever, was tried, with the result that many 
 games of nine innings were played without a run on either 
 side. It was about this time that the expression, " fell 
 with a dull thud," began to find a place in our literature, 
 and there can be no doubt as to its origin; for that is 
 exactly how the " dead ball " struck the earth. In a game 
 between Harvard University and a team from Man- 
 chester, N. H., played with a dead ball in 1879, the score 
 stood to at the end of twenty-four innings, and this 
 because of the nature of the ball used, rather than the 
 superiority of the players using it. 
 
 Like everything else in the evolution of Base Ball, the 
 ball had gone to the extreme limit of liveliness and to the 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 225 
 
 extreme limit of deadness, and now, taking advantage of 
 these tried-out extremes, saner reasoning prevailed, and 
 the ball was gradually brought around to a happy 
 medium; not too lively, not too dead, but just about right 
 as to liveliness. 
 
 Finally, about the beginning of the decade of the 
 80's, a model ball in size, weight and constituent elements, 
 practically differing but little from that now in use, was 
 adopted, with most gratifying results. 
 
 In order to secure balls of uniform quality, as to con- 
 stituent elements and grade of workmanship, the National 
 League found it necessary early in its career to adopt an 
 "Official League Ball," made according to stipulated 
 specifications, and to be furnished under long term non- 
 tracts. This plan has since been adopted by the Ameri- 
 can League, only official balls being used in either. 
 
 The year 1877 witnessed the birth of two minor 
 organizations, both acknowledging allegiance to the 
 National League. These were the International Associa- 
 tion, composed of clubs in the United States and Canada, 
 and the League Alliance, a strictly United States associa- 
 tion. 
 
 The International Association, which lasted under that 
 title through only two seasons, was composed of the AUe- 
 ghenys, of Pittsburg; the Buckeyes, of Columbus; the 
 Live Oaks, of Lynn; the Manchesters, of Manchester, 
 N. H. ; and the Rochesters, of Rochester, from the United 
 States, and the Tecumsehs, of London, and the Maple 
 Leafs, of Guelph, Ontario. The Tecumsehs won the 
 championship. 
 
226 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 In 1878 the International Association changed its 
 clubs materially, the circuit being composed of the follow- 
 ing cities: Allegheny, Buffalo, Hartford, Hornellsville, 
 Manchester, Rochester, Springfield, Syracuse, Utica, and 
 the Tecumsehs, of London, Ontario. The Buffalo club 
 won the pennant. 
 
 In 1879 George Wright left the Bostons, with which 
 club he had played so long, and, taking with him 
 O'Rourke, went to Providence, where, under his manage- 
 ment, the championship of the year was won by Provi- 
 dence. 
 
 The most sensational event of the period between the 
 formation of the National League and the opening of 
 the next decade was the expulsion from its ranks of four 
 players by the Louisville Club in 1877. These men were 
 A. H. Nichols, William H. Graver, George Hall, and 
 James Devlin. The evidence of their guilt was so strong 
 that, when confronted with it. Hall and Devlin confessed, 
 implicating Nichols and Graver. Upon being summoned 
 before the directorship of the club, all but Graver signed 
 an order on , the telegraph company for telegrams 
 alleged to have passed between them and the sporting 
 fraternity. Graver was at once expelled. Upon receipt 
 of copies of the dispatches, showing conclusively the guilt 
 of all, the other three were summarily dismissed, in dis- 
 grace, and never reinstated, although many appeals, in 
 every conceivable form, were presented, backed by peti- 
 tions, entreaties, and sometimes accompanied by threats. 
 Louisville has, therefore, the credit of being the first club, 
 under the National League, to expel members for crook- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 227 
 
 edness. Indianapolis followed in 1878, by dismissing 
 Nolan, a pitcher, for desertion. 
 
 This, then, was the first great victory won over gam- 
 bling and the gamblers. It was the direct result of the 
 determination on the part of the founders of the National 
 League to eradicate this evil. Its effect was instantaneous 
 and has lasted from that day to this. It has proven that, 
 under the system of club management introduced at the 
 time the National League was formed, it is possible to 
 control the integrity of the game in every department by 
 the simple exercise of firmness along lines of constant 
 watchfulness and care, and by the inflexible administra- 
 tion of discipline. 
 
 As illustrating how general is the determination by 
 
 everybody, everywhere, to keep the game of Base Ball 
 
 free from the gambling curse, the following, from the 
 
 San Francisco Call of April 25th, 1911, is in point. Three 
 
 men were arrested by the police, charged with gambling 
 
 on the grounds of a local club. The case was not made 
 
 out, but the Judge, in releasing the men, said : 
 
 " I am dismissing these men because there is no proof here that 
 they were gambling on the result of that game," said Judge Weller. 
 " But I will do all that is within the power of this court to keep the 
 game of Base Ball free from the stain of gambling. If the officers 
 will bring to me men who have been caught redhanded at this thing, 
 I will see that they are properly attended to." 
 
 I shall never forget a scene I witnessed one day in the 
 office of President Hulbert, of the National League, as a 
 sequence of the expulsion of the Louisville players. Mr. 
 Hulbert's office was en suite, consisting of rooms con- 
 nected by folding or sliding doors. I was sitting in the 
 reception room and Mr. Hulbert was at his desk in the 
 
228 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 inner apartment, when the outer door opened and a sorry- 
 looking specimen of humanity entered. It was midwinter 
 and very cold, but the poor fellow had no overcoat. His 
 dust-covered garments were threadbare and seedy. His 
 shoes were worn through with much tramping, while the 
 red flesh showing in places indicated that if stockings were 
 present they afforded not much protection to the feet. 
 Everything about the man's appearance betokened weari- 
 ness and woe. His face was a picture of abject misery. 
 The visitor passed me without a glance in my direction. 
 His eyes were fixed upon the occupant of the farther 
 room. He walked straight to the chair where Mr. Hulbert 
 . sat, and, dropping to his knees at the big man's feet, 
 lifted his eyes in prayerful entreaty, while his frame shook 
 with the emotion so long restrained. Then his lips gave 
 utterance to such a plea for mercy as might have come 
 from one condemned to the gallows. 
 
 The man was Devlin, one of the Louisville players. 
 He had been a personal friend of Mr. Hulbert and, know- 
 ing that man's kindly heart, had felt that if he could only 
 see him, face to face, his friendship and the memory of 
 former days would cause him to relent in his purpose 
 of punishment. How Devlin reached Chicago I never 
 knew. There was everything in his condition and appear- 
 ance to indicate that he might have walked all the way 
 from Louisville. The situation, as he kneeled there in 
 abject humiliation, was beyond the realm of pathos. It 
 was a scene of heartrending tragedy. Devlin was in 
 tears, Hulbert was in tears, and if the mists of a. tearful 
 sympathy filled my eyes I have no excuse to. offer here. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 229 
 
 I heard Devlin's plea to have the stigma removed from 
 his name. I heard him entreat, not on his own account — 
 he acknowledged himself unworthy of consideration — ^but 
 for the sake of his wife and child. I beheld the agony of 
 humiliation depicted on his features as he confessed his 
 guilt and begged for mercy. I saw the great bulk of 
 Hulbert's frame tremble with the emotion he vainly sought 
 to stifle. I saw the President's hand steal into his pocket 
 as if seeking to conceal his intended act from the other 
 hand. I saw him take a $50 bill and press it into the palm 
 of the prostrate player. And then I heard him say, as 
 he fairly writhed with the pain his own words caused him, 
 " That's what I think of you, personally ; but, damn you, 
 Devlin, you are dishonest; you have sold a game, and I 
 can't trust you. Now go ; and let me never see your face 
 again; for your act wiU not be condoned so long as I 
 live." 
 
 Among other acts of legislation at this era of the 
 game was the adoption, in 1879, of the " reserve rule," 
 under whose provisions each club was permitted to hold 
 the services of five men. This rule has since had several 
 amendments. The' reserve rule has proven to be one of 
 the fundamentals of successful Base Ball control, and it 
 is now conceded by all familiar with management to be a 
 requisite of professional ball. 
 
 In this year, also, the International Association, 
 founded in 1877, ceased to exist, the Canadian clubs 
 having both withdrawn, and in its place there arose the 
 National Association of Base Ball Clubs, exclusively 
 from Eastern cities, representing Albany, Holyoke, Man^ 
 
230 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Chester, New Bedford, Rochester, Springfield, Utica, 
 Washington, and Worcester. This minor league only 
 lasted two years, Albany winning the first championship 
 pennant. 
 
 In 1879 was organized the first exclusively Western 
 minor league, consisting of Davenport and Dubuque, 
 in Iowa ; Rockford, Illinois, and Omaha, Nebraska. The 
 Dubuque club finished in first place. 
 
 Under the control of the National League, in the first 
 years of its existence, many professional and semi-pro- 
 fessional clubs came into being, but these, as a rule, were 
 unattached to any league or association, played independ- 
 ently, and arranged games whenever and wherever they 
 could. At that time National League clubs did not have 
 regularly scheduled series, but depended upon local secre- 
 taries to arrange games for each club. The system pro- 
 viding for season schedules was not inaugurated until 
 1877 — another of Mr. Hulbert's reforms. 
 
 The unattached clubs derived much of their revenue 
 from exhibition games with National League teams, and 
 it was not unusual for a League nine to visit a" small city, 
 sign up one or more of the. best players of the local organi- 
 zation and take them away. I recall one instance where 
 a League club visited St. Paul and took from the "Red 
 Caps " of that city five of their finest players, practically 
 breaking up the team! A great outcry, of course, was 
 raised over this high-handed proceeding, and, while there 
 was no League rule forbidding such action on the part 
 of League clubs, it became evident to the far-sighted 
 Hulbert that, unless this custom was stopped, it would 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 231 
 
 reflect discredit upon not only the League but the game 
 itself. He at once set about to institute a reform in this 
 direction. 
 
 It so happened at that time that Mr. A. G. Mills, who 
 was then living at Chicago, appeared on the field of Base 
 Ball reform. In a published article over his signature 
 he severely criticised' the reprehensible practice above 
 referred to of League clubs visiting cities, accepting their 
 hospitality, and then stealing their players. In this com- 
 munication, as I recall it, he outlined a plan showing how 
 this abuse could be done away with and called upon the 
 officials of the National League to put a stop to the per- 
 nicious custom. 
 
 Mr. Hulbert was very much impressed with the article 
 of Mr. MiUs, and, as it conformed to his own ideas on 
 the subject, he immediately sent an invitation to the 
 writer, asking him to call at his office, as he would like 
 to consult with him on Base Ball matters. Mr. Mills 
 'accepted the invitation, and thus these two great Base 
 Ball leaders met for the first time, and from thence- 
 forward were close personal friends. 
 
 Mr. Mills evidently made a good impression on Mr. 
 Hulbert, for just after this interview I called- on the 
 latter at his office, when he said: "I have found just the 
 man we are looking for, and he has kindly agreed to help 
 me in shaping up a plan that will prevent League clubs 
 from robbing any more struggling clubs of their players." 
 
 I asked the name of the newcomer to the game, and 
 when Mr. Hulbert told me, I replied: " That name sounds 
 familiar. Why, A. G. Mills used to be the President of 
 
OLYMPICS, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 A.J. Leonard, l.f. G.W. Hall, c.f. H. W. Berthrong:, r.f. 
 
 F. A. Waterman. 3 b. C. J. Sweasy, 2 b. E. iMills, lb. 
 
 D. W. Force, s.s. Asa Brainard, p. 
 
 H.F.Borroughs D. L.Allison, e. J.W.Glenn 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 233 
 
 the Olympic Club, of Washington, D. C, just after the 
 war, and it must be the same A. G. Mills who tendered 
 me an invitation to become pitcher of that team and 
 offered me a position in the Treasury Department just 
 after the Rockfords defeated the Nationals a,t Chicago, 
 in 1867." 
 
 It proved to be the same A. G. Mills. 
 
 Out of this chance meeting, in 1876, between Hulbert 
 and Mills, grew the original League Alliance, and then the 
 Tripartite Agreement between the National League, the 
 American Association and the Northwestern League, and 
 then followed the National Agreement formulated by Mr. 
 Mills when he became President of the National League 
 upon the death of Mr. Hulbert in 1882. That strong 
 document has been the bulwark of professional Base 
 Ball, and with a broadened scope, through amendments to 
 keep pace with the growth of the game, is the very foun- 
 dation of organized Base Ball throughout America to- 
 day. 
 
 An incident, somewhat embarrassing to me at the time, 
 will serve to illustrate the indomitable energy of Mr. A. 
 G. Mills in behalf of League interests. It occurred some 
 time before he had become connected with the League in 
 an official capacity, but bears directly upon the subject 
 treated of. 
 
 As a former officer and player of the old Washington 
 Olympics, Mr. Mills recognized the importance of some 
 form of agreement whereby the interests of those who, 
 under the new order of things, had capital invested might 
 be protected against the whims, caprices and sometimes 
 
234 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 dishonesty of selfish, thoughtless and corrupt professional 
 players and managers. 
 
 At the time I was the captain and pitcher of the 
 Chicago Club, and believing that a document bearing my 
 signature would have weight with the fraternity, Mr. 
 Mills, who had been asked by President Hulbert to assist 
 him, asked the privilege of attaching my signature to a 
 circular letter he had written and which contained some 
 essential matter bearing upon the importance of profes- 
 sional players standing by their contracts. It was a very 
 urgent appeal to players, from one of their own number, 
 and in the interests of the game, to remain absolutely 
 loyal to the clubs with which they had signed, and under 
 no circumstances whatever to play with any other organi- 
 zations. To this document, of which several hundred 
 copies were printed and sent by mail to managers and 
 players, every one bore my name, though the real author 
 was A. G. Mills. 
 
 Now, at this time in the history of Base Ball, it was 
 not customary during the season's play to carry on trips 
 around the circuit a lot of utility players, as at present. 
 Ten or, at the most, eleven men constituted the limit. It 
 was therefore of not infrequent occurrence, when players 
 became ill or incapacitated through accident, to fill the 
 team from the ranks of disengaged or surplus profes- 
 sionals in cities where visiting teams happened to be. 
 
 I remember that one day, our nine being scheduled 
 to play at Boston, I found it necessary to go skirmishing 
 for someone to take the place of a disabled man on our 
 team, and met with a very sharp and unexpected rebuff. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 235 
 
 "What? " said the player approached. "You ask me 
 to play with your nine, when only yesterday I got a 
 personal letter from you entreating me not to do the 
 very thing you are now asking of me? I guess not. You 
 can't catch me that easy." 
 
 And so it continued all season. Whenever I was in a 
 particularly tight place, and seeking to fill the ranks of 
 our crippled team, one of these circulars, written by Mills, 
 but signed by me, would be thrust under my nose. Mr. 
 Mills has told me that he issued five hundred of these, but 
 it seems to me I saw more than that in my experiences 
 during that season's play. 
 
 When I returned to Chicago from my barnstorming 
 trips, I undertook to explain to Messrs. Hulbert and 
 Mills some of the embarrassments occasioned by the liter- 
 ary bureau they were carrying on in Chicago under my 
 name. However, I received but very little sympathy from 
 either of the gentlemen ; they seemed to regard it as rather 
 a good joke. They knew, of course, that I was in sym- 
 pathy with the objects they were seeking to promote, but 
 they were certainly more deeply interested in their pur- 
 pose than they were in my perplexities. Finally I said 
 to them: 
 
 " It's all right, gentlemen. I am in this thing. I will 
 continue to stand for the high moral precepts so beauti- 
 fully expressed and of which you have made me the liter- 
 ary sponsor; but won't you do this much? Won't you 
 please mail me an author's advance proof of the many 
 letters you are sending out over my signature — not that 
 I want to alter the magnificent phraseology in the slight- 
 
236 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 est degree, but that when one of them is presented to me 
 I may not appear so totally ignorant as now of the sub- 
 jects of which I am supposed to be the author? " 
 
 I also suggested that it might be well to send a dic- 
 tionary with each letter, as , several of the players had 
 complained to me that they could not understand some 
 of the classical language emanating from my versatile 
 pen, which college professors might successfully wrestle 
 with, but which was somewhat ambiguous to the average 
 ball player. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ -, . -„,. <^ '■ 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 >* 
 
 
 
 H. D. Mcknight 
 
 1 
 
CHAPTEK XVII. 
 
 DECADE OF THE 80' S THE AMERICAN AND UNIOJT BASE 
 
 BAI/L ASSOCIATIONS THEIR FRUITLESS EFFORTS TO 
 
 SUPPLANT THE NATIONAL LEAGUE A. G. MILLS THE 
 
 RIGHT MAN. 1880~88 
 
 THE decade of the 80's began and continued an era 
 of multiplied clubs and organizations. In April, 
 1881, three clubs from New York City, the New Yorks, 
 Metropolitans and Quicksteps ; the Athletics, of Philadel- 
 phia; the Atlantics, of Brooklyn; and Nationals, of 
 Washington, several of them having been famous in 
 former years, organized the Eastern Championship Asso- 
 ciation. Only three clubs finished the season. The 
 Metropolitans made the best record, winning 32 and los- 
 ing 13 games. 
 
 In the year 1882 William A.. Hulbert, of Chicago, 
 President of the National League, died of heart failure, 
 at his home in Chicago. 
 
 In the same year Richard Higham was expelled on 
 charges preferred by the Detroit Club, for coUusion with 
 pool-sellers. 
 
 In 1882 the Northwestern League, which later pro- 
 duced several major league players, was formed at Chi- 
 cago. It comprised a circuit composed of the following 
 cities : Peoria, Springfield and Quincy, Illinois ; Bay City, 
 East Saginaw and Grand Rapids, Michigan ; Fort Wayne, 
 Indiana, and Toledo, Ohio. Toledo won the pennant. 
 
240 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 The Inter-State Association, another minor league, 
 had its organization in 1882. Its clubs were from 
 Brooklyn, Gamden, Harrisburg, Pottsville, Reading, 
 Trenton and Wilmington. Brooklyn won the champion- 
 ship. 
 
 The early years following the opening of the decade 
 of the SO's witnessed a continuation of the struggle of 
 the National League to maintain control of the game and 
 preserve its integrity. Despite the fact that the League 
 management had displayed an iron will as regards the 
 eradication of old abuses; notwithstanding that, for the 
 first time in the history of Base Ball, discipline had been 
 strictly administered to refractory and dishonest players 
 and to defaulting clubs ; although protests against desir- 
 able innovations introduced by the League had failed to 
 produce any effect in the way of causing their withdrawal, 
 the backbone of opposition was not yet broken. There 
 was slumbering discord among certain players. There 
 was jealousy on the part of ambitious would-be magnates. 
 There was the ever-present hostility of the gamblers, and 
 there was open criticism of League methods by the class 
 that is always " against the government." 
 
 In 1882 an organization was formed whose avowed 
 purpose it was to rival the National League. This was 
 the American Base Ball Association, and its leading spirits 
 were H. D. McKnight, of Pittsburg, and Chris. Von der 
 Ahe, of St. Louis. Mr. Von der Ahe was proprietor of 
 a pleasure resort in the suburbs of his city, and he came 
 to be interested in Base Ball from the fact that games 
 constituted one among other attractions to his place. 
 
AkteRiCA'S National Same S41 
 
 The American Association made its appeal for public 
 sympathy and support by proposing an admission fee of 
 twenty-five cents to all games, instead of fifty cents, as 
 charged by League clubs. It was claimed by promoters 
 of the new association that League magnates were coining 
 wealth through an unreasonable charge at the gates ; that 
 this exorbitant fee was prohibitive so far as the "poor 
 laboring man " was concerned ; that the League was mak- 
 ing of Base BaU a rich man's game ; that none but nabobs 
 could see a game of professional ball any more. The 
 effect of this competition was serious to the interests of 
 the game in some ways. Unrestricted Sunday games in 
 violation of law and the wide-open liquor traffic could not 
 but be prejudicial. However, that "competition is the 
 life of trade " seldom had a better exemplification, for 
 business in both associations was immediately improved. 
 
 The defect in the argument in behalf of the institution 
 of the new competitive organization was, that its premise 
 was false. It was not true that League managers at the 
 time of the formation of the American Association were 
 making fortunes. On the contrary, many had been steady 
 losers. But that was not all, nor was it the most serious 
 difficulty. The old system of " revolving," based upon 
 the natural antagonism of the rival organizations, neither 
 of which at first recognized the rights, rules or existence 
 of the other, was at once renewed, and under particularly 
 trying conditions. A certain class of players, standing 
 upon their alleged rights as American citizens to make 
 the best possible bargain in their own interests, would go 
 from one club to another, as prospects of a raise of salary 
 
242 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 presented themselves. And so distrust and general de- 
 moralization were present everywhere. 
 
 But the League management never faltered in its pur- 
 pose. It kept its price of admission at fifty cents, though 
 gate receipts at the beginning fell off. Did a player 
 deserve discipline, he received it, though next day he 
 joined a rival team. Was a club lax in its payment of 
 fines or dues, it was promptly dropped from membership 
 in the League. The liquor law was strictly enforced upon 
 League grounds, and Sunday games were not permitted 
 upon them. 
 
 The American Base Ball Association was organized 
 with clubs in the following cities : Baltimore, Cincinnati, 
 Louisville, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and St. Louis. Cin- 
 cinnati won the championship. 
 
 The American Alliance, organized about the same time 
 as a minor association of the American, had clubs at 
 Brooklyn, Camden, Cincinnati, Harrisburg, Reading, 
 Wilmington, Pottsville and Covington. 
 
 One year after the formation of the American Asso- 
 ciation, more trouble developed for the League in the 
 organization of the Union Association, whose avowed mis- 
 sion it was to fight the reserve rule. This Association 
 was born in 1883, at Pittsburg. Its first President was 
 H. B. Bennett, of Washington. But at the following 
 annual election Henry V. Lucas was elected to succeed 
 Mr. Bennett. Mr. Lucas embarked in this enterprise on 
 the declaration that the reserve rule was " an outrageous 
 and unjustifiable chain on the freedom of players." 
 
 The cities embraced in the Union Association circuit 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 243 
 
 were Altoona, Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, 
 Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington. 
 
 Mr. Lucas succeeded in securing promises and con- 
 tracts from a number of prominent players; but most of 
 them betrayed his confidence in one way or another. The 
 season was a humiliating failure. Only the Washington 
 Nationals, of aU the clubs in the Union Association, made 
 enough money to pay expenses. Frequent changes, 
 caused by clubs dropping out, characterized the season 
 and kept Mr. Lucas busy finding teams to fill their places. 
 The Union Association finally disbanded in January, 
 1885, only two clubs being willing to enter a second con- 
 test. Mr. Lucas then retired, with his fortune dissipated 
 and his combativeness destroyed. All players in the 
 Union Association who had deserted the National League 
 were expelled. 
 
 The following gentlemen are of record as having been 
 prominent in the Union Association: W. Rilz, Altoona; 
 I. W. Lowe and B. F. Matthews, Baltimore; Frank E. 
 Winslow, George Wright and T. H. Murnane, Boston; 
 A. H. Henderson and E. S. Hengle, Chicago; Justus 
 Thorner, Cincinnati; Thomas J. Pratt, Philadelphia; 
 Henry Lucas and Theodore Benoist, St. Louis; H. B. 
 Bennett and M. B. Scanlon, Washington. 
 
 Most fortunate, indeed, was the National League that, 
 when William A. Hulbert was suddenly removed by death 
 from heart failure in 1882, one so eminently qualified as 
 A. G. Mills was found to take his place. It needed just 
 such a man to carry on the work of the League so ably 
 begun. At the annual meeting of the League, held in 
 
244 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 December of that year, Mr. Mills was elected President, 
 and Mr. N. E. Young for the seventh time was chosen 
 Secretary. 
 
 Mr. Mills was peculiarly equipped for the duties now 
 put upon him, in that he was a player of marked capacity, 
 before and during the Civil War, having been for years 
 actively connected with the sport; a lawyer of splendid 
 ability, as immediately demonstrated by the formulation 
 of the National Agreement, a document that has stood 
 the ravages of time and the wearing warfare of the courts ; 
 and an executive of sterling endowments in the way of 
 administering affairs and managing men. 
 
 The National Agreement, made between the National 
 League and the American Association, which latter body 
 soon learned the necessity of some means of controlling 
 the game, with amendments up to 1889, was in the follow- 
 ing words : 
 
 THE NATIONAL AGREEMENT OF PROFESSIONAL 
 BASE BALL CLUBS. 
 
 This Agreement, Made between the Association known and 
 designated as the National League of Base Ball Clubs, of the one 
 part, and the Association known and designated as the American 
 Association of Base Ball Clubs, of the other part, witnesseth, that 
 
 I. This document shall be entitled The National Agreement, 
 and shall supersede and be a substitute for all other Agreements, 
 similarly or otherwise designated, heretofore existing between the 
 parties hereto. 
 
 II. (a) No contract shall be made for the service of any player 
 by any club member of either party hereto for a longer period than 
 seven months, beginning April 1st, and terminating October 31st, 
 and no such contract for services to be rendered after the expi- 
 ration of the current year shall be made prior to the 30th day of 
 October of such year, nor shall any player, without the consent of the 
 Club to which he is under contract, enter into any negotiation or 
 contract with any Club, Club agent or individual for services to be 
 
AMERICAS NATIONAL GAME 245 
 
 rendered in an ensuing year prior to the said 20th of October. Upon' 
 written proofs of a violation of this section the Board of Arbitration 
 shall disqualify such player for and during said ensuing yea!r, and 
 shall inflict a fine of five hundred dollars, payable forthwith into 
 the treasury of the Board, upon the Club in whose interests such 
 negotiations or contract was entered into. 
 
 (6) Every regular contract shall be registered and approved \by 
 the Secretary of the Association of which the contracting Club is a 
 member, who shall forthwith notify the Secretary of the other Asso- 
 ciation party hereto, and the other Club members of his Association. 
 
 III. When a player under contract with or reservation by any 
 Club member of either Association party hereto is expelled, black- 
 listed, suspended or rendered ineligible in accordance with its rules, 
 notice of such disqualification shall be served upon the Secretary of 
 the Board of Arbitration by the Secretary of the Association from 
 whose Club such player shall have been thus disqualified, and the 
 Secretary of the Board sh Jl forthwith serve notice of such disquali- 
 fication upon the Secretary of the other Association party hereto. 
 When a player becomes ineligible under the provisions of this Agree- 
 ment, the Secretary of the Board of Arbitration shall notify the Sec- 
 retaries of the Association parties hereto of such disqualification, 
 and from !;he receipt of such notice, all Club members Of the pai^ties 
 hereto shall be debarred from employing or playing with, or against, 
 such disqualified player, until the period of disqualification shall hdve 
 terminated, or the disqualification be revoked by the Association 
 from which such player was disqualified, or by the Board of Arbitra- 
 tion, and due notice of such revocation served upon the Secretary of 
 the other Association, and by him upon his respective Clubs. 
 
 IV. Upon the tenth day of October in each year the Secretary 
 of each Association shall transmit to the Secretary of the other Asso- 
 ciation a reserve list of players, not exceeding fourteen in numjier, 
 then under contract with each of its several Club members, and of 
 such players reserved in any prior reserve list, who have refused to 
 contract with said Club members, and of all, other ineligible players, 
 and such players, together with all others thereafter to be regularly 
 contracted with by such Club members, are and shall be ineligible 
 to contract with any other Club member of either Association party 
 hereto, except as hereinafter prescribed. 
 
 V. Upon the release of a player from contract or reservation 
 with any Club member of either Association party hereto, the ser- 
 vices of such player shall at once be subject to the acceptance of the 
 other Clubs of such Association, expressed in writing or by telegraph, 
 to the Secretary thereof, for a period of ten days after notice of said 
 release, and thereafter, if said services be not so accepted, said 
 player may negotiate and contract with any other Club. Ihe Secre- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 247 
 
 tary of such Association shall send notice to the Secretary of the 
 other Association of said player's release on the date thereof, and of 
 said acceptance of his services at or before the expiration of the ten 
 days aforesaid. Provided that the disbandment of a Club or its 
 expulsion from membership in either Association party hereto shall 
 operate as a release of all its players from contract and reservation, 
 but the services of such players shall at once be subject to the accept- 
 ance of the other Ciubs of such Association as hereinbefore provided. 
 
 VI. Each Club member of either Association party hereto shall 
 have exclusive control of its ovifn territory, and no Club shall be 
 entitled to membership in either Association party hereto from any 
 city or town in which a Club member of either Association party 
 hereto is located. Provided, that nothing contained herein shall pro- 
 hibit any Club member of either Association party hereto from 
 resigning its membership in such Association during the month of 
 November in any year, and being admitted to membership in the 
 other Association with all rights and privileges conferred by this 
 Agreement. 
 
 "VII. No game shall be played between any Club member of 
 either Association party hereto, or any of its players under contract 
 or reservation with any other Club or " team " while presenting in its 
 nine any ineligible player. A violation of this section shall subject 
 each offender to fine or expulsion in the discretion of the Board of 
 Arbitration. 
 
 VIII. Each Association party hereto shall have the right to 
 make and enforce all rules and regulations pertaining to the control, 
 discipline and compensation of all players under contract with and 
 reservation by its Club members, provided such rules and regulations 
 shall in no way conflict with the provisions of this Agreement. 
 
 IX. A Board of Arbitration, consisting of three duly accredited 
 representatives from each of the Associations parties hereto, shall 
 convene annually at a place mutually to be arranged, and shall 
 organize by the election of a chairman, secretary and such other 
 officers and committees as to them shall seem meet and proper. They 
 may make, and from time to time revoke, alter and repeal all neces- 
 sary rules and regulations not inconsistent with this Agreement, for 
 their meetings, procedure and the general transaction of their busi- 
 ness. Their membership oh said Board shall be determinable at the 
 pleasure of their respective appointing Associations upon duly certi- 
 fied notice thereof. A quorum shall consist of at least two repre- 
 sentatives from each Association, and all questions shall be voted 
 upon separately by the respective delegations, and no such changes 
 or additions shall be made unless concurred in by a majority of the 
 delegates of each Association. 
 
248 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 X. In addition to all matters that may be specially referred to 
 them by both of the Associations parties hereto, the said Board shall 
 have sole, exclusive and final jurisdiction of all disputes and com- 
 plaints arising under and all interpretations of this Agreement. 
 They shall also, in the interests of harmony and peace, arbitrate 
 upon and decide all differences and disputes arising between the 
 Associations parties hereto and between a Club member of one and a 
 Club member of the other Association party hereto. Provided that 
 nothing in this agreement shall be construed as giving authority to 
 said Board to alter, amend or modify any section or part of section 
 of the Constitution of either Association party hereto. 
 
 Ex-President A. G. Mills, of the Washington 
 
 Olympics, in an article on the subject of the national 
 
 game, said: 
 
 "When we behold what a revolution Base Ball has wrought in 
 the habits and tastes of the American people we may well denominate 
 its advancement a ' good work.' But a generation ago that large 
 body of our people whose lives were not spent in the forest or on 
 the farm was marked as a sedentary race, with healthful recreation 
 denied to all but a favored few. Now, not the least of our claims 
 to distinction among the peoples of the world is our general love of 
 and devotion to healthful outdoor sports and recreations. The deterio- 
 ration of the race has ended, and the rising generation is better 
 equipped for the duties, the conflicts and the pleasures of life than 
 were their fathers and mothers. And can it be doubted what has 
 been the most potent factor in achieving this beneficent revolution? 
 We have seen Base Ball steadily growing from its notable beginning 
 before the war, accompanying our soldiers in the field, spreading like 
 wildfire through the West, until now it is known and loved and prac- 
 ticed in every city and town within the borders of the United States. 
 Base Ball is essentially the people's game, in that it is equally acces- 
 sible to the sons of the rich and poor, and in point of exhilarating 
 exercise to the player and healthy enjoyment to the spectator — 
 whether played on the village common or the splendidly appointed 
 grounds of the modern professional club — it satisfies and typifies 
 the American idea of a manly, honest, entertaining recreation." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 

 \i 
 
 b--M'k- ^aS 
 
 m)^ 
 
 THE SrHIKX SEES BASE BALI. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 FIRST world's tour 01' AMERICAN BASE BALL PLAYERS ■ 
 
 HOW OUR NATIONAL GAME WAS INTRODUCED INTO FOR- 
 EIGN LANDS PLAYED IN PACIFIC ISLES, EGYPT, ITALY, 
 
 FRANCE AND GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 1888-89 
 A N EVENT of considerable importance in its influence 
 x\. upon the American national game was the world's 
 tour of Professional National League Base Ball Players 
 in the winter of 1888-89. Base Ball had been advancing 
 in popularity with such rapid strides in our own land dur- 
 ing preceding years, that I felt the time had come when 
 this great pastime should be introduced wherever upon 
 the globe conditions were favorable to our peculiar form 
 of outdoor sport. The first Base Ball tour abroad, it 
 will be remembered, had been to the British Isles in 1874. 
 It was quite natural, therefore, that, in mapping out this 
 new enterprise, attention should be diverted to the oppo- 
 site direction. It was known that many Base Ball lovers 
 lived in the Hawaiian Islands, and that the British colon- 
 ists of the South Pacific Isles, New Zealand and Australia, 
 were nearly all devotees of field sports, for they had a 
 racial love for outdoor games and enjoyed a climate that 
 made their playing possible nearly the entire year. To 
 the Antipodes, then, the tour was first proposed, and Mr. 
 Leigh S. Lynch, who had wide experience as a manager 
 of dramatic enterprises, was sent to Australia, via Hono- 
 261 
 
252 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 lulu and New Zealand, with instructions. His duty was 
 to make arrangements, secure accommodations, schedule 
 exhibitions, and prepare the public for the unusual 
 visitation. 
 
 The securing of teams for this voyage in the interests 
 of Base Ball missionary effort was not easy. It was pro- 
 posed to take the players of the Chicago team, of which 
 club I was then President, with one or two additions, as a 
 whole, and no difficulty was experienced in interesting 
 them; but the forming of an opposing nine, to be selected 
 from the best players in other National League organiza- 
 tions, was beset with many obstacles. To openly ask for 
 volunteers was out of the question, because it would be 
 certain to result in a deluge of applications from undesir- 
 able players in the fraternity. To choose those best 
 equipped to play the game meant the asking of many who 
 could not go. It was absolutely essential that all who did 
 go should be men of clean habits and attractive person- 
 ality, men who would reflect credit upon the country and 
 the game. ■ Finally, when the ranks had been filled, it was 
 found that several, on one pretext or another, were deter- 
 mined to withdraw, and it became necessary to fill their 
 places hurriedly. Happily, however, capable men were 
 available, and the corps lost nothing in playing capacity 
 by reason of the action of those who dropped out. 
 
 The teams as completed for the voyage were composed 
 of the following players : 
 
 Chicagos — Mark Baldwin and J. K. Tener (now Gov- 
 ernor of Pennsylvania), pitchers; Tom Daly, catcher; 
 A. C. Anson, first base and captain ; N. F. Pfeffer, second 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 253 
 
 base; Thomas Burns, third base; E. N. Wilhamson, short- 
 stop; M. Sullivan, left field; J. Ryan, center field; Robert 
 Pettit, right field. 
 
 All-Americas — John Healy, Indianapolis, and E. W. 
 Crane, New York, pitchers ; J. C. Earl, Cincinnati, catcher ; 
 G. A. Wood, Philadelphia, first base ; F. H. Carroll, Pitts- 
 burgh, second base ; H. Manning, Kansas City, third base ; 
 John M. Ward, New York, shortstop and captain; Jas. 
 Fogarty, Philadelphia, left field ; Ed. Hanlon, Pittsburgh, 
 center field; Tom Brown, Boston, right field. 
 
 Other members of the party were: My mother, Mrs. 
 Harriet I. Spalding; Mrs. Anson, Mrs. Williamson, 
 Mrs. Lynch, Harry Clay Palmer, of the New York Herald; 
 Newton Macmillan, of the New York Sun, and Mr. Good- 
 friend, of the Chicago Inter-Ocean. George Wright and 
 W. Irving Snyder also accompanied the party, Wright 
 officiating as umpire at most games played. 
 
 Our special train, whiteh consisted of two Pullman 
 sleepers and a dining car, left Chicago for San Francisco 
 on the 20th of October, 1888, following the close of the 
 Base Ball season of that year. En route across the con- 
 tinent the teams played exhibition games at St. Paul, Min- 
 neapolis, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Omaha, Hastings, 
 Denver, Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City. On the 
 Pacific Coast, games were played at Los Angeles and San 
 Francisco. Everywhere on this land journey the Base 
 Ball Missionaries received splendid ovations. 
 
 On Sunday, the 18th of November, we sailed out 
 through the Golden Gate, on the steamer "Alameda," 
 bound for Honolulu, our first port of call, After a full 
 
AMERICAS NATIONAL GAME 255 
 
 week on the Pacific, and a little more, with many pleasant 
 experiences and a few of the other kind, the ball-tossing 
 tourists reached Honolulu on Sunday morning, November 
 25th. Our time schedule, as given by the steamship com- 
 pany, had fixed the date for arrival at Honolulu for Sat- 
 urday morning, the 24th, but the boat had failed to make 
 time, and we found ourselves a day behind, which led to 
 a serious complication. 
 
 A game of Base Ball between the great American 
 teams had been announced for Saturday. It was now 
 Sunday. Honolulu had the "lid on." What was to be 
 done.'' 
 
 The American game had at that time, nearly a quarter 
 of a century ago, taken a strong hold of the popular heart 
 at Honolulu. Here was the home of Alexander J. Cart- 
 wright, founder of the first Base Ball club ever organ- 
 ized — Father of the famed Knickerbockers. Many Ameri- 
 cans were there who had played the game at home, and 
 the natives also were developing some skill at the pastime. 
 The widely-heralded news of our coming, accompanied by 
 the assurance that the game would be presented by its 
 most celebrated and proficient exponents, had created 
 interest among lovers of the sport and had aroused much 
 curiosity on the part of the general public. Everybody 
 wanted to witness the game ; but, alas, it was Sunday. We 
 were to leave late that evening ; therefore it was Sunday — 
 or never. Petitions came flooding in upon me for a Sun- 
 day game. I at once made an investigation, which satis- 
 fied me that the missionaries who were looking after the 
 moral welfare of the natives had closed the doors against 
 
256 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Sunday entertainments good and tight. There was no 
 doubt about it ; Sunday ball was as " taboo " in Honolulu 
 as had been a whole lot of things when the heathens were 
 in full control of their island. I was importuned, almost 
 with tears, to ignore the law. I was assured that the 
 authorities were not likely to interfere in the face of such 
 a popular clamor. A purse of $1,000 had been raised as 
 a bonus for the game. That money was greatly needed 
 just then, for we had embarked on an enterprise which 
 would involve the expenditure of much cash. 
 
 We had counted on some gate receipts at Honolulu; 
 but here was the law forbidding Sunday ball. There was 
 only one thing to do. We obeyed the letter and spirit of 
 the law, called the game off, and left a lot of disgruntled 
 Americans and disappointed Kanakas, to say nothing of 
 the much-coveted shekels, 
 
 I may as well take occasion here to define my views on 
 the subject of Sunday ball playing. I am not, nor have I 
 ever been, opposed to Sunday ball so far as the game itself 
 is concerned. I believe in' many of the arguments advanced 
 in favor of the playing of League games on that day. 
 I know it is the one day in the week when a great many of 
 those who care for the game can have leisure, without too 
 great loss, to witness the sport. I know it is a better way 
 for the average American to pass Sunday afternoon than 
 many others resorted to by the average American for 
 entertainment on that day. I know that boys and men, 
 by hundreds and thousands, who regularly patronize Sun- 
 day ball would be engaged in practices much more inimical 
 to their wellbeing if no games were played on Sunday. I 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 257 
 
 know the iieed of the money that is received for Sunday 
 games by the management, especially of minor league 
 clubs, whose gate receipts on Weekdays are inadequate to 
 meet expenses. All this I know, and yet I also know that 
 it is of paramount importance that the laws of every city 
 and state and country should be respected and upheld; 
 that the youth of every community should be educated to 
 honor and obey the laws. And so, whenever this problem 
 presents itself for my decision, I first ask the question, " Is 
 Sunday ball playing legal.? " If it is, I say " Play Ball." 
 If not, my answer is the same as that given to the peti- 
 tioners at Honolulu. This rule obtained throughout our 
 world tour. Wherever and whenever the law forbade, we 
 played no games. Wherever and whenever the law allowed, 
 we played games on Sunday. 
 
 Notwithstanding the mutual disappointment of vis- 
 itors and visited at Honolulu as regards the failure to 
 pull off a game of Base Ball, there was no law forbidding 
 King Kalakaua, then on the Hawaiian throne, to entertain 
 our party, which he certainly did in royal manner. 
 
 Sailing from Honolulu on Monday morning, November 
 S6th, we were on the Pacific for over two weeks before 
 reaching Auckland, New Zealand, on the 10th of Decem- 
 ber. Here a game was played to the great delectation of 
 the New Zealanders, very few of whom had ever seen it, 
 though many were proficient at cricket. 
 
 Leaving Auckland, we sailed direct for Sydney, Aus- 
 tralia, where we arrived December 14th. We were now 
 in " topsy-turvy " land for sure. It was the middle of 
 December, and right in the midst of summer's heat, with 
 
258 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Christmas only ten days off and the fields ripe with the 
 golden glow of harvest. We played at Sydney, Mel- 
 bourne, Adelaide and Ballarat, being received everywhere 
 with demonstrations of welcome, and much interest in 
 the game was elicited at all points in the great island 
 continent. 
 
 Originally our tour had been planned to end in Aus- 
 tralia, retracing via Honolulu, as we had sailed; but 
 before leaving the Pacific Coast I had been studying the 
 situation and found that the distance from Australia 
 around the world to New York was about the same as via 
 San Francisco. During the voyage I had discussed the 
 matter with the players, and as they were unanimously 
 and enthusiastically in favor of the globe trip, we decided 
 to return home that way. 
 
 Therefore, on the morning of January 8th, 1889, we 
 left Melbourne homeward bound via Suez Canal, taking 
 the steamer " Salier." Sixteen days later we arrived at 
 the Island of Ceylon, and, upon landing at Colombo, we 
 startled the natives of that far-off island of the seas by 
 an exhibition of American ball playing, on January 
 26th, 1889. 
 
 Following this came the "flight into Egypt," with a 
 game on the desert's sands in front of the Great Pyramids, 
 and near enough to use one for a backstop. Afterwards 
 the whole company was photographed en groupe on the 
 Egyptian Sphinx, to the horror of the native worshippers 
 of Cheops and the dead Pharaohs. 
 
 On the 19th of February, having reached the Bay of 
 Naples, we went ashore, and under the shadow of Vesuvius 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 259 
 
 showed the Italians how to play the great American game. 
 
 Rome was naturally our next point to visit, and there 
 we played in the Villa Borghese, formerly the beautiful 
 home of an Italian prince. The visit to Rome was one of 
 the most enjoyable of the entire tour, so much was there 
 to see of historic interest. King Humbert of Italy hon- 
 ored our game by his presence, and a number of Ameri- 
 can students at the great Roman College of the Catholic 
 Church were in attendance. Following the visit to Rome, 
 we played a game at Florence, and then departed for 
 France. 
 
 One of the events of the European trip was the game 
 played at Paris, within the shadow of the great Eiffel 
 Tower, then under process of construction for the Expo- 
 sition soon to occur. The American colony was out in full 
 force at this game; but the Parisians did not seem to 
 catch on to any appreciable extent, though many were 
 present. 
 
 The reception of our company in England was one of 
 the great triumphs of the world tour. This function took 
 place at the club house of the Surrey County Cricket Club. 
 It was the occasion of the first public welcome of the tour- 
 ists to Great Britain, and there were present the Duke of 
 Beaufort, the Duke of Buccleugh, the Earls of Sandsbor- 
 ough, Coventry, Sheffield and Chesborough, together with 
 Lords Littleton, Oxenbridge and Hawke, beside Sir Regi- 
 nald Hanson, Attorney General Sir W. C. Webster, with 
 the Lord Mayor of London, the American Consul and 
 others of note. 
 
 It is worthy of note that the English hosts of this 
 
/ * 
 
 
 A JL ' 
 
 AMEIUCAX BASE BALL PxVRTY 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 261 
 
 and other occasions were astonished to see the profes- 
 sional American ball players enter into the spirit of these 
 receptions, not only attired in full evening dress, but with 
 a degree of familiarity with social requirements that was 
 quite foreign to professional cricketers. 
 
 The inaugural game in London was played at Ken- 
 nington Oval grounds, and though the day was a typical 
 London day in March, cold, wet and foggy, making ball 
 playing difficult and its enjoyment almost impossible, there 
 was a large crowd present to see the Americans. Soon 
 after the contest opened the Prince of Wales (afterwards 
 King Edward) and his brother-in-law. Prince Christian, 
 came upon the field. The game was suspended while the 
 American ball players gave three cheers and a tiger for 
 the Prince, which demonstration was heartily seconded 
 by the multitude, the Prince bowing his acknowledgments. 
 
 The party was escorted to the royal box, and; when 
 the game was resumed, at the request of one of the gentle- 
 men-in-waiting I took my place between the brother 
 princes to explain to them the points of the game, with 
 which, of course, they were not familiar. They asked me 
 numerous questions bearing upon the various plays as the 
 sport proceeded. The Prince of Wales became particu- 
 larly animated in his appreciation of the activity of the 
 pastime. 
 
 "What's that for.?" "Why is he doing that.?" and 
 similar queries, came frequently from his lips. 
 
 Now it happened that day that the Prince, who was 
 short of stature, had a carbuncle or boil, or some sort of 
 swelling on his neck, making it very difficult for him to 
 
262 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 turn his head. Standing at his side, I found it extremely 
 awkward, from my height of six feet two, to keep hira 
 advised without bending low and talking in his ear. Under 
 these circumstances, I did the perfectly natural thing for 
 an American sovereign tci do — just what I would have 
 done had President Taft been witness of the game and 
 needed instruction— which, of course, he would not. Step- 
 ping to one side, where I had observed an empty chair, I 
 brought it over, placed it between their Royal Highnesses, 
 sat down and resumed my comments in answer to their 
 interrogatories. 
 
 As the game progressed, the scions of the great House 
 of Guelph became more and more impressed, so that when 
 Anson made one of his long hits and started for third, the 
 Prince, with an ejaculation inspired by intense interest, 
 slapped me on the leg and exclaimed, "That was a hard 
 clip !" or something to that effect. And when Williamson, 
 a moment later, on a swift grounder, right past first base- 
 man, but far enough out so that Wood couldn't get it, 
 reached his base by a pretty slide, I felt perfectly justified 
 in returning the familiarity, and, tapping the late King 
 of England on the shoulder, asked him, "What do you 
 think of that.?" 
 
 Now there have been a good many printed versions of 
 this story. It may be, as claimed by some who were pres- 
 ent, that all Britain held its breath while I took a seat in 
 the presence of Royalty. I distinctly remember that Hon. 
 Newton Crane, the American Consul, laughed immoder- 
 ately that evening, as he and I drove together from the 
 grounds, at what he termed my breach of "court eti- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 263 
 
 quette." However, as I recall the incident after this lapse 
 of years, I see nothing in it to cause me to blush. If I 
 violated the code of court etiquette, I must plead that I 
 was not at court, but at an American ball game. If I 
 sat in the presence of Royalty, it is certain that Royalty 
 sat in mine. If I tapped the future King of Great Britain 
 on the shoulder, it was nothing more offensive than a 
 game of tag, for he had first slapped me on the leg. If 
 British Royalty honored us by its presence, which I am 
 willing to concede, we repaid it by a splendid exhibition 
 of our National Game. No, I am not able to see wherein 
 honors were not quite even. 
 
 It was at this game that the Prince of Wales wrote his 
 oft incorrectly quoted critique on the game. 
 
 The New York Herald — or rather, the London edition 
 of that paper — had presented each spectator upon enter- 
 ing the grounds with a card, containing several questions 
 calculated to draw out a consensus of English opinion on 
 the game of Base Ball. The reporter of this paper 
 explained to the Prince in my presence the object of these 
 cards and expressed the wish that the Prince would give 
 his opinion. The reporter, pencil in hand, stood ready to 
 jot down the replies of the Prince when the latter said: 
 
 " Give me a card." 
 
 He then hurriedly wrote something and handed the 
 card over to me that I might see how he had answered the 
 questions. As I recall them from memory, his words were 
 briefly as follows: 
 
 "I consider Base Ball an excellent game; but Cricket 
 a better one." 
 
264 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Dignified courtliness, amiable courtesy, tactfulness 
 and holiest conviction are all forcefully presented in the 
 hastily penned sentence of the Prince. They well illus- 
 trate the qualities that made King Edward famous as one 
 of the world's great diplomats. 
 
 " The King is dead ; long live the King." 
 
 It is estimated that at least 60,000 people witnessed 
 the games of Base Ball played at this time in the British 
 Isles at London, Bristol, Birmingham, Sheffield, Bradford, 
 Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Belfast and Dublin. 
 
 The welcome given our party on the return home by 
 devotees of the game at New York was one of the great 
 events of the remarkable tour. It was held at Del- 
 monico's. A. G. Mills, President of the National League, 
 presided. At his right sat A. G. Spalding, Chauncey 
 Depew, Daniel Dougherty, Henry E. Howland, W. H. 
 McElvey, and U. S. Consul W. Griffen. On his left were 
 Mayor Ghapin, of Brooklyn — the Mayor of New York 
 was unable to be present ; Mayor Cleveland, of Jersey City, 
 Mark Twain, Rev. Joseph Twitchell, and officers of the 
 New York and Manhattan Clubs. Among the guests were 
 also members of the alunjni of Harvard, Yale and Prince- 
 ton Universities. Theodore Roosevelt, afterward Presi- 
 dent, was present at this banquet. As may readily be 
 understood, the after-dinner speeches, from such a galaxy 
 of talent, were replete wjth brilliant and witty thoughts. 
 
 Such, briefly, is the story of the world's tour of 
 1888-89. In all respects it was a splendid success. In a 
 financial way, it cost in round figures the sum of $50,000, 
 and the receipts were ample to pay all expenses. It pi-e- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 265 
 
 sented exhibitions of the American National Game in for- 
 eign lands belting the globe. It created interest in the 
 game in countries where it had never been seen before, and 
 where from that day to this the sport has been growing in 
 popular favor. It gave to the masses everywhere an 
 opportunity to witness a pastime peculiarly American, 
 and it showed to all the world that one may be at the 
 same time a professional ball player and a gentleman. 
 
 Mike Kelly, in reminiscent mood, one day near the 
 close of his great career gave out this interview to the 
 New York Sun: 
 
 " The lightest I ever played ball was 157 pounds with my uniform 
 on. I. had India rubber in my shoes then. I was like I was on 
 springs, and I was playing with the best ball team ever put together — 
 the Chicagos of 1883. I bar no team in the world when I say that. 
 I know about the New York Giants, the Detroits and the Big Four, 
 the 1886 St. Louis Browns and all of them, but they were never in it 
 with the old 1882 gang that pulled down the pennant for Chicago. 
 Then was when you saw ball playing, away up in the thirty-second 
 degree. That was the crowd that showed the way to all the others. 
 They towered over all ball teams like Salvator's record dwarfs all 
 the other race horses. Where can you get a team with so many big 
 men on its pay roll? There were seven of us six feet high, Anson, 
 Goldsmith, Dalrymple, Gore, Williamson, Flint and myself being in 
 that neighborhood. Larry Corcoran and Tommy Burns were the 
 only small men on the team. Fred Pfeffer was then the greatest 
 second baseman of them all. All you had to do was to throw any- 
 where near the bag, and he would get it — high, wide or on the ground. 
 What a man he was to make a return throw; why, he could lay on 
 his stomach and throw 100 yards then. Those old sports didn't know 
 much about hitting the ball either; no, I guess they didn't. Only four 
 of us had led the League in batting — Anson, Gore, Dalrymple and 
 myself. We always wore the best uniforms that money could get, 
 Spalding saw to that.. We had big wide trousers, tight-fitting jer- 
 seys, with the arms cut out clear to the shoulder, and every man had 
 on a different cap. We wore silk stockings. When we marched on a 
 field with our big six-footers out in front it used to be a case of 
 ' eat 'em up, Jake.' We had most of 'em whipped before we threw a 
 ball. They were scared to death," 
 

 
 
 
 j; 
 
 
 
 ^^— J^^^ .^ff 
 
 
 
 
 ^■^^^^^^^ " ^^ 
 
 l£HMK^.49f'!L'K ' i..'^'' 
 
 G) . 
 
 
 
 ^^^^^b«K«L. ' ^. J 
 
 --i- V'-^^f*^ 
 
 , XI 
 
 
 
 r » . - ;■ ?■ . ^.r-^^w^ 
 
 W '■ '■^'^;'^^ 
 
 I. 3 
 
 
 / 
 
 ^il§' sl 
 
 . ;■ 
 
 a. Ji 
 
 
 m 
 
 Pill of 
 
 K 
 
 u 
 
 
 
 n ^"^ ^B C 
 
 
 « 
 
 
 dj^^ '■^^ 
 
 f '^I^l ' ^ 
 
 '^HmoJIH^' 
 
 ^t 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 H 
 
 CKINGS 
 
 ormiek, p. M. 
 b. John G. Cla 
 
 
 ^BM^^M 
 
 ■■-iii^^fc^^j^^''' ' ^. 
 
 ^^H"** 
 
 g^H 
 
 
 
 liik^ 
 
 qe 
 
 [ITE S 
 imes M 
 Burns. 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 fl vM 
 
 n 
 
 
 _.,, ,i 
 
 
 ffe--fl 
 
 O J3 ^ 
 
 -^ 
 
 5 =^ 
 
 
 ^k c~aJP^ 
 
 ^^•^ — C4 
 
 i''H 
 
 
 
 'fltki^Jlii^^^^ 
 
 ^i4^^ 
 
 i^^4 
 
 ^ ^-a 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 r-'ml 
 
 u S 
 
 
 w 
 
 ^«^w # *IUK^ hhL^J 
 
 r ^^H^ 1^ 
 
 i>, 
 
 
 ' 
 
 >,jH»:'-- '*^ J-'llT* J 
 
 V^^ 
 
 <-« 
 
 
 f^ 
 
 ► Wr«|)f^ ^J^^^^T^ 1 
 
 i''tii7'iHnriii^^B 
 
 Q 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 ^^t". 
 
 
 
 *; S 
 
 -" .2 
 
 M t4JtmB 
 
 
 c^ 
 
 ^m CjI^WM 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^*^ 
 
 -■■'^^M 
 
 
 6 H 
 
 
 
 ^HJ^HJ^^^ '^^ 
 
 
 4) 
 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 i'lRST NOTABLE REVOLT OF PKOFESSIONAL BASE BALL 
 PLAYERS ORGANIZATION OF THE PLAYEEs' LEAGUE- 
 WHY SUCH AN ORGANIZATION COULD NOT SUCCEED. 
 
 1889-90 
 
 IN TREATING of the sensational episode that ushered 
 in the last decade of the 19th century I would not be 
 misunderstood. I accord to most of the players who at 
 that time suddenly abandoned the National League the 
 utmost sincerity of motive. They argued that the people 
 who patronized Base Ball paid to see them play. They 
 were the star performers, the actual " producers " of the 
 entertainment. They held, and truly, that no one would 
 give up a farthing to the man at the box-office; nobody 
 would part with a ticket at the turnstile ; none would con- 
 tribute a nickel at the grandstand, so far as the men pre- 
 siding at those posts were concerned; and as for the 
 owners of clubs, what did the public care for them.'' 
 
 The inference drawn by the players, and sought to be 
 conveyed by them, was that they ought to manage the 
 game themselves, have all the honor cpf its success, and 
 reap a much larger portion of the proceeds of their skill- 
 ful services. They claimed, moreover, that under the 
 Reserve Rule and National Agreement they were deprived 
 of their just rights as American citizens. 
 
 I did not believe then, nor do I now believe, that their 
 contentions were based upon safe or sane business theory, 
 269 
 
270 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 As one who has been connected with both ends of the 
 Base Ball problem — with reasonable success I may fairly 
 claim — it has ever been my fixed belief that, like every 
 other form of business enterprise, Base Ball depends for 
 results upon two interdependent divisions, the one to have 
 absolute control and direction of the system, and the 
 other to engage — always under the executive branch — in 
 the actual work of production. The theory is as true in 
 the production of the game of Base Ball as in the making 
 of base balls or bats. 
 
 As a surface proposition, it was true, of course, that 
 nobody would give up money to the " office force " of 
 Base Ball for its services alone. But it was equally true 
 that the game had to give up something to the men in 
 these positions; for the man in the box-office, the man at 
 the turnstile and the man at the grandstand are just as 
 essential to the game's prosperity and perpetuity as is he 
 in the pitcher's box or he on first base. And especially 
 is the man absolutely essential who has a bank account to 
 meet pay-rolls, ground rents and the multiplied expendi- 
 tures on account of the game, which those not called upon 
 to face them are too prone to overlook. 
 
 The National Brotherhood of Base Ball Players had 
 been originally organized by John M. Ward in 1885. Its 
 declared purpose, at the beginning of its career, was 
 simply fraternal, and had to do rather with the relations 
 between players, as such, than with those between players 
 and the clubs to which they belonged. The effect of this 
 organization, however, was to breed dissatisfaction; for 
 its meetings afforded most excellent opportunities for the 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 271 
 
 men to rehearse to one another their real or fancied griev- 
 ances, and to plan and plot measures to secure relief. 
 
 After the world's tour, in 1888-9, when the prosper- 
 ous season of '88 had ended, the Brotherhood of Players, 
 finding fresh cause for complaint in the classification rule 
 adopted by the League in 1888, and more reason for a 
 hopeful outcome of their venture in the large attendance 
 at games during the season just closed, issued a mani- 
 festo to the public. 
 
 It ought to be stated here that, previous to this time 
 and in deference to protests against the Reserve Rule, 
 the League had asked for a Committee from the Brother- 
 hood to consider the subject and submit a rule to take 
 the place of the obnoxious one. The Committee, consist- 
 ing of Ward, Hanlon and Brouthers, after due delibera- 
 tion, confessed, in a report made to the League, their 
 inability to make any improvement. Indeed, in a pub- 
 lished interview, in 1887, Mr. Ward had said upon this 
 very subject: 
 
 " In order to get men to invest capital in Base Ball, it is neces- 
 sary to have a reserve rule. Some say that this could be modified, 
 but I am not of that opinion. How could it be modified? Say, for 
 instance, that we began this season by reserving men for only two, 
 three, four, or even five years. At the expiration of that period 
 players would be free to go where they pleased, and capitalists who 
 invested, say $75,000 or $100,000, would have nothing but ground and 
 grandstand. Then again, players have agreed that this could' be over- 
 come by making the length of reservation vary. It could not, and 
 would cause no end of dissatisfaction. It would be unfair to reserve 
 one man for two years and another for five. The reserve rule, on 
 the whole, is a. bad one; but it cannot be rectified save by injuring 
 the interests of the men who invest their money, and that is not the 
 object of the Brotherhood." 
 
 But the manifesto issued Nov. 4th, 1889, declared: 
 
272 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 At last the Brotherhood of Base Ball Players feels at liberty to 
 make known its intentions and defend itself against the aspersions 
 and misrepresentations which for weeks it has been forced to suffer in 
 silence. It is no longer a secret that the players of the League have 
 determined to play next season under different management, but for 
 reasons which will, we think, be understood, it was deemed advisable 
 to make no announcement of this intention until the close of the 
 present season; but now that the struggles for the various pennants 
 are over, and the terms of our contracts expired, there is no longer 
 reason for withholding it. 
 
 In taking this step we feel that we owe it to the public and to 
 ourselves to explain briefly some of the reasons by which we have 
 been moved. There was a time when the League stood for integrity 
 and fair dealing. To-day it stands for dollars and cents. Once it 
 looked to the elevation of the game and an honest exhibition of the 
 sport; to-day its eyes are upon the turnstile. Men have come into 
 the business for no other motive than to exploit it for every dollar in 
 sight. Measures originally intended for the good of the game have 
 been perverted into instruments for wrong. The reserve rule and 
 the provisions of the National Agreement gave the managers unlim- 
 ited power, and they have not hesitated to use this in the most arbi- 
 trary and mercenary way. 
 
 Players have been bought, sold and exchanged as though thev 
 were sheep instead of American citizens. " Reservation " became for 
 them another name for property right in the player. By a combina- 
 tion among themselves, stronger than the strongest trust, they were 
 able to enforce the most arbitrary measures, and the player had 
 either to submit or get out of the profession in which he had spent 
 years in attaining a proficiency. Even the disbandment and retire- 
 ment of a club did not free the players from the Octopus clutch, for 
 ■they were then peddled around to the highest bidder. 
 
 That the player sometimes profited by the sale has nothing to do 
 with the case, but only proves the injustice of his previous restraint. 
 Two years ago, we met the League and attempted to remedy some 
 of these evils, but through what has been politely termed " League 
 diplomacy" we completely failed. Unwilling longer to submit to 
 such treatment, we made a strong effort last spring to reach an 
 understanding with the League. To our application for a hearing, 
 they replied that "the matter was not of sufficient importance to 
 warrant a meeting," and suggested that it be put off until fall. Our 
 committee replied that the players felt that the League had broken 
 faith with them ; that while the results might be of but little import- 
 ance to the managers, they were of great importance to the players; 
 that if the League would not concede what was fair, we would adopt 
 pther means to protect ourselves; that if postponed until fall we 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 273 
 
 would be separated, and at the mercy of the League; and that, as 
 the only course left us required time and labor to develop, we must 
 therefore insist upon an immediate conference. 
 
 Then, upon their final refusal to meet us we began organizing 
 for ourselves, and are in shape to go ahead next year under new 
 management and new auspices. We believe that it is possible to 
 conduct our national game upon lines which will not infringe upon 
 individual and natural rights. We ask to be judged solely by our 
 work, and believing that the game can be played more fairly and its 
 business conducted more intelligently under a plan which excludes 
 everything arbitrary and un-American, we look forward with confi- 
 dence to the support of the public and the future of the national 
 
 ^ ' The National Brotherhood of Ball Platers. 
 
 The revolutionary manifesto promulgated by the 
 National Brotherhood of Base Ball Players, under date of 
 November 4th, 1889, was answered by the National 
 League, under date of November 21st, 1889, as follows: 
 
 TO THE PUBLIC. 
 
 The National League of Base Ball Clubs has no apology to 
 make for its existence, or for its untarnished record of fourteen 
 years. 
 
 It stands to-day, as it has stood during that period, sponsor for 
 the honesty and integrity of Base Ball. 
 
 It is to this organization that the player of to-day owes the dig- 
 nity of his profession and the munificent salary he is guaranteed 
 while playing in its ranks. 
 
 The good name of this League has been assailed, its motives 
 impugned and its integrity questioned by some of the very men 
 whom it has most benefited. 
 
 The League therefore asks the public to inspect its record and 
 compare the following statement of facts with the selfish and 
 malicious accusations of its assailants: 
 
 The National League was organized in 1876 as a, necessity, to 
 rescue the game from its slough of corruption and disgrace, and 
 take it from the hands of the ball players who had controlled and 
 dominated the "National Association of Professional Base Ball 
 Players." 
 
 No effort was made by the old Association to control its mem- 
 bers, and the result was that contract-breaking, dissipation and dis- 
 honesty had undermined the game to such an extent that it seemed 
 an almost hopeless task to attempt its rescue. 
 
 The League, upon its organization, abolished pool-selling and 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 275 
 
 open betting on its grounds, prohibited Sunday games and prohibited 
 the sale of liquors. A better class of people were invited to attend 
 the exhibitions, and a more systematic way of conducting the game 
 was introduced. But the old customs and abuses were not to be 
 crowded out without a struggle. At the end of the season of 1876, 
 two of the strongest clubs, the Mutuals, of New York, a,nd the Ath- 
 letics, of Philadelphia, were arraigned before the League for vio- 
 lating their scheduled engagements. This was the iirst crisis the 
 League was called upon to meet, and the world knows how promptly 
 and vigorously it faced the issue by expelling those two prominent 
 clubs, representing, as they did, its most populous and best-paying 
 cities. The following season, 1877, was a disastrous one financially, 
 and ended with but five clubs in the League, in one of which, Louis- 
 ville, were players publicly accused of dishonesty. The League 
 promptly investigated these charges, and when the four players of 
 that club — Devlin, Hall, Graver and Nichols — were proven guilty of 
 selling games, they were promptly expelled and have never been 
 reinstated. These two steps, boldly taken, when the League was 
 struggling for existence, settled the question as to a club's obliga- 
 tions to the League, and forever banished dishonesty from the ranks, 
 stigmatizing the latter as an unpardonable crime. 
 
 The struggle for existence" for the next three or four years was 
 desperate, and at each annual meeting there occurred vacancies dijf- 
 ficult to fill, because of the almost certain financial disasters threat- 
 ening clubs in the smaller cities. 
 
 Finally, as a check upon competition, the weaker clubs in the 
 League demanded the privilege of reserving five players who would 
 form the nucleus of a team for the ensuing season. This was the 
 origin of the " reserve rule " and from its adoption may be dated the 
 development of better financial results. The system of reserve hav- 
 ing proven beneficial, both to clubs and players, the reserve list was 
 increased to eleven, and then to fourteen, or an entire team. Under 
 this rule the game has steadily grown in favor, the salaries of 
 players have been more than trebled, and a higher degree of skill 
 has been obtained. 
 
 Out of, and as an incident to, " reservation,'' arose releases for 
 pecuniary considerations. The right of reservation being conceded, 
 the club's claim on the player's continuous services must be of some 
 value. But, except in cases of disbanding or retiring clubs, that right 
 has never been transferred without the player's cooperation and 
 consent, usually at his request, and for his own pecuniary emolument. 
 
 In the exceptional case of the disbandment or retiring of a 
 League club, the involuntary transfer of a player to a new club was 
 the subject of complaint by a committee of the Brotherhood, in 
 November, 1887. But, after several hours' conference with the League 
 Committee, the former were obliged to admit that such involuntary 
 transfer was essential to the welfare, if not the existence, of the 
 
276 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 League, and, while it miglit worls: apparent hardships to one or two 
 individuals, its abolition would imperil the continuance of full eight 
 club memberships and the employment of perhaps thirty fellow 
 players. The Brotherhood Committee, therefore, wrote into the con- 
 tract they had formulated that 15th paragrapli, by which each sign- 
 ing player expressly concedes such involuntary transfer of the right 
 of reservation to his services from his club— if it should disband or 
 lose its League membership— to "any other Club or Association," 
 provided his current salary be not reduced. 
 
 And the necessity for such power of preserving the circuit of a 
 League, by approximately equalizing its playing strength, is recog- 
 nized by the new League, which the seceding players have temporarily 
 organized; for they give this "extraordinary power" of transferring 
 players, with or without consent, and with or without club disband- 
 ment, to a central tribunal of sixteen, whose fiat is final. 
 
 In view of these facts and concessions, the use of such terms as 
 "bondage," "slavery," "sold like sheep," etc., becomes meaningless 
 and absurd. 
 
 At the annual meeting of the League in November, 1887, the 
 Brotherhood asked and received recognition upon the statement of 
 its representatives that it was organized for benevolent purposes and 
 desired to go hand in hand with the League, in perpetuating the 
 game, increasing its popularity and elevating the moral standard of 
 its players. They disavowed any intention or desire to interfere 
 with the business affairs of the League, the salaries of players or 
 the " reserve rule," simply asking that the contract be so revised 
 that it, in itself, would indicate every relation between a club and its 
 individual players. 
 
 This " Brotherhood Contract," then accepted and adopted, has 
 never been violated by the League, either in letter or spirit, and we 
 challenge proof in contradiction of this declaration. 
 
 To correct a misapprehension in the public mind as to the alleged 
 " enormous profits " divided among stockholders of League clubs, it 
 may be interesting to know that during the past five — and only pros- 
 perous — years, there have been paid in cash dividends to stockholders 
 in the eight League clubs less than $150,000, and during the same 
 time League players have received in salaries over $1,500,000. The 
 balance of the profits of the few successful clubs, together with the 
 original capital and subsequent assessments of stockholders, is repre- 
 sented entirely in grounds and improvements for the permanent good 
 of the game, costing about $600,000. 
 
 The refusal of the Brotherhood Committee to meet the League 
 in conference at the close of the season proves incontestably that the 
 imperative demand for a conference in mid-summer, to redress griev- 
 ances that have never yet materialized, was a mere pretext for seces- 
 sion. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 277 
 
 They knew there was no urgency for the consideration of their 
 claims, and knowing that the League could not, without sacrifice of 
 time, money and other conflicting interests, convene its clubs in mid- 
 summer, and anticipating and desiring a refusal, to cover the conspir- 
 acy, which it now appears was then hatching, they started the organi- 
 zation of a rival association while receiving most liberal salaries from 
 their employers. Under false promises to their fellow players that 
 they would only secede in the event of the League refusing them 
 justice, they secured the signatures of the latter to a secret pledge 
 or oath to desert their clubs at the bidding of their disaffected 
 leaders. Upon the publication of their plot, September T, 1889, they 
 and their abettors denied, day after day, that there was any founda- 
 tion for the story, and repeatedly plighted their words that the 
 League should have a chance to redress their alleged grievances 
 before they would order a " strike." 
 
 How false their promises and pledges, how evasive, contradictory 
 and mendacious have been their every act and deed, from first to 
 last, we leave to the readers of the daily and weekly press for 
 verification. 
 
 An edifice built on falsehood has no moral foundation, and must 
 perish of its own weight. Its official claims to public support are 
 glittering generalities, that lack detail, color and truth, and the 
 National League, while notifying its recalcitrant players that it will 
 aid its clubs in the enforcement of their contractual rights to the 
 services of those players for the season of 1890, hereby proclaims to 
 the public that the National Game, which in 18T6 it rescued from 
 destruction threatened by the dishonesty and dissipation of players, 
 and which, by stringent rules and ironclad contracts, it developed, 
 elevated and perpetuated into the most glorious and honorable sport 
 on the green earth, will still, under its auspices, progress onward and 
 upward, despite the efforts of certain overpaid players to again con- 
 trol it for their own aggrandizement, but to its ultimate dishonor 
 and disintegration. 
 
 By order of the National League of Base Ball Clubs, 
 
 A. G. Spaluixo, 1 
 John B. Day [• Committee. 
 Philadelphia, November 21, 1889. Johx I. Rogehs, J 
 
 A careful perusal of these two manifestos, in which 
 the issues that led up to the Brotherhood War of 1890 
 are well defined, will give to the student of Base Ball 
 history a pretty good idea of the situation at the begin- 
 ning of that memorable struggle, the counterpart of which 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 279 
 
 will probably never again be witnessed in professional 
 Base Ball. 
 
 On November 6th, two days after the promulgation . 
 of their manifesto, representatives from eight chapters 
 of the National Brotherhood of Base Ball Players, viz.: 
 J. M. Ward, New York; D. Brouthers, Boston; C. J. 
 Buffinton, Philadelphia; E. Andrews, Brooklyn; E. 
 Hanlon, Pittsburg; John Strieker, Cleveland; John 
 Rowe, Buffalo; Fred Pfeffer, Chicago, met with E. A. 
 McAlpin, Charles B. Cory, Henry M. Love, A. L. John- 
 son, M. Shire and John Addison, to form an eight-club 
 Players' League in opposition to the National League. 
 On the advice of their lawyers, however, the organiza- 
 tion was deferred and not effected until January, 1890. 
 
 From the ranks of the National League clubs the 
 following players seceded, joining the Players' League. 
 
 Boston — Kelly, Kilroy, Brouthers and Storey. 
 
 Brooklyn — Ward, Andrews, Seery, Bassett, Beer- 
 bauer, McGeachy and Tucker. 
 
 Buffalo — Wise, J. Irwin, A. Irwin, Mack, Carney, 
 Keefe, Beecher, Howe and White. 
 
 Chicago — ^Pfeffer, Baldwin, King, Boyle, Dwyer, 
 Tener, Bastian, Bartson, Darling, Farrell, Williamson, 
 Latham, Ryan and Duffy. 
 
 Cleveland— Snyder, Strieker, Sutcliffe and Radford. 
 
 New York — ^Ewing, Murphy, Welch, Keefe, Crane, 
 O'Day, Conner, Richardson, Whitney, O'Rourke, Slat- 
 tery and Gore. 
 
 Pittsburg — Hanlon, Staley, Beckley, Kuehne, Galvin, 
 Miller, Morris, Fields, Dunlap and Maul. 
 
280 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Philadelphia — Wood, Thompson, MilHgan, Cross, 
 Hallman, Foreman, Buffinton, Farrar, Myeus, Mulvey, 
 Shindle, Griffin, Delehanty and Fogarty. 
 
 The players who remained, signing with the National 
 League, were: 
 
 Boston — Clarkson and Ganzel. 
 
 Chicago — Anson, Hutchinson and Burns. 
 
 Indianapolis — McKean, Beatin, Zimmer, McAleer, 
 Glasscock, Boyle, Somer, Rusie, Buckley and Denny. 
 
 Philadelphia — Decker, Clements, Schriver, Gleason. 
 
 Pittsburg — Sowders and Sunday. 
 
 Tom Daly refused to go to the city to which he was 
 assigned, and joined the Brooklyn American Association ; 
 club. 
 
 For two years the fight continued. It was intensely i? 
 acrimonious. It did no good to any and infinite injury M 
 to many. It resulted in the death, in 1892, of the Ameri- p 
 can Association, which for nine years had been pursuing 
 a prosperous career. It caused serious financial loss to 
 promoters of the National League and wrought ruin to 
 the moneyed backers of the Brotherhood, while many 
 Brotherhood players lost their all in the venture. It 
 occasioned the utmost bitterness of feeling between play- 
 ers and club owners. It afforded opportunities for 
 unscrupulous mischief-makers to ply their arts, and it 
 utterly disgusted the public with the whole Base Ball 
 business. It set Base Ball back from five to ten years 
 in its natural development. It was a mistake from every 
 standpoint. 
 
 But the Brotherhood War did accomplish two things: 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 281 
 
 First — It settled forever the theory that professional 
 ball players can at the same time direct both the business 
 and the playing ends of the game. 
 
 Second — It established the absolute honesty and 
 integrity of professional Base Ball, for in such a fierce 
 conflict, in which no quarter was asked or given by either 
 side, if there had been any previous connivance for the 
 selling of games between club officials, managers and play- 
 ers, it would certainly have come to the surface during 
 those strenuous times. 
 
A. G. SPALDING, OF NATIONAL LEAGUE WAR COMMITTEE 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 THE BROTHERHOOD WAR A CAMPAIGN OF ABUSE AND 
 
 FALSEHOOD ON BOTH SIDES ONE CASE WHERE FIGURES 
 
 LIED FATHER CHADWICk's STORY OF THE STRUGGLE. 
 
 1889-90 
 
 TO describe in detail the battle royal for the control 
 of professional Base Ball, which raged with unabat- 
 ing fury throughout its entire course, would require a 
 book of double this size. No general ever planned cam- 
 paign or conserved his forces with more painstaking care 
 than did the commanders of the League and Brotherhood 
 warriors. It was announced at the beginning that it was 
 to be a fight to the death, and it was carried to a finish 
 along these lines. In place of powder and shell, printers' 
 ink and bluff formed the ammunition used by both sides. 
 If either party to this^ controversy ever furnished to 
 the press one solitary truthful statement as to the prog- 
 ress of the war from his standpoint; if anyone at any 
 time during the contest made true representation of con- 
 ditions in his own ranks, a monument should be erected 
 to his memory. I have no candidates to recommend for 
 the distinction. As to my own case, I am sure that I 
 can establish an alibi from the realms of truth. At any 
 rate, if one on either side should now appear laying claim 
 to the lonesome honor of telling the truth in those days, 
 I could convict him by the testimony of many witnesses 
 of having been guilty of disobeying " general orders." 
 285 
 
286 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 General Sherman said "War is H — 1," and he doubt- 
 less knew what he was talking about. At least I am pre- 
 pared to endorse his views as applied to the Brotherhood 
 War. Well, it's all over now, and forgotten by many, 
 while only the pleasant and amusing incidents remain in 
 memory. No one cared for the score of yesterday's game ; 
 nobody looked for the championship record of 1890. All 
 eyes were centered on the question of attendance. Along 
 with other practices peculiar to the Ananias Club, both 
 sides then engaged in that of " faking " attendance 
 reports. The Chicago papers, for instance, would appear 
 every morning with figures — furnished by club officials — • 
 and reading something like this : 
 
 " Brotherhood attendance — 8,000." 
 " League attendance — 2,000." 
 
 Round figures are always suspicious, and the constant 
 reiteration of these attracted my attention. I knew that 
 the National League games at that time were drawing 
 very meager crowds, and while at first I was aware that 
 the Brotherhood games were more popularly attended, I 
 was unwilling to believe that there was so much difference 
 in the size of the crowds as appeared upon "the face of 
 the returns." I waited a while, certain that the time would 
 oome when the Brotherhood fakirs would lay themselves 
 open. The day came soon. The published attendance 
 began to drop. From 8,000 it fell to 7,000 ; then 7,000 
 to 6,000. Of course, I knew what that meant, and had 
 inspectors stationed at the Brotherhood grounds with 
 instructions to count every one passing the turnstiles and 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 287 
 
 report. This was done for some time and the reports 
 sent in. 
 
 Securing the services of a bright young Chicago 
 reporter, who had a string of influential newspapers for 
 which he syndicated Chicago specials, I placed in his 
 hands the statistical information which had been procured 
 as to faked attendance at Brotherhood games. He pub- 
 lished, side by side, the figures as given out by the 
 Brotherhood managers and the true figures as sworn to 
 by my agents. 
 
 The publication produced a profound sensation and 
 resulted exactly as had been anticipated. It discounted 
 the claims made by the Brotherhood and impeached the 
 integrity of their reports. When explanations reflecting 
 in a like manner upon the League's attendance were 
 attempted no one paid any attention to them. The 
 Brotherhood had been put on the defensive. The fact 
 had been made clear that no dependence could be placed 
 upon their statements, nobody cared to hear the pot 
 object to the complexion of the kettle, and soon news- 
 papers refused to publish attendance figures at all. Thus 
 was attention diverted from the pitifully small number of 
 patrons who through all the struggle remained loyal to 
 the League. 
 
 As showing the straits into which we were led in those 
 days, I recall being present at a League game one day 
 at Chicago when the attendance was particularly light. 
 At the close of the contest, I was talking to Secretary 
 Brown, when a reporter came up, asking: 
 
 "What's the attendance .;"' 
 
288 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Without a moment's hesitation the oiBcial replied: 
 " Twenty-four eighteen." 
 
 As the scribe passed out of hearing, I inquired: 
 "Brown, how do you reconcile your conscience to such a 
 statement?" 
 
 "Why," he answered, "Don't you see? There were 
 twenty-four on one side of the grounds and eighteen on 
 the other. If he reports twenty-four hundred and 
 eighteen, that's a matter for his conscience, not mine." 
 
 It was with very great satisfaction, therefore, that in 
 the fall of 1890, at the close of that season, I received a 
 delegation from the management of the Players' League, 
 bearing a flag of truce. I was not President of the 
 National League, but, as chairman of its "War Com- 
 mittee," I was fully authorized to treat with those who 
 came asking for terms. Of course, I was conversant with 
 existing conditions in both organisations. I knew that 
 they were on their last legs, and I was equally aware that 
 we had troubles of our own. We had been playing two 
 games all through — Base Ball and bluff. At this stage I 
 put up the strongest play at the latter game I had ever 
 presented. I informed the bearers of the truce, that 
 "unconditional surrender" was the only possible solution 
 of the vexed problem. To my surprise, the terms were 
 greedily accepted. I had supposed that they would at 
 least ask for something. Then, not to be outdone by the 
 hero of Appomattox, whose terms I had appropriated, I 
 agreed that we would furnish places for all the seceding 
 players, under a reinforced National League of twelve 
 clubs, which was duly organized for the following year. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 289 
 
 with these cities represented : Baltimore, Boston, Brook- 
 lyn, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Louisville, New York, 
 Pittsburg, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington. 
 
 I was President of the Chicago Club at the time of 
 the Brotherhood War, and also Chairman of the "War 
 Committee " of the National League. I naturally had a 
 good deal to do with affairs, and was quite conversant 
 with the inside workings of the scrap machine. Under 
 these circumstances, and knowing that I might be charged 
 with being a prejudiced historian, I have decided to intro- 
 duce here a story of the causes that led up to the Brother- 
 hood defection of 1890, from an account written by the 
 late Henry Chadwick, the original manuscript of which 
 I found in the library received from his wife after his 
 demise in 1908, as follows : 
 
 " The chapter of League history covering the revolt of the League 
 players, which was inaugurated in New York in 1889, is one which 
 not only began a new era in professional club management, but it 
 also exhibits some of the peculiar characteristics of the majority of 
 the fraternity in a very striking light. The fact, too, that the seces- 
 sion movement had its origin in the New York Club's team of players, 
 which club had petted its players for years, only emphasized the 
 fact of the ingratitude for favors done which marks the average pro- 
 fessional ball player. 
 
 "The revolt of the League players unquestionably grew out of 
 the ambitious efforts of a small minority to obtain the upper hand of 
 the National League in the control and management of its players. 
 Added to this was the desire for self-aggrandizement which influenced 
 a trio of the most intelligent of the players, headed by one man who 
 was the master mind of the whole revolution scheme in connection 
 with the Brotherhood, to its culmination in the organization of the 
 Players' League; and it was the former organization which the 
 leader of the revolt used as a lever to lift them into the position of 
 professional club magnates. 
 
 "The methods adopted by the originator of the revolutionary 
 scheme were of a nature well calculated to mislead the majority of 
 the players. It would not have done to openly seduce the leaders 
 of the League from their club allegiance; so it was deemed necessary 
 
JOHN I. liOGEKS, OF NATIONAL LEAGUE "WAU COMMITTEE 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 291 
 
 to first combine all of their players under the banner of the Brother- 
 hood organization, the ostensible objects of which were the mutual 
 benefits of its members, and to aid those who needed aid from sick- 
 ness or misfortune. This was a very plausible plan, and apparently 
 devoid of guile; but, in building up the Brotherhood, care was taken 
 to bind its members by an ironclad oath — something unnecessary in 
 the case of an organization designed exclusively to serve benevolent 
 purposes. This oath, in fact, was the carefully disguised seed of the 
 revolt, from which was developed the full-grown plant of the Players' 
 League. 
 
 " Once having gathered the League players within the fold of 
 the Brotherhood, the chief conspirator soon began to draw aside the 
 mask of his disguise, and securing the cooperation of the more intelli- 
 gent of his confreres in aiding the revolt, a quartette of leaders 
 assumed the direction of affairs. These ' big four ' of the great 
 strike, correctly estimating the weakness of character and lack of 
 moral courage of the average Brotherhood member, knew that he 
 would be loath to break the oath of allegiance to the Brotherhood, 
 however willing he might be to violate his National League obliga- 
 tions, and they went quietly to work on this basis to complete their 
 plans looking to the ultimate declaration of war upon the National 
 League and the establishment of the rival Players' League. 
 
 " It is a fact that cannot be gainsaid that fully two-thirds of the 
 members of the Brotherhood, up to the close of the League campaign 
 in 1889, had never contemplated the disruption of the National 
 Agreement and the organization of a Players' League as the outcome 
 of the Brotherhood scheme, or they would not have joined it. Natur- 
 ally enough, the players' sympathies were with the success of the 
 Brotherhood as an association of players for benevolent objects. 
 But not until they had been influenced by special pleadings, false 
 statements and a system of terrorism, peculiar to revolutionary 
 movements, did they realize the true position in which they had been 
 placed, and then a minority, who possessed sufficient independence 
 and the courage of their convictions, returned to their club allegiance 
 in the National League. 
 
 " A step in the progress (*f the revolt, which the leaders found 
 it necessary to take, was that of securing the services of such jour- 
 nalists in each League club city as would lend their pens as editors 
 of Brotherhood organs. This movement was deemed essential in 
 order to bring a special influence to bear on such capitalists among 
 the wealthier class of patrons of the game as were eager to join in ii 
 movement calculated to gain them a share in the 'big bonanza' 
 profits of the money-making League clubs. Another use these 
 organs and writers were put to, in forwarding the interests of the 
 leaders, was that of denouncing every player who was independent 
 enough to think for himself in the matter of revolt as a deserter or a 
 
292 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 ' scab.' Of course, this system of terrorism had its effect on the 
 weaker class of the Brotherhood, and the result was that only a few 
 refused to become slaves of the ' big four.' And thus was started 
 the League of Professional Ball Players. 
 
 "The original plan of organization of the Players' League 
 embraced cooperation by the players in the matter of gate receipts 
 and profits; and one of the inducements held out to players to 
 secede from League clubs was the alluring one of sharing in the 
 proceeds of the season's games. The bait proved to be a tempting 
 one and it was readily taken. But after the Players' League had 
 been started, and the bulk of the players had committed themselves 
 by contract to the revolt, the leaders, in order to secure the required 
 financial aid of sympathetic capitalists, seceded from their plan of 
 cooperation, and a change was made in the new League's constitu- 
 tion, the feature introduced being that of obliging each player to 
 depend upon the gate receipts for the payment of his salary — after 
 all necessary expenses outside the salary list had been paid. This 
 new clause proved distasteful to several players who had taken the 
 oath of allegiance to the Brotherhood, but who had not legally 
 signed^ Players' League contracts, and these men were not sldw in 
 returning to the National League after discovering the trickery they 
 had been subjected to by the leader. But others, lacking in moral 
 courage, and who still had faith in the movement to make them mag- 
 nates instead of $5,000 a year slaves, remained obedient to the 
 Brotherhood taskmasters. 
 
 " The leaders had originally declared that their war was against 
 the National League and that only; but when their plan of cam- 
 paign met with its first failure, resort for recruits for their revolu- 
 tionary army was had to the ranks of the American Association, and 
 the early disruption of this organization was due to the influence 
 exerted by the revolt. This was the return made to the Association 
 for the neutral position they had occupied in the differences which 
 had occurred between the League and the Brotherhood. Had the 
 Brotherhood followed the honorable course of holding a conference 
 with the League at the end of the championship campaign — the only 
 appropriate time for such a conference — there is no questioning the 
 fact that every grievance, real or imaginary, alleged by the Brother- 
 hood would have received due consideration by the League, and all 
 enactments calculated to antagonize the best interests of the players 
 would have been removed from the League's statute books, for it was 
 too plainly to the interest ' of the National League to place their 
 club players in the position of making their interests and welfare 
 identical with those of the League management." 
 
 Now and then, in the course of these reminiscences, I 
 have had occasion to speak of the loyalty of professional 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 293 
 
 ball players, one to another, and of the quality of their 
 integrity as a rule. A conspicuous illustration of these 
 traits occurred during the Brotherhood imbroglio. I 
 must plead in extenuation of the part I played in this 
 incident that, as before stated, the revolt of the players 
 had precipitated a struggle of intense bitterness. As 
 time passed on, and the interests of both the National 
 League and the Players' League were placed in jeopardy, 
 feeling became fierce. It was, indeed, a war to the death. 
 
 The League was determined to win if it took every 
 dollar that had been made and saved; and the Players 
 were willing to resort to anything to achieve success or 
 spare themselves the humiliation of defeat. Meanwhile 
 the public had become utterly disgusted with both sides 
 to the controversy, and all clubs were losing money right 
 and loft. 
 
 With these conditions present, there came a time in 
 the life of the contest when the National League man- 
 agers believed that an assault should be made with a view 
 of breaking through the ranks of the Brotherhood in the 
 hopes of capturing some of their players. Let it be 
 remembered that there was no agreement of any kind 
 between the contending forces, but that disagreement on 
 every point was rampant. No scruples were entertained 
 regarding the securing of players in any way from the 
 opposition by either side. The League, having been 
 robbed of nearly all its men, was perfectly willing to 
 engage in any act that would sow discord in the ranks of 
 the Brotherhood and secure a return of some of the 
 stars. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 295 
 
 To me was delegated the task of approaching the 
 enemy with a view of making a capture. I was given a 
 carte blanche in the matter, with instructions to pay the 
 price necessary to produce the result. I didn't fancy the 
 job a little bit. The enterprise was not at aU to my lik- 
 ing. I tried to beg off; but it was no use. It was urged 
 with force that I had been a player, knew all the boys, 
 and could gain a hearing where no one else could, and 
 that hopes of success would be greater with me than with 
 any other. 
 
 So I reluctantly consented, and determined to go after 
 big game. I sent a note to Mike Kelly, the " King," — 
 then at the zenith of his popular career — ^whose sale I had 
 manipulated at Chicago, to whom I could talk unre- 
 servedly, and whose defection from the ranks of the enemy 
 would cause greater consternation than that of any other, 
 I thought. I invited Kelly to meet me at my hotel. He 
 came. We passed the usual conventional civilities, talked 
 about health, the weather and kindred exciting topics, 
 until at length I opened the ball with the question. 
 
 " How are things going with the game, Mike.""' 
 
 " Oh, the game's gone to ." 
 
 "What.'' You don't mean to say that the managers 
 are getting discouraged.'"' 
 
 " Aw, the managers !" 
 
 "Why, what's the matter.?" incredulously. 
 
 "Everything's the matter; everybody's disgusted; 
 
 clubs all losing money ; we made a foolish blunder 
 
 when we went into it." 
 
 I thought the time was ripe. Placing a check for 
 
296 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 $10,000 on the table, I asked, " Mike, how would you like 
 that check for $10,000 filled out payable to your order?" 
 
 " Would Mike Kelly like $10,000? I should, smile." 
 
 " But that's not all, Mike. Here's a three years' con- 
 tract, and I'm authorized to let you fill in the amount of 
 salary yourself." 
 
 His face blanched. "What does this mean? Does it 
 mean that I'm to join the League? Quit the Brother- 
 hood? Go back on the boys." 
 
 " That's just what it means. It means that you go to 
 Boston to-night." 
 
 " Well," said he,^ " I must have time to think about 
 this." 
 
 "There is mighty little time, Mike. If you don't 
 want the money, soAiebody else will get it. When can 
 ■ you let me know?" 
 
 "In an hour and a half," he answered. 
 
 "What are you going to do, meanwhile? Consult a 
 lawyer?" 
 
 "Lawyer? Naw; you're good enough lawyer for me," 
 
 and, saying that he would be back in an hour and a half, 
 
 he left the room. 
 
 i . 
 
 At the appointed time I was awaiting him — and he 
 
 came, true to appointment. I didn't see much of encour- 
 agement in his face. His jaw was set, and there was a 
 bright sparkle to his eye that somehow seemed to augurdll 
 for the success of my mission. 
 
 "Well, Mike, where have you been?" I asked. 
 
 " I've been taking a walk," he answered. " I went 
 'way up town and back." 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 297 
 
 "What were you doing?" 
 
 " I was thinking." 
 
 "Have you decided what you're going to do?" I 
 asked. 
 
 "Yes," he rephed without hesitation; "I've decided 
 not to accept." 
 
 "What.?" I ejaculated. "You don't want the 
 $10,000?" 
 
 " Aw, I want the ten thousand bad enough ; but I've 
 thought the matter all over, and I can't go back on the 
 boys. And," he added, " neither would you." 
 
 Involuntarily I reached out my hand in congratulation 
 of the great ball player on his loyalty. We talked for a 
 little while, and then he borrowed $500 of me. I think it 
 was little enough to pay for the anguish of that hour and 
 a half, when he was deciding to give up thousands of dol- 
 lars on the altar of sentiment in behalf of the Brotherhood. 
 
 From 1876 to 1899 the National League of Base Ball 
 Clubs occupied the unchallenged position as the great 
 major organization, to which all minor leagues looked for 
 advice and protection. But in 1899, owing to financial 
 conditions growing out of the Spanish- American War, the 
 game was not profitable, and the League managers, mis- 
 taking the true cause of the trouble, attributed it to the 
 carrying of so many clubs, and decided to return to the 
 eight-club system, dropping Baltimore, Cleveland, Louis- 
 ville and Washington from the League, though holding 
 League franchises in those cities. 
 
 This was just exactly what had been hoped for by a 
 certain bright young enthusiast who was at that time 
 
298 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 dominating the affairs of the Western League. Mr. B. 
 Bancroft Johnson saw his opportunity and was not slow 
 to avail himself of it. He at once proceeded to the organ- 
 ization of a new rival to the National League, which he 
 named the American League. This organization, made 
 easy by the dropping of four cities from the roster of the 
 major League, was rendered still easier by the abrogation 
 on the part of the National magnates just at that time of 
 the Reserve Rule. 
 
 Thus was introduced into Base Ball history a new and 
 formidable rival to the National League, and one which 
 has prospered ever since its introduction into the arena, 
 under the capable management of one of the ablest and 
 most consistent Base Ball men the game has ever produced. 
 
 The cities of Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville and 
 Washington, dropped from the National League, were not 
 at once seized upon by President Johnson, who had loftier 
 ambitions; but he immediately perfected an eight-club 
 league, with the following cities represented: 
 
 Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Phila- 
 delphia, St. Louis, Washington. 
 
 With these cities, each having excellent teams, the 
 American League began the first decade of the 20th 
 century. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
WHEN THK GAME llEACHED SILVEUTON 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE STORY OF " FREEDMANISM " HOW IT WAS PROPOSED 
 
 TO SYNDICATE BASE BALL ATTEMPT TO KILL THE 
 
 NATIONAL LEAGUE IN THE INTERESTS OE SORDID 
 MAGNATES. 1900-01 
 
 SOME years before the opening of the 20th century 
 the National League had begun to lose prestige with 
 the public. This loss of caste was not due to a failure 
 on the part of the League to correct abuses. It had 
 achieved wonders in that respect. It had absolutely 
 driven out gambling and gamblers. It had made players 
 to so regard their interests that not one of them cared or 
 dared to be seen talking with a gambler. Indeed, at one 
 time this dread became so great that players would and 
 did personally assault members of the crooked fraternity 
 who attempted to engage them in conversation on the 
 streets. It had done away with the drinking evil — so 
 fully as the appetites of men can ever be controlled by dis- 
 cipline — and at one time a dozen capable players had been 
 expelled, without hope of reinstatement, for overindul- 
 gence in liquor. The trouble now was not with gamblers 
 or with players, but with club officials, generally termed 
 magnates, and it will be readily understood how difficult a 
 matter it was to deal with them. Especially was it hard 
 to reach cases where there was no actual violation of Base 
 Ball law — ^just personal cussedness and disregard for the 
 future welfare of the game, 
 301 
 
302 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Soon after the American sport became established as 
 a national pastime, and was showing for its promoters- a 
 balance on the right side of the ledger, a certain clique 
 came into the League for purposes of pelf. They at once 
 let it be known by their acts that they were in Base Ball 
 for what they could get out of it. They were absolutely 
 devoid of sentiment, cared nothing for the integrity or 
 perpetuity of the game beyond the limits of their indi- 
 vidual control thereof. With these men it was simply a 
 mercenary question of dollars and cents. Everything 
 must yield to the one consideration of inordinate greed. 
 It will not be difficult to understand that any man who 
 dominated such a faction as has here been described, while 
 he might have a pleasing personality, would nevertheless 
 be a standing menace to the perpetuity of the game. 
 
 I do not know how better to characterize the mon- 
 strous evil which at this time threatened the life of Base 
 Ball than to denominate it " Freedmanism " ; for Andrew 
 Freedman, owner of the New York franchise, absolutely 
 held sway over one-half the League interests and was the 
 incarnation of selfishness supreme. Surrounding himself 
 by a coterie of men willing to follow such a leader; dic- 
 tating policies that were suicidal as to the League of 
 which these men were an important integral part, it is no 
 wonder that this destructive element in those years worked 
 havoc to our national pastime. 
 
 The special phase of aggressive onslaught against 
 League interests that called me from an unofficial position, 
 as simply an honorary member, into an active struggle to 
 protect the game from enemies in its own household, was 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 303 
 
 Mr. Freedman's move to syndicate Base Ball. But, prior, 
 to this time, Freedman's personal course had becoine so 
 obnoxious to most of those connected with the game that 
 nobody outside his own following could endure his eccen- 
 tricities of speech or action. He would apply to other 
 members of the League, in ordinary conversation, terms 
 so coarse and offensive as to be unprintable. Taking 
 umbrage at some personal newspaper criticism, he would 
 openly declare his intention of ruining the game. My 
 brother, Mr. J. Walter Spalding, who was a Director of 
 the New York Club (owned by Freedman), was compelled 
 to resign in order to retain his self-respect. Even those 
 who were associated with Freedman in the enterprise 
 which called me into the struggle complained to me of his 
 ungentlemanly bearing whenever he met with opposition 
 from any source, while those opposed to him and to his 
 methods pleaded with me to re-enter the field, urging that 
 my presence was needed to force this undesirable magnate 
 from the ranks. 
 
 The following, from the columns of a New York paper 
 at about this time, will serve to show the peculiar per- 
 sonal quality of the man : 
 
 " After remaining away from the Polo Grounds since the Fourth 
 of July, when he had a row with ex-Umpire Heydler, Andrew Freed- 
 man, President of the New York Base Ball Club, visited the field 
 on July 2Sth, with the result that there was another muss which 
 disgusted 3,000 spectators. This time it was not the umpire against 
 whom Freedman made his attack, but one of the Baltimore players, 
 'Ducky' Holmes, who was a member of the New York team last 
 year. The score was 1 to 1 when the first half of the fourth inning 
 began and the teams were playing sharp ball. With one out and 
 McGann on first, Holmes went to the bat and struck out. He was 
 in the act of walking back to the bench when a man in the grand- 
 stand cried out : ' Holmes, you're a lobster. That's what you left 
 
304 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 here for.' Holmes retorted. Umpire Lynch noticed that Holmes was talk- 
 ing to. the crowd, and ordered him to keep quiet. The player promptly 
 obeyed. Then Clarke, of the Baltimores, made a hit and, when 
 Nops struck out, the visitors took the field. As they did so, Freed- 
 man hurried from his private box in the grandstand down onto the 
 field, and almost ran to the bench where Joyce and the New Yorks 
 were making preparations to go to the bat. Umpire Lynch saw 
 Freedma'n and went over to him, at the same time asking what was 
 the trouble. ' Lynch, I want that man Holmes thrown out of these 
 grounds,' exclaimed Freedman, white with rage. ° He's insulted me.' 
 Lynch claimed he did not hear the alleged insult and refused to 
 remove Holmes. Freedman, still in a rage, secured the services of 
 a detective and a policeman, whom he ordered to eject Holmes. 
 Umpire Lynch called, ' Play Ball,' but Freedman declared that the 
 game could not go on if Holmes were left in the game, and then 
 Lynch gave the game to Baltimore by a score of 9 to 0. The crowd 
 cheered the decision, and then a large contingent surged around 
 Freedman, demanding the return of their money and yelling at him 
 at the top of their voices, calling him a cheat and threatening him 
 with bodily harm if he did not return their money. Freedman was 
 at first disposed to refuse; but the threatening attitude of the crowd 
 finally forced him to submit. As he moved away he was hissed by- 
 over a thousand people. One man yelled, ' You ought to be expelled 
 from the League. You're killing Base Ball in New York deader 
 than a herring.' This sally was received with marks of approval 
 and more hissing. Holmes was escorted off the grounds, but was not 
 arrested." 
 
 Another of many contemptible acts of ineffable mean- 
 ness on the part of Freedman was his treatment of Mr. 
 Henry Chadwick. In the course of his duties as sporting 
 editor and writer on sporting topics, Mr. Chadwick took 
 occasion to point out certain flagrant abuses in the man- 
 agement of the New York Club, whereupon Freedman 
 wrote a letter to Chadwick, accusing him of ingratitude 
 in criticising the New York Club while he was a recipient 
 of its "bounty." It seems that the League had voted 
 Mr. Chadwick a life annuity of $600 for what he had 
 done for the game, and Freedman was not above assum- 
 ing credit for the fact and berating the good old gentle- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 3U5 
 
 man as a pauper. With fine spirit, Mr. Chadwick pub- 
 lished Freedman's letter, in which he declared that if 
 other League managers were of Freedman's mind he would 
 not accept another penny. To the credit of the gentle- 
 men be it said that every one wrote, disclaiming any sym- 
 pathy with Freedman's view of the case. 
 
 In August, 1901, a secret meeting was held at the 
 home of Andrew Freedman, at Red Bank, N. J. There 
 were present representative^ from the New York, Boston, 
 Cincinnati and St. Louis Clubs. Managers of the Chi- 
 cago, Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Pittsburg Clubs were 
 neither invited nor expected. 
 
 At this meeting the National Agreement, drawn by 
 A. G. Mills, and which had been for so many years the 
 cornerstone of the Base Ball edifice, withstanding all the 
 storms that had beaten upon it, was abrogated, that a 
 Trust might be formed which should thereafter control 
 the interests of the game. The nature of this proposed 
 radical change in League Base Ball control inay be 
 gleaned from the following excerpt from the files of the 
 New York Sun, under date December 11, 1901: 
 
 " This scheme contemplates the organization of the National 
 League Base Ball Trust, to be divided into preferred and common 
 stock, the preferred stock to draw a dividend of 7 per cent., all of 
 which is to belong to the National League, as a body; the common 
 stock to be used in payment for the present eight League Clubs, as 
 follows: "New York to receive about 30 per cent. 
 
 " Cincinnati to receive about 12 per cent. 
 
 " St. Louis to receive about 13 per cent. 
 
 " Boston to receive about 13 per cent. 
 
 " Philadelphia to receive about 10 per cent. 
 
 " Chicago to receive about 10 per cent. 
 
 " Pittsburg to receive about 8 per cent. 
 
 " Brooklyn to receive about 6 per cent. 
 
306 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 " The management of the company is to be placed for a term 
 of years in the hands of not more than five men, to be selected by 
 the stockholders and designated as a Board of Regents. From this 
 board of managers a President and a Treasurer are to be chosen, 
 though the Secretary need not necessarily be a member of the 
 Board of Regents. The salary of the President must not exceed 
 $25,000 per year, and the Treasurer not over $12,500. As the eight 
 clubs will lose their identity by being merged into and becoming a 
 part of the National League Trust, the different clubs will be 
 under the direction of the managers, who will each receive a salary 
 of $5,000 per year." 
 
 Of course, this newspaper clipping, startling as it was, 
 did not convey to the world in general what it did to some 
 of us who had long been identified with the game, both as 
 to its playing and its management. To us it meant the 
 immediate syndicating of Base Ball along lines identically 
 the same as those which have disgraced control of the 
 theatrical business in America for many years. It meant 
 the introduction of a system whereby one man qr a half- 
 dozen men, working with him to a single purpose, might 
 dominate the entire business — and with villainous bru- 
 tality. It meant the blacklisting of players without 
 cause; the boycotting of cities without excuse. It meant, 
 in short, what has been aptly termed " Syndicate " 
 methods, and the general demoralization of our national 
 sport in its every interest. 
 
 It was at this juncture that the managers of the 
 Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Brooklyn Clubs 
 appealed to me to come to their aid. Before I arrived at 
 the Convention, without my connivance, knowledge or con- 
 sent, the name of A. G. Spalding had been placed in nomi- 
 nation for the Presidency of the National League. I did 
 not desire that office. I had quite enough on hand to 
 engage all my time and attention without the added cares 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 307 
 
 and responsibilities attaching to the office for which I had 
 been named. 
 
 But I was terribly in earnest in my desire that Freed- 
 manism should not obtain ascendancy in the League, and 
 so I found myself an interested spectator of the proceed- 
 ings of the National League Convention on Wednesday, 
 December 11, 1901, and immediately thereafter I was in 
 one of the sharpest Base Ball battles of my life. Let it 
 be remembered that at the formation of the National 
 League I had engaged in a struggle against abuses that 
 had grown up under the mild, pacific, fostering influences 
 of the two National Associations of Amateur Base Ball 
 Players and Professional Base Ball Players. I had fought 
 with President Hulbert to stamp out gambling and pool- 
 selling. Later I had been engaged in ridding the game 
 of players who were in collusion with the gambling frater- 
 nity. Still later I united with those who found it neces- 
 sary to free Base Ball from a lot of irresponsible, unre- 
 liable drunkards, who, although good players, were a dis- 
 grace and hindrance to the game. 
 
 Now, for the first time, I was face to face with a situ- 
 ation full of graver menace than any of the others had 
 been, because those who were seeking its ruin now were 
 men of real power, men of ability, men of acute business 
 instincts — an enemy that knew how to fight. 
 
 In all the former battles for the life of our national 
 sport the men who stood for the preservation of Base Ball 
 in its integrity had won. Every form of abuse had been 
 so completely eradicated that public confidence had been 
 regained, the press of the country was united in its declar- 
 
308 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 ation that the game was clean; that gambling had been 
 kicked out; that pool-selling had been kicked out; that 
 drunkenness had been kicked out; and now I was deter- 
 mined that so far as I had the power to help the upright 
 managers of the League, Freedman and Freedmanism 
 should be kicked out. As to the proper control of Base 
 Ball the man was impossible ; he must go. 
 
 Perhaps in no other way can I so well define my posi- 
 tion at that time as by republishing here the substance of 
 the address made by me at the Convention to which I had 
 been called, to prevent, if possible, the syndicating of 
 Base Ball. After the roll-call on that day, I addressed 
 the Chair, asking, as an honorary member of the League, 
 the privilege of a hearing. This courtesy having been 
 granted me by the presiding officer, without objection 
 from anyone present, I proceeded with my remarks sub- 
 stantially in the following words : 
 
 "Mr. Chairman and Oentlemen: 
 
 " I claim .the right of addressing a few words to this League. 
 I find myself placed in a somewhat awkward position by the announce- 
 ment that has been made in the press the last few days, connecting 
 my name' with the nomination for the presidency of this League. I at 
 first looked upon it as my annual newspaper nomination; but I find 
 that the papers still, without my request or permission, are using my 
 name, and declare that it has been brought before this Convention. 
 I learn that it was; that I have been nominated here. I don't know 
 who nominated me. He had no authority to do it. I didn't know 
 he was to do it. I have heard that it came before the Convention 
 in a regular manner, and have learned that there has been some dis- 
 cussion about it. 
 
 " I repeat that I now find myself placed in a very embarrassing 
 
 situation, and I believe that I am entitled to insist upon this League 
 
 coming to an early vote on that question. I don't ask you to vote 
 
 for me. I don't care if you vote eight to nothing against me. I 
 
 simply claim that as a member of this League in years gone by — as 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 309 
 
 an honorary member now — as a gentleman who has a personal repu- 
 tation to maintain, I have a right to demand that you cast your votes 
 on my nomination and get it out of the way. 
 
 " If you will stop and think a minute, you will see that I am 
 placed in a. somewhat peculiar position before the public. I might 
 say in this connection that a, very prominent president of one of the 
 League clubs (Mr. Soden), a gentleman for whom I have the highest 
 regard and in whom I have the utmost confidence, asked me as a 
 special favor to refrain from making any comment or withdrawing 
 my name, as it might injure the National League; might be used as 
 a club by the American League, with whom you are at war. I told 
 him I would do so. 
 
 " Now, I find that, being nominated, my name is foot-balled 
 around quite generally; in the press, in this room, everywhere, in a 
 way that to me is not satisfactory. 
 
 " I am told that this is the last day of the National League. 
 Rumor declares that it will not outlive the day. Gentlemen, 1 was 
 present at the birth of this organization. I saw it when its eyes 
 were first opened to the light of day, twenty-six years ago next Feb- 
 ruary, in this city. If it is to be buried to-day — if this is its last 
 day — I ask, gentlemen, the privilege of closing its eyes in death. I 
 claim that not only as a privilege but a right. 
 
 " I also want to be here to take away the body, that an autopsy 
 may be held to determine J;he cause of death. I also claim that I 
 have a right to say something about where it shall be buried, and I 
 may have something to offer as to the design of the monument that is 
 to be erected over it. 
 
 "This National League has two fathers: One, William A. Hul- 
 bert — God bless his memory — and the other — myself. Twenty-six 
 years ago this month I spent thirty days in Mr. Hulbert's house 
 vrith him, writing the first constitution; and I claim, because of that; 
 because of the fact that I have been unanimously elected an honor- 
 ary member of this body, I have the right to speak in its councils. 
 
 "We have a very sick patient here--as I read in the papers — a 
 very sick patient. I think it is time that somebody asked some ques- 
 tions to find out what has brought it to this condition. Emaciated in 
 form, pulse weak, heart fluttering; and yet we see a few motions of 
 the muscles that indicate that life is not extinct. Gentlemen, as an 
 honorary member of this League, if it is to die, I propose to stay 
 by that corpse until it is buried. I sincerely hope I am misinformed. 
 
 " I object to any more daggers being thrust into that body in 
 my presence. At least I have the right to demand that. Let us 
 stand by this body that seems to be at the point of death for a few 
 
310 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 minutes and see if we cannot fan it into life; see if we cannot do 
 something that will bring it back and save the reputation that has 
 been twenty-six years in making— a reputation, gentlemen, that you 
 need to be very careful and guarded how you throw away. 
 
 " This League has a great reputation. I have known something 
 about its early career, its middle career, and have kept watching it. 
 What was it for? What was the organization of this League for? 
 To perpetuate, establish and maintain the integrity of Base Ball. 
 What is this Base Ball that we talk about? I do not want to take 
 much of your time, but let us take a few moments to answer this 
 question. 
 
 " Base Ball is a distinctly American sport, suitable to the Ameri- 
 can character, played under rules known to every American boy ten 
 years of age. And here is the National League, the guardian of that 
 sport. To be the guardian of a nation's sport is no mean honor. I 
 sometimes wonder if you realize the responsibility. Here, in your 
 bickerings and your financial schemings, everything is subordinated 
 to those features. 
 
 " The game first appeared back in the forties. In the latter part 
 of the fifties it became known in New York, New England and Phila- 
 delphia. When the soldiers from those sections went into the army 
 they took with them this new game of Base Ball. It was played in 
 camps of both armies. At the end of the war it was disseminated 
 throughout the United States, and there was a furore of Base Ball. 
 So, gentlemen. Base Ball has a patriotic as well as sentimental and 
 business sides. 
 
 " This National organization, which has stood for so many years, 
 I hope may not expire to-day. I beg of you, think before you stab 
 it to its death. 
 
 " Of course, as this game became popular all over the country, 
 there was needed some form of organization. The first organization 
 was the National Association of Amateur Base Ball Players, com- 
 posed of clubs all over the Nation. That soon got into trouble because 
 a man would come with two hundred proxies and elect himself presi- 
 dent. The man who had the next number would be treasurer, and 
 so on. You can imagine how long such an arrangement could last. 
 It answered the purpose for the time being, but it was found inade- 
 quate. The next step was the semi-professional, or veiled-amateur 
 era, as you might term it. From that came the full-fledged profes- 
 sional player, represented in the old Cincinnati Red Stocking Club 
 in 1869. I was among those original professional players, and in a 
 small way did what I could to relieve a certain odium that existed 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 311 
 
 between amateurism and professionalism. A professional League 
 was organized, and here sits the first secretary of that professional 
 League. It served its purpose. 
 
 "We were new at legislation, and one thing after another crept 
 in. We had the gambling instinct to contend with. The first thing 
 we knew, the gamblers had us by the throat. I have seen players go 
 up and buy pools before the game commenced, generally on their 
 own club, but they often would have a friend buying double the 
 amount on the other. It became so intolerable that Base Ball was a 
 stench in the nostrils of every decent man, and it was almost a dis- 
 grace to say that you were a professional Base Ball player. Mr. 
 Hanlon will bear me out in that. Mr. Reach played in those days 
 and he can bear me out. The public was interested in the game, but 
 the gamblers would not permit it to be played except under their 
 direction. 
 
 " I had the honor to be captain and pitcher of the original Boston 
 Base Ball Club. I look back to that period as covering four or five 
 of the pleasantest years of my life. We won the championship right 
 along. Our crowds, large at first, kept getting smaller. The last 
 year we played in Boston we never lost a game on the home grounds 
 and we hardly had as many spectators as players. 
 
 " I went to Chicago with three other players of the Boston Club. 
 Excuse me, gentlemen, if I digress here. The rules provided at that 
 time, in this first professional association, that if a ball player signed 
 a contract with any other club except the one he was with before 
 the season was closed he was expelled. I took certain chances there 
 of being expelled, but the gentleman who has done more for Base 
 Ball than any man who has ever lived said to us: 'Boys, I'll attend 
 to that; your salaries go whether you are expelled or not. I defy 
 this Association to expel you players, because you are stronger than 
 the Association; and, furthermore, there are iniquities in this Asso- 
 ciation that need correcting.' The result of that was— the meeting 
 did not take place then until March— Mr. Hulbert and myself, in his 
 house, where I spent thirty days, in December, 1875, decided to 
 organize a new association. 
 
 "So this National League was born in rebellion, and I take 
 pleasure in saying that I was one of the rebellious parties. I was , 
 looking over the other night the original constitution that we wrote— 
 several drafts were made of it, and we re-wrote it— and when we 
 got through with that we had a pretty nice structure; and, gentle- 
 men, as I look at it to-day, you could get very many good points from 
 that old constitution of 1876, making allowance, of course, for the 
 
312 . AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 improvements of the game. You can find some very good ideas 
 there. At any rate, the contrast between the constitution of '76 in 
 this National League and the one of 1901 before us is very marked. 
 
 " It was customary for the Eastern Clubs to go West and the 
 Western Clubs to go East, and back again, two trips each year. In 
 those days the expense of traveling back and forth was enormous. 
 Previous to the organization of the League, the New York and Phila- 
 delphia Clubs had got the Western Clubs to come East twice; they 
 had gone once, and when it came the following year, they said, ' We 
 don't go.' They were given to understand when they came into the 
 National League that no more nonsense of that kind would be 
 allowed. The first year we ran against the New York and Philadel- 
 phia people trying the same thing on the National League. At the 
 annual meeting Mr. A. G. Mills appeared as State's attorney for the 
 National League and demanded the expulsion of these two Clubs. 
 It was one of the most pathetic scenes I ever witnessed. I saw the 
 President of the Philadelphia Club in Mr. Hulbert's room, with tears 
 in his eyes, saying: ' I beg of you not to expel us; we will enter into 
 any bonds; we will do anything.' Mr. Hulbert said: 'No; we are 
 going to expel you to-morrow.' The same thing was done with the 
 New York Club, which was run by Mr. Cammeyer, a great personal 
 friend of Mr. Hulbert. Mr. Hulbert said: 'No; we are going to 
 expel you.' They were brought into the room, charges were made, 
 and the vote was unanimous against them. The New York Club 
 walked out; the Philadelphia Club did the same thing. We didn't 
 stop to consider gate receipts. What did we take into their places.' 
 Worcester and Troy! Think of that! 
 
 " I have been in the National League when we did those things. 
 The following year we found four players selling games when we 
 were organized to protect them and prevent it. They were guilty. 
 One player came to Chicago, appeared in Mr. Hulbert's office with 
 tears in his eyes, down on his knees in prayer, and begged him not 
 to expel; that his family was starving. Those were pathetic times. 
 I remember Mr. Hulbert going into his pocket and giving the man 
 fifty dollars. He said: 'Devlin, that's what I think of you per- 
 sonaUy; but, damn you, you have sold a game; you are dishonest, 
 and this National League will not stand for it We are going to 
 expel you.' 
 
 "I have lived in those days. I have seen the result of such 
 action. The New York and Philadelphia Clubs were expelled and 
 you are enjoying the fruits of it; it gave a standing to this national 
 sport. The expeUing of those players has preserved the integrity of 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 313 
 
 professional Base Ball, and you have not had a case since. Later 
 we expelled ten of the most prominent players in America for drunk- 
 enness. That has helped to remove drunkenness from Base Ball. 
 
 " Now we seem to be up against a new condition. I don't know 
 just what is the cause of it, but when I read in the papers that the 
 National League is not expected to live the day out, I cannot resist 
 coming up here to at least enter a protest against letting it expire. 
 It seems to me that you have had a sort of consultation of physi- 
 cians. I don't know just who can be called the head physician; who 
 wrote the prescription; I don't know what apothecary made up the 
 dose, but I know that some poisonous preparation has been given to 
 this old body that lies prostrate here to-day, and I accuse the man 
 who did it, and I accuse all the rest of you who permitted it. If this 
 body dies, I charge you with its death. 
 
 " I would feel that I was not doing what I ought to do as an 
 honorary member of this League if in these days of distress I did 
 not raise my voice in solemn protest against any further efforts in 
 the same direction. I have no personal feeling against any man in 
 this room. In fact, I can say that some of the best friends I have 
 in the world are here. But when it comes to the question of personal 
 friendship for one of you, or two of you, or all of you combined, I 
 think more of the National League than I do of any one of you or 
 of all of you. 
 
 " I hope that some kind of argument, some words that I may 
 utter here, will bring you to a realizing sense of the situation. The 
 eyes of this Nation are upon you, and somehow or other the people 
 have an idea that you are a band of conspirators, talking nothing but 
 gate receipts. You have got into a fight with the American League; 
 you have lost players, I understand; I certainly judge from the 
 papers that you have lost their support, and I am told that some 
 have violated the confldence that was reposed in them by this League. 
 
 " I accuse you of having violated a trust in having abrogated 
 the National Agreement. The most damnable thing that was ever 
 done in Base Ball was the way that was done. I don't know and 
 care not who the members of the Board of Arbitration may be, and I 
 care not whether or not you had a right; I say it was damnable to 
 take away the very foundations of this whole business. I feel an 
 especial interest because the first National Agreement in effect was 
 one that bore my name in '77. 
 
 " Now, it appears that peculiar things have been going on here, 
 and I don't know just what all this commotion is about. I don't 
 really get onto it; but I find myself in an embarrassing position 
 
314 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 before the public, as standing for the presidency of this' League; and 
 while I have been told that it won't do for me to say anything, I 
 can't wait any longer. 
 
 " My name is mentioned here in connection with the presidency. 
 I understand it was brought before this meeting. Who is the man 
 who presented it? Whoever he was, he had no authority from me 
 to do it. I never knew he intended to do it. I regret his having 
 done it if he did not have some intimation that it might be carried to 
 a vote. 
 
 " I am not seeking the oifice, and I don't ask you to vote for me; 
 but I do ask you to get it out of the way in any way you please; 
 vote it eight to nothing, seven to one, or five to three against me, or 
 any way; but, gentlemen, I feel that I am entitled to have it settled, 
 and settled to-day. 
 
 " Mr. Chairman, I won't detain you any longer. I would ask 
 that a vote on the presidency of the League be taken now. I thank 
 you, Mr, Chairman, for your kindness." 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
DIED IN 
 13 1 
 
 Ll/ . 
 
 ^/ . 
 
 '^)^ 
 
 w./WJ' 
 
 p 
 
 
 .^^, 
 
 ■^ 
 
 WHEN SYNDICATISM WAS KILLED 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 FREEDMAN IMBROGLIO CONTINUED AN ELECTION THAT DID 
 
 NOT ELECT BUT WAS MADE TO SERVE AN IMPORTANT 
 PURPOSE ^A LEGAL OPINION BY THE HON. THOS. B. 
 
 ''^^''- 1901-02 
 
 THE premature publication of the article on "The 
 Trust Scheme " created a profound sensation. My 
 speech in the Convention did not pour oil upon the 
 troubled waters. The entire Base Ball world was stirred 
 to its depths. The would-be Syndicate had to do some- 
 thing to turn back the tide of public indignation sweeping 
 in from all quarters. The press of the whole country had 
 gone into a discussion of the subject. Everywhere the 
 scheme was denounced as outrageous; and so the Trust 
 was forced to emerge from the cover into which its mem- 
 bers had crept when the storm broke. The first sound 
 from that quarter was the bland announcement that the 
 Convention was prevented from transacting its customary 
 business by the deadlock occasioned by Mr. Spalding's 
 efforts to have himself elected President of the League! 
 I met this charge by inviting members of the press to 
 meet me at my hotel, where I told them such facts as were 
 pertinent to the situation. I said to them that I was not 
 in any sense a candidate for the office of President of the 
 National League ; that I didn't want it, and that if elected 
 I would resign unless Andrew Preedman got out at once! 
 After the publication of the interviews growing out 
 315 
 
316 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 of this meeting, the Convention got down to business and 
 occupied its sessions in voting a tie of four votes each for 
 Mr. N. E. Young, as President-Secretary-Treasurer of 
 the League, and four for myself. The monotonous details 
 of the prolonged sessions of the Convention at this date 
 have lost their interest. Suffice to say that twenty-five 
 ballots were taken without result, when representatives of 
 the four Trust clubs left the hall without adjournment or 
 permission. Mr. N. E. Young, President of the League, 
 retired soon after, first instructing the stenographer to 
 take no further notes of anything that might subsequently 
 transpire. 
 
 It was at this time, about 1 o'clock a. m., December 
 12th, 1901, that friends of the League administered a 
 restorative which caused the sick patient to " sit up and 
 take notice," while that part of the American public inter- 
 ested in the subject of Base BaU looked on with renewed 
 excitement. It seems that during the preceding session, 
 and prior to the withdrawal of the Trust delegates, Mr. 
 Rogers, representing the Philadelphia Club, had been 
 asked to preside. Now, on motion, that gentleman was 
 recalled to the chair. 
 
 From this time on the proceedings were characterized 
 by the most perfect harmony, and business was dispatched 
 without delays of any kind. A teller being needed to take 
 the place of Mr. Knowles, who had left the hall, Mr. 
 Hurst, the stenographer, was appointed to that office. 
 
 Upon the calling of the roll for the twenty-sixth 
 ballot, Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Brooklyn 
 voted for A. G. Spalding for President-Secretary-Treas- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 317 
 
 urer. There being no response to the call of the clubs 
 of New York, Boston, Cincinnati and St. Louis, the Chair 
 declared that Albert G. Spalding, having received four 
 votes as President-Secretary-Treasurer — and there being 
 no votes against him — ^was duly elected to succeed Mr. 
 N. E. Young. 
 
 The Convention then took a recess, at 1.30 a. m., to 
 reconvene next day at 2 p. m. 
 
 After my rhetorical effort of the preceding day, I 
 had withdrawn from the Convention hall and devoted the 
 afternoon to newspaper interviewers, who were in evi- 
 dence by the score, until dinner hour, following which, 
 wearied with the trying incidents of the day, I went to 
 bed. About 2 o'clock a. m., Messrs. Reach, Rogers and 
 Hart called me up, asking : 
 
 "Have you heard the news.""' 
 
 "Why, no. What news?" 
 
 "You've been unanimously elected President-Secre- 
 tary-Treasurer of the League." 
 
 "Have I.'' What wrought the miracle.'"' 
 
 The case was then fully explained to me, and the 
 humor of the situation was at once borne in upon my 
 mind. Here was I, " unanimously elected " by four votes 
 in an organization that had eight votes, four of which 
 were absent without leave. 
 
 Catching the spirit of what now seemed to me a huge 
 joke, I determined, in the interest of Base Ball, to seize 
 the advantage, and play the political game for all there 
 was in it. If I was President-Secretary-Treasurer — the 
 Pooh Bah of the League — certainly I was entitled to the 
 
318 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 records, the treasures, the archives of that body. More- 
 over, I had been disturbed in the midst of pleasant dreams. 
 Why should the gentleman — my opponent — who imagined 
 himself in possession of all the offices in the Base Ball 
 kingdom, be permitted longer to rest in the solace of that 
 delusive dream? Therefore, at about 4 a. m., I repaired 
 to the hotel where Mr. Young and his son, Robert, were 
 domiciled, and first broke in upon the slumbers of the 
 younger Young. I told him that affairs were becoming 
 very serious in the National League. , 
 
 " Oh, yes," he said, " I know it. Father is nearly 
 dead, Mr. Spalding. He can't stand another day like 
 this. He's all broken up." 
 
 " But," said I, " to-day's nothing to what to-morrow 
 will be. I've been unanimously elected President of the 
 League, and I'm going to raise Cain to-morrow. Where's 
 your father.? " 
 
 " He's in the next room. I'll call him." 
 
 The elder Young soon appeared, rubbing his eyes. He 
 had been in a turmoil of confusion for several days, and 
 had just fallen asleep. He certainly looked ten years 
 older than \vhen he had arrived from Washington. I felt 
 heartily sorry for the old gentleman, and a bit ashamed 
 of myself for disturbing him. I then explained the situa- 
 tion to father and son, and demanded possession of the 
 trunk containing the "archives." I showed Mr. Young 
 that it would at once relieve him of further annoyance and 
 anxiety; that I was in fact the only genuine dyed-in-the- 
 wool executive of the League, and that the papers followed 
 the office. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 319 
 
 But Mr. Young seemed to be no more thoroughly con- 
 vinced than was I of the legitimacy of my claim. That 
 he was willing to be relieved of the ofBce, with all its multi- 
 plied titles and cares and responsibilities, I felt absolutely 
 certain; but how would he explain to the League if- he 
 gave up the papers to a false claimant.? What could he 
 do if the courts should find him guilty of having turned 
 over the " archives " to an impostor ? He was willing, 
 however, to give the trunk over to the keeping of his son, 
 Robert, to be held in trust by. him until my title should 
 be made clearer. I saw that further argument would be 
 wasted upon the old gentleman, and went away. But I 
 didn't go far away. I only went as far as my hotel. 
 Securing the services of a burly porter, whom I knew I 
 could trust, I told him to follow me to the Fifth Avenue 
 Hotel, and, at a signal, to take a trunk that I would point 
 out to him and convey it to my quarters. I then returned 
 to Robert's room, and while in the midst of a most vigor- 
 ous plea in behalf of the father's peace of mind, showing 
 how the strenuosity of the situation was wearing him to 
 a frazzle, my friend, the porter, bore away the trunk with 
 its more or less valuable contents. 
 
 I was now quite prepared to carry out the program 
 of grim humor thus successfully inaugurated. Therefore, 
 when the time came to reconvene, after recess, I was pres- 
 ent at the Convention room. I saw that representatives 
 from all the loyal clubs were on hand, and I also observed 
 Mr. Knowles (representing the New York Club with Mr. 
 Freedman) present in the corridor outside the door, evi- 
 dently watching things. I asked Mr. Rogers to bring the 
 
320 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 meeting to order and call me to the chair. He did so. I 
 didn't lose much time. I was afraid Knowles might get 
 away, and I needed him in my business for a few moments. 
 I then made one of the briefest addresses of my life. I 
 said: 
 
 "Gentlemen, I accept this ofHce, Thanks. Call the 
 roll." 
 
 The calling of the roll elicited responses from Chicago, 
 Philadelphia, Pittsburg and Brooklyn. I said New York 
 had a representative present, but not responding to the 
 call. I should recognize Mr. Knowles, who was standing 
 outside, as present, constituting a quorum. We then pro- 
 ceeded with the regular business, which was soon trans- 
 acted. During the progress of this session I stepped to 
 the door and accosted Mr. Knowles, urging him to come 
 closer to the Chair, as I found it difficult to make my 
 voice heard at so great a distance. Mr. Knowles stuttered 
 and stammered a few words of denial that he was present 
 as a delegate, and then shot down stairs at a gait that 
 would have enabled me to play checkers on his coat-tails 
 had I been interested to pursue him. 
 
 The newspapers were by this time full of the all-en- 
 grossing subject. All I had to do was to speak four 
 words to a reporter, and it was good for a column in his 
 paper. A sentence was sufficient for a page of Base Ball 
 literature. On the morning following my induction into 
 office I was besieged by an army of reporters. 
 
 " What are you going to do next ? " 
 
 "What about Freedman.?" 
 
 "How are you going to get rid of Freedman?" 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 321 
 
 These were a few among hundreds of similar interrog- 
 atories forced upon me. I told the reporters that I 
 would call another meeting for next day, to be open to 
 the public, to which I would issue a challenge to Andrew 
 Freedman to appear and engage with me in an open 
 discussion of the Base Ball situation. I would then show 
 them how Mr. Freedman was to be disposed of. " In the 
 meantime," I added, " Mr. Freedman is out of it. I have 
 read him out." 
 
 Next day all newspaperdom was on hand — and then 
 some. I called the meeting to order, explained that it 
 was not a regular League affair, but a meeting at which 
 Mr. Freedman and I were to engage in a joint debate 
 concerning League matters. I then asked Mr. Freedman 
 to come forward. There was no response. 
 
 "Has anyone seen Mr. Freedman?" I asked. "Have 
 you seen him.'' " I said to a prominent newspaper man. 
 
 " Not on your life," was the reply. 
 
 " Will somebody kindly step to the doorway and ascer- ^ 
 tain if Mr. Freedman is awaiting an invitation to come 
 in.?" 
 
 Those present smiled, then grinned, then laughed, then 
 shouted. 
 
 Very seriously I explained my great surprise and dis- 
 appointment that the President of the New York Club was 
 not present to represent the cause of the proposed new 
 Base Ball Trust. Doubtless something serious must have 
 occurred to prevent him from taking advantage of such 
 a splendid opportunity to exploit his enterprise. How- 
 ever, I felt that, being there, I ought to say something in 
 
322 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 behalf of a game its enemies were seeking to kill. I did 
 say something. 
 
 But Andrew had not been napping. As I was about 
 to leave the room, a dapper little fellow took hold of 
 my coat sleeve and handed me a paper of portentous 
 appearance. 
 
 "What's this.?" I demanded. 
 
 "It's a summons, Mr. Spalding. You've been 
 enjoined." 
 
 I tossed the paper over to my lawyer, with the remark, 
 " Now, it's up to you," and left the room. How I dodged 
 the minions of the law during the next two months, to 
 prevent being dragged before the courts, would not be of 
 public interest, and is therefore omitted from these remi- 
 niscences. 
 
 I may be pardoned, however, for referring to an inci- 
 dent in connection with this case which occurred at that 
 time. Hon. Thomas B. Reed, the great statesman and 
 parliamentarian, had established an oiEce in New York. 
 I called upon him for counsel. Like most great men, he 
 was a lover of our national game, and I found him deeply 
 interested in the controversy then waging in New York. 
 He had kept close watch of proceedings and needed not 
 much in the way of explanation when I came to state the 
 case. I said to him: 
 
 "Mr. Reed, I have come to consult you profession- 
 ally. I want to present a case for your consideration, 
 and then ask your opinion as to two points." After 
 briefly going over the facts as they were, referring to my 
 election and to my ruling as to Knowles, I asked : 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 323 
 
 "First — Am I President of the National League? 
 
 " Second-^Was I within the practice of parliamen- 
 tary usage in counting a quorum under the circum- 
 stances ? " 
 
 The great lawyer had a merry twinkle in his eye as 
 he replied: 
 
 "Mr. Spalding, I will answer your second question 
 first. You were unquestionably within strict parliamen- 
 tary practice in counting Mr. Knowles as present. I 
 recall an even more deeply strained case in my own experi- 
 ence. The opposition were filibustering over a measure 
 in the House and seeking to obstruct business by breaking 
 the quorum. They thought they had practically suc- 
 ceeded; but from where I stood I was facing a mirror so 
 placed that clearly reflected in it was the image of a 
 member from Arkansas. We needed just that one vote 
 for a quorum. Upon roll-call, when the gentleman's name 
 was reached, and the Clerk was about to mark him absent 
 because of no response, I demanded that he be counted 
 as present. I could see him all the time, marching back ■ 
 and forth in the corridor. Objection was made to the 
 effect that the member was absent and could not be 
 counted. Some controversy arose, which attracted the 
 curiosity of the man outside. I watched him closely. He 
 approached nearer and yet nearer. Finally, he stuck his 
 head inside the opening and, quick as flash, I turned and 
 shouted, 'There he is, now.' Before he could catch the 
 point and dodge away he had been seen by half the 
 members present. Mr. Spalding, your ruling was per- 
 fectljr correct. But," he added, with a laugh, " You are 
 
324 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 no more President of the National League than am I. 
 My knowledge of arithmetic does not enable me to make 
 four votes a majority in an organization the total voting 
 force of which is eight." 
 
 I was now regularly, legally and most emphatically 
 enjoined from acting as President-Secretary-Treasurer of 
 the League, and this condition lasted throughout the 
 winter. Nothing could possibly be done in the way of 
 perfecting arrangements for next season's play. In New 
 York State I couldn't even express an opinion on the sub- 
 ject of Base Ball without being in contempt of court. 
 I therefore spent most of my time in other States, where, 
 without contempt of court, I could express my contempt 
 of all men and all measures calculated to injure the game. 
 
 Finally, it became absolutely necessary to do some- 
 thing. The time when ball games ripen was nearly at 
 hand, and the sport was restrained with me. I sent for 
 Mr. Hart, then President of the Chicago Club, to visit 
 me at my home at Point Loma, California. Upon his 
 arrival he gave me satisfactory assurances that Mr. 
 Freedman was ready to step down and out so soon as it 
 could be made to appear that he was not forced out 
 " under fire," as he expressed it. I told Mr. Hart that, 
 if he was positive such an arrangement could be brought 
 about, I would place in his hands my resignation, to be 
 used at such time as would be most desirable for the ends 
 aimed at. Armed with my resignation from an office to 
 which I had never been legally elected, Mr. Hart returned. 
 Mr. Freedman soon sold his interests in the New York 
 Club to Mr. John T. Brush, and the incident was closed. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 325 
 
 I have been informed that Mr. Freedman subsequently 
 declared that he had won the battle ; that " Spalding had 
 been defeated in his aspirations to become President of 
 the National League." 
 
 In view of the fact that I never wanted the Presi- 
 dency of the League; in view of the further fact that I 
 would not have accepted it save as a sure expedient for 
 ridding the game of Freedmanism; in view of the still 
 further fact that I repeatedly declared that if elected I 
 would resign as soon as Freedmanism was eliminated by 
 the ousting of Freedman; in view of the most important 
 fact of all, that Andrew Freedman did get out, thereby 
 making " Freedmanism " impossible, I am quite willing to 
 let those interested in the great American game decide as 
 to who won the battle. 
 
 If anyone needs any aid in arriving at a decision, the 
 following among many similar paragraphs from a few of 
 the leading papers of the country published at the time 
 may serve the purpose: 
 
 Editorial from the New York Evening World, Decem- 
 ber 17, 1901 : 
 
 " The Evening World violates no confidences in making the state- 
 ment thai the public is saying to A. G. Spalding, 'More strength to 
 your arm!' in his efforts to put Andrew Freedman out of the Base 
 Ball business for keeps." 
 
 Editorial in the Boston Evening Record, December 
 
 14, 1901 : 
 
 "A. G. Spalding has been chosen President of the National 
 League. That will mean a good deal for Base Ball according to 
 straight-out business principles and regard for decent methods, 
 because Spalding has made up his mind first of all to get rid of 
 Freedman. The only way to make a fair start is to cut the thing 
 right out at the roots by cutting Freedman out." 
 
326 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Editorial from the Boston Herald, December 18, 1901 : 
 
 " The situation in the National League of Base Ball men is very 
 badly complicated. Those who compose its directions are equally 
 divided, four clubs being on one side and the same number on the 
 other. As regards the right and virong of their respective positions, 
 the division also is about the same. Mr. Spalding, of Chicago, is 
 entirely right in his effort to turn Mr. Freedman, of New York, out 
 of Base Ball direction. Mr. Freedman has been the most serious 
 injury to the sport of any man who ever engaged in it. His influence 
 there has always been malign — in fact, if it continues, it is the opin- 
 ion of the most intelligent men on the subject that he will bring 
 about the ruin of the National League. Mr. Spalding is, therefore, 
 to be applauded and encouraged in his efforts to get rid of 
 Freedman." 
 
 Editorial from Harper's Weekly, December 28, 1901 : 
 
 " A. G. Spalding's election as President of the National League 
 is a distinct forward movement in Base Ball affairs, which have been 
 and are yet in anything but a satisfactory condition. Mr. Spalding' 
 stands for clean sport, and his connection with the national game is 
 so well known that it is superfluous to speak of it in this column. 
 Freedman's influence, on the other hand, has been bad. New York, 
 the greatest sporting city in the world, and loyal to the game to the 
 very core, has been subjected to the most wretched management in 
 its Base Ball affairs. It is unfortunate that Mr. Spalding, upon 
 assuming the Presidency of the National League, must enter upon a 
 law suit, but perhaps matters will straighten out ere the season 
 opens. There is one thing to be remembered, however, and that is: 
 Mr. Spalding will have the American public back of him, which Mr. 
 Freedman, even if triumphant in the legal battle, never can hope 
 for. Without the support of the public success is impossible." 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
Copyright, 1905. by Cbi'-kerin«. 
 
 BYRON BANCROFT JOHNSON 
 
 3 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 FIKST ASSOCIATION OF BASE BALL LEAGUES BAN B. JOHN- 
 SON AND THE NEW AMERICAN LEAGUE THE SUPREME 
 
 COURT OJ" BASE BALL ESTABLISHED DEATH OF HENRY 
 
 CHADWICK. 1900-10 
 
 A LTHOUGH minor leagues had been recognized and 
 Xm. protected long before — the National League having 
 fostered the first Northwestern League, organized in 
 1883 — and the Eastern League, formed in 1884, having 
 received the protection of the National Agreement — and 
 notwithstanding the fact that numerous minor organiza- 
 tions were constantly coming into being, all feeling the 
 need of and seeking protecting care, it was not until early 
 in October, 1901, that the lesser leagues took action to 
 combine for self-protection ; forced to do so, no doubt, by 
 the uncertainty of affairs of the two Major Leagues, 
 which at this time were at each other's throat in a deadly 
 strife. 
 
 The abrogation of the old National Agreement by Mr. 
 Freedman and his confreres at the historical secret Red 
 Bank meeting in 1901 cemented the minor leagues in a 
 closer bond than had theretofore existed, and the forma- 
 tion of " The National Association of Professional Base 
 Ball Leagues," at a postponed meeting held on the 24th, 
 25th and 26th of October, 1901, was therefore most 
 timely and important. 
 
 The objects of the new National Agreement, adopted 
 
330 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 by the association of minor leagues, are set forth as 
 follows : 
 
 " 1. — To perpetuate Base Ball as the National Game of America, 
 and to surround it with such safeguards as to warrant absolute pub- 
 lic confidence in its integrity and methods. 
 
 " 3. — To promote and afford protection to such professional Base 
 Ball leagues and associations as may desire to operate under its 
 provisions." 
 
 As one of its fundamental features, the new Associa- 
 tion provided for a governing body, denominated " The 
 National Board of Arbitration," to consist of five mem- 
 bers, to be chosen by the Leagues represented in the 
 Association. The first members of this Board were: M. 
 H. Sexton, of Rock Island, 111.; J-ames Whitefield, of 
 Kansas City, Mo.; W. H. Lucas, of Portland, Oregon; 
 J. H. O'Rourke, of Bridgeport, Conn.; and T. H. Mur- 
 nane, of Boston, Mass.; with J. H. Farrell, of Auburn, 
 N. Y., acting as Secretary. The first President of this 
 Association was P. T. Powers, a most energetic and com- 
 petent ofiicial. 
 
 In 1902 the new American League, of which Mr. B. 
 B. Johnson was President, determined to drop Baltimore 
 from its circuit and replace it with New York. Conse- 
 quently, since the two big leagues were at war, a raid 
 was made by the American League upon players of the 
 pioneer organization, with the result that no difiiculty 
 was found in capturing a team for the metropolis. Mr. 
 Brush, however, who had bought out Freedman's interest 
 in the New York National League Club, did not believe 
 that the American League could secure available grounds, 
 and he was disposed to temporize with the situation. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 331 
 
 When the National League met in annual session in New 
 York, in December of that year, its members were startled 
 by the announcement that not only had grounds been 
 secured, but that an " all star " team had been signed to 
 play upon these grounds. 
 
 It did not take the managers of the older league long 
 to realize that the time had come for peace with its rival, 
 if peace was possible. Mr. Brush alone of all the club 
 magnates was opposed to treating with the ambitious 
 young league. Mr. Brush, however, was overruled, and 
 a committee was appointed to call upon representatives 
 of the American League, then present in the city, with 
 overtures of peace. As the American League representa- 
 tives were at New York upon another mission, they asked 
 for time to lay the plans for a treaty before their League 
 at a special session to be called for that purpose. The 
 meeting referred to was held early in January, 1903, and 
 a committee with power to act was appointed. The 
 National League committee was retained, but no powers 
 were given it except to confer and report. This resulted 
 in further delay; but finally, after considerable sparring, 
 a treaty of peace was agreed to which was subsequently 
 ratified, and the two major leagues were now in a position 
 to adopt mutual protective rules, which they did, under 
 the title of a New National Agreement, in 1903. 
 
 This agreement was entered into between the National 
 League of Professional Base Ball Clubs and the Ameri- 
 can League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, known as 
 Ma,jor Leagues, as parties of the first part, and the 
 National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues 
 
AUGUST HERRMAXX 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 333 
 
 as party of the second part. The provisions were quite 
 similar to those of the abrogated Agreement originally 
 drafted by Mr. A. G. Mills, under which the National 
 League had so long flourished, except that they also 
 included a most important new feature, in a National 
 Commission, to be composed of President of the National 
 League, President of the American League, and a third 
 member, to be chosen by the two above-mentioned officials. 
 
 The National Commission was to have power to inflict 
 and enforce fines or suspensions or both upon either party 
 to the agreement who are adjudged by it to have violated 
 the terms of the agreement. It was provided that when- 
 ever the National League and the American League shaU. 
 claim the services of the same player the right to the 
 player in controversy shall be established by the Chair- 
 man of the Commission, who alone shall determine and 
 declare the decision. It was provided that in case of con- 
 troversy between a National League Club and a Minor 
 League Club over the same player the case shall be adjudi- 
 cated by the President of the Commission and the repre- 
 sentative of the American League. In case of contention 
 between an American League Club and a Minor League 
 Club the question is to be settled by the President of the 
 Commission and the National League representative. It 
 Was further provided, that in case the Chairman of the 
 Commission and the representative of a League working 
 with him in the adjudication of any case cannot agree, 
 then the decision of the Chairman shall be final. 
 
 The first officials of the National Commission were H. 
 C. PuUiam, President of the National League; B. B. John- 
 
334 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 son, President of the American League ; and August Herr- 
 mann, of the National League, chosen by the others as 
 Chairman of the Commission. These gentlemen served 
 until the death of Mr. PuUiam, in July, 1909, who was 
 succeeded by Thomas J. Lynch, the Commission as at 
 present constituted consisting of Messrs. Herrmann, 
 Lynch and Johnson. 
 
 Most fortunate, indeed, was the selection of August 
 Herrmann as third member of the National Commission. 
 Honest, earnest, ever devoted to the interests of the game, 
 he has brought to bear upon all cases brought before that 
 body for adjudication a mind unprejudiced, a judgment 
 keenly analytical and fair, and a will unswervable from 
 the cause of justice. Much of the credit for the splendid 
 record of the National Commission belongs to August 
 Herrmann, who has stood through his incumbency of a 
 trying position above criticism as an impartial and 
 upright official. It is to be hoped that his services may 
 be long retained as Chairman of the Commission that he 
 has honored. 
 
 Thus has been established a Supreme Court of Base 
 BaU. It has thus far worked admirably. It will con- 
 tinue so to act as long as men are at the head of the 
 National Game who are willing to subordinate personal 
 ends and aggrandizement to the good of the sport. Let 
 us hope that condition will last henceforth and forever — 
 that the people may never lose confidence in this ideal 
 tribunal. 
 
 In the evolution of Base Ball, it took many years for 
 those in control of the game to learn the very simple 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 335 
 
 lesson, known well to every man engaged in commerce, that 
 "competition is the life of trade." It needed just such a 
 man as B. B. Johnson, and just such a League as he 
 has established, to provoke the kind of public interest 
 that now attaches to the game of Base Ball. It requires 
 just such competition as is annually presented in the post- 
 season contests to give zest to the sport. So long as the 
 National League was alone upon the field it occupied a 
 position akin to that of the Old Knickerbockers. Had 
 that ancient organization never encountered opposition, 
 the chances are that there would never have developed 
 a national game. And so it needed the American League, 
 with the Boston Americans' victory of 1903, to make 
 the National League managers realize that they had not 
 all the ball players on earth — that there were others. 
 And when the Chicago White Sox in 1906 again took 
 the national pennant from the pioneer League, it served 
 as nothing else could have done to stimulate interest in 
 the sport in every quarter. Since the two big Leagues 
 are now engaged in a generous rivalry, each conceding 
 that the other has its legitimate place in the fieldj both 
 are to be congratulated that wise counsels have prevailed 
 and that at last a Supreme Court has been established 
 upon sound legal and business bases that promises to 
 simplify the conduct of the game in future by guaran- 
 teeing justice in all cases where arbitration is found 
 necessary. 
 
 The need of co-operation between Leagues Was never 
 better illustrated than during the Freedman contrdversyj 
 The two Leagues were at that time engaged in a fratri- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 337 
 
 cidal war. And yet B. B. Johnson was big enough and 
 broad enough to extend his aid in ridding the game of 
 Freedmanism at that time, and had the full moral support 
 of the American League. A smaller-minded man would 
 have seen in that case an opportunity to twist the knife 
 blade that had been inserted into the body of his rival 
 and helped the enemies of its own household to kill it out- 
 right. But he was not that kind of man. Throughout 
 that entire struggle he stood by me most royally, and I 
 am glad of this opportunity thus publicly to express my 
 appreciation of his unselfish, patriotic efforts to preserve 
 the integrity of our National Game. 
 
 It was not a great while after the coming together 
 of the two big Leagues in a mutual understanding until 
 a series of World's Championship games was proposed. 
 So long as a bitter fight had been in progress this was 
 impossible, of course. But, in 1903, the Boston and 
 Pittsburg teams, winners of the American and National 
 League pennants, respectively, met for an after-season 
 schedule of games. To the very great surprise of the 
 friends of the National League, who, up to that time, 
 had regarded the players of the American League as not 
 in the same class as those of the older organization, 
 Boston took five games to three won by Pittsburg, and 
 immediately the fortunes of the American League 
 advanced by leaps and bounds. The contest of 1903 had 
 established the equality if not the superiority of the 
 players in the new League. 
 
 In 1904 there was no World's Championship series, 
 the New York team, winners of the National League 
 
338 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 pennant, declining, for some reason, to meet the Boston 
 winners of the American League pennant. This fact only 
 sharpened the desire of the public for another contest. 
 The wish was gratified in 1905, when the New York 
 Champions met and defeated the Philadelphia Athletics, 
 of the American League, winning four out of five games 
 played. 
 
 In 1906 the tables were turned, and the Chicago White 
 Sox, of the American League, defeated the Chicago Cubs, 
 of the National League, winning four games to two of 
 the series. The public was now beginning to look upon 
 the World's Championship as a sort of hippodrome, cut 
 and dried, to go one year to one and the next year to 
 the other League. However, Captain Chance, of the 
 Chicago National Cubs, upset that theory by winning 
 the world's series over the Detroit Tigers, of the Amer- 
 ican League, two seasons in succession, capturing pennants 
 in both 1907 and 1908, and the Pittsburg National 
 League Club winning from the Detroit American League 
 Club in 1909, and the Athletic American League Club 
 winning from the Chicago National League Club in 1910. 
 
 Of scarcely less interest than the World's Cham- 
 pionship contests were those between leaders in both the 
 National and American Leagues in 1908, Chicago, New 
 York and Pittsburg teams crowding each other in the 
 National race, and Detroit, Cleveland and Chicago alter- 
 nating throughout the season for the first place in the 
 American League. 
 
 In 1909 the race in the National League was between 
 Pittsburg and Chicago, Pittsburg winning. In the Amer- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 339 
 
 ican League, Detroit, Philadelphia and New York led, 
 Detroit finishing first. 
 
 In 1910 Chicago and New York were at the front, 
 the Cubs winning the National pennant, and in the Amer- 
 ican League the Philadelphia Athletics won from New 
 York. 
 
 It was in- April, 1908, that Henry Chadwick, for 
 more than fifty years connected as a writer on Base Ball 
 matters with publications of New York and Brooklyn, 
 died at his home in the latter city. 
 
 From the time of his arrival in America, at the age 
 of thirteen years, Henry Chadwick was closely identified 
 with our national game. As a lad, he saw it played by 
 its earliest exponents. He was personally acquainted 
 with members of the first Base Ball club ever organized. 
 He knew all the members of the two famous quartets of 
 clubs in New York and Brooklyn. He attended and made 
 records of games played before the first Association of 
 Base Ball Players was formed. He devised the first 
 system of scoring and recording contests on the ball field. 
 
 In young manhood he became an authority on the 
 playing of the game, and was personally instrumental in 
 the working out of many improvements in the game itself. 
 Aside from his acknowledged gifts as a writer of pure and 
 forceful English, Mr. Chadwick possessed a peculiar 
 penchant for statistics. To this attribute of Mr. Chad- 
 wick more than to any other source is attributable the 
 perfectly accurate records covering the entire professional 
 field and for which the game is to-day indebted. 
 
 But it was not to Mr. Chadwick's love for Base Ball, 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 341 
 
 great as it was ; not to his ability as a writer, forceful and 
 graceful as his literary efforts were ever acknowledged to 
 be; not to his accuracy as a statistician, perfect as were 
 his achievements along those lines ; but to his indomitable 
 energy and sublime courage in behalf of the integrity of 
 Base Ball that our national game is most indebted for 
 its high standing in the estimation of the American people. 
 Coming upon the stage of action at a time when the 
 gambling and pool-selling evils were threatening its very 
 life, he threw himself with all the force of an ardent nature 
 into the struggle. He saw the managers of the early asso- 
 ciations temporizing with the abuses referred to, encour- 
 aging them by continued toleration; but never for an 
 instant did he falter in his demands for a clean game. He 
 made enemies by the hundreds ; he received the personal 
 abuse of unscrupulous newspapers and their correspond- 
 ents; he called upon his head the anathemas of all who 
 were guilty, and the sneers and jibes of the weak and 
 vacillating. He demanded the eradication of gambling. 
 He exhorted strict temperance in the ranks of all ball 
 players and advocated extreme measures in dealing with 
 habitual inebriates. He insisted upon fair treatment of 
 umpires, seeking always the enactment of rigid rules pro- 
 tecting them against rowdies, whether on the field, in 
 grandstand or on bleachers. During the early evolution 
 and development of the game, he was for many years 
 Chairman of the Committees on Rules in the leading 
 Associations. In that position his efforts were uniformly 
 for rules looking to the upbuilding of an edifice of sport 
 that should withstand the shocks of all time. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 343 
 
 As to his personality, I was for many years intimately 
 associated with him and knew the fine old gentleman well. 
 I cannot better express my estimate of him now than I 
 did at the time of his death in these closing words of my 
 contribution to his memorial tributes : 
 
 "I don't believe he had an enemy in the world, and I 
 am sure I voice the sentiments of everyone interested in 
 Base Ball and clean athletic sports when I say that he was 
 an honor to the game he loved so well and for which he 
 did so much." 
 
 April, 1909, witnessed the unveiling in Greenwood 
 Cemetery of the monument erected to the memory of this 
 fine old gentleman. It is a beautiful stone, and for ages 
 will tell the story of how a good man's worth is esteemed 
 by those who knew it and felt its influence. 
 
 The following, from the pen of John B. Foster, 
 appeared in the New York Evening Telegram of April 
 22, 1909: 
 
 " On the eastern side of Greenwood Cemetery, near the driveway 
 which circles from the Ninth Avenue entrance, is the grave of Henry 
 Chadwick, the ' Father of Base Ball.' 
 
 " The plot is in a newer portion of the beautiful burying ground. 
 The trees have not begun to grow above it yet, but the flowers have, 
 and there are banks of pansies and violets around the mound under- 
 neath which sleeps the dead writer. 
 
 "Organized Base Ball, and the men who are connected with 
 organized Base Ball, contributed to the monument to the dead. Yes- 
 terday it was unveiled. "Very appropriately, the unveiling was done 
 by Miss Leonora V. Caylor, daughter of another veteran writer on 
 the national game, O. P. Caylor, formerly of the editorial staff of 
 the New York Herald and also of that of the Cincinnati Commercial 
 Tribune and the old Sporting Times. 
 
 "The monument which has been erected to the memory of Mr. 
 Chadwick is a plain and simple gray granite shaft, quite massive in 
 dimensions. On its top there is a huge Base Ball carved in granite 
 and on three sides of the shaft there are bronze tablets which tell 
 
344 
 
 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 the story of his life and the story of the sport toward which he con- 
 tributed so much. One tablet gives his age and across it, in letters 
 which will last ages, there is the well-known inscription, ' Father of 
 Base Ball.' The other tablets show bats crossed with the mask and 
 tlie glove, which are part of the implements of the national pastime. 
 
 "Mrs. Chadwick, who is ninety years of age, was present yes- 
 terday with her daughters and listened to the ceremoni s at the side 
 of the grave. The Re%'. Dr. T. E. Potterton, of the Church of Our 
 Father, began with prayer, after which Miss Caylor pulled the cord 
 which held a national flag in folds over the monument. Jlr. William 
 Hudson, of the Brooklyn Eagle editorial staff, a personal friend of 
 the dead writer, delivered the oration, and Charles H. Ebbets, Presi- 
 dent of the Brooklyn Base Ball Club, in behalf of organized Base 
 Ball, presented the monument to Mrs. Chadwick. 
 
 "Miss Florence Richter, daughter of the editor of Sporting Life, 
 designed the monument, which was warmly praised by those who were 
 present ye'';erday at the dedication ceremonies." 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 ■ BASE BALL IN COLLEGES, ACADEMIES AND PUBLIC SCHOOLS 
 
 FIRST KECOJBDED INTERCOLLEGIATE GAME BASE BALL 
 
 AND EDUCATION GO HAND IN HAND NOTABLE EEUNION 
 
 OP OLD COLLEGIANS AND PROEESSIONALS. 
 
 1859-1910 
 
 WITH Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes declaring that he 
 played a game called Base Ball while at college — 
 and he graduated at Harvard in 1829 — and from other 
 published facts, it is certain that the game (then gener- 
 ally known as "Town Ball" or the Massachusetts game 
 of Base Ball) was known in the leading colleges many 
 years before the breaking out of the Civil War. But the 
 first recorded intercollegiate game took place in 1859, 
 just two years before the struggle of the 60's began. 
 
 This game was between Amherst and Williams, and 
 was played at Pittsfield on July 1, and was won by 
 Amherst by a score of 66 to 32. There are now hanging 
 in the Amherst College trophy room the two balls which 
 were used in this game, which bear the following inscrip- 
 tion : " The veritable balls used in the first game of inter- 
 collegiate Base Ball ever played, July 1, 1859, Amherst 
 vs. Williams, won by Amherst." 
 
 This is how it came about. At a meeting of the col- 
 lege, directly after morning prayers, at which Mr. Sneed, 
 of the senior class, presided, Mr. Clafiin made a motion 
 that " Amherst challenge Williams to a friendly game of 
 
 345 
 
346 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 ball, to be played at some intermediate spot on or before 
 July 4th," which was passed by a strong majority. A 
 committee was appointed of J. T. Claflin, senior class; 
 Walker, junior class; H. D. Hyde, sophomore, and T. 
 Tomson, freshman, to make arrangements for the game. 
 A challenge was immediately sent and accepted for thir- 
 teen picked men of each college to meet on June 27th. A 
 delegation from Williams was to meet that from Amherst 
 at Chester Factories and draw up the rules and regu- 
 lations for the game. Mr. Hyde, of Amherst, met the 
 two Williams delegates, but nothing was agreed on. On 
 Mr. Hyde's return, negotiations were carried on by mail 
 for two weeks, till at last it was amicably settled that each 
 party should use its own ball, and it must always be 
 caught on the fly, sixty-five runs to be the limit of the 
 game. The Pittsfield Base Ball Club offered its grounds 
 for the game, and July 1st was appointed as the date. 
 
 There was to be but one drawback to the game. All 
 Williams College was to be present, including the faculty, 
 while Amherst allowed only the players to go. 
 
 It is interesting to note the manner of selecting the 
 team for this game. The men were " chosen by ballot 
 from the students at large." There was no long period 
 of daily practice and no elimination from the squad at 
 various times. 
 
 On Thursday afternoon Amherst's seventeen picked 
 men started for Pittsfield. They arrived in Pittsfield 
 eager for battle. Soon the Williams boys began pouring 
 into town until it seemed as if Williams must be deserted. 
 Old men and women, young men and maidens, proprietors 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 347 
 
 of female schools with their pupils — the great square of 
 the ball ground was surrounded five or six deep. 
 
 The appearance of the teams on the field must have 
 been very amusing, although there was some attempt at 
 uniformity of dress, as "the Williams team were all 
 dressed alike and wore belts marked Williams, but the 
 appearance of the Amherst team was decidedly undress. 
 The only attempt at a uniform was the blue ribbon which 
 each man had pinned on his breast." 
 
 It seems that the question of professionalism entered 
 even into the first game, as it was " rumored that the 
 Amherst thrower was the professional blacksmith who had 
 been hired for the occasion." A bystander remarked that 
 "the story must be true, as nobody but a blacksmith 
 could possibly throw for three and a half hours as he did." 
 
 The Amherst ball weighed two and one-half ounces 
 and was about six inches in circumference. It was made 
 by Henry Hebard, of North Brookfield, and was con- 
 sidered a work of art at the time. 
 
 The Williams ball was about seven inches in circum- 
 ference, weighed about two ounces, and was covered with 
 light colored leather, so as to make it seen with difliculty 
 by the batters. 
 
 About 11 o'clock the game started, with Amherst hav- 
 ing the first inning, and at the end of the second round the 
 score stood : Amherst, 1 ; Williams, 9. This success 
 called out from the Williams students a long, universal 
 clapping and cheering whenever one of their comrades 
 gained a tally. Amherst grew desperate and at the end 
 of the third round stood even; at the end of the fourth 
 
-^2, . - - - 
 
 NOT LIKE THIS IN THE OXDEN TIME 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 349 
 
 round Amherst led, and continued to do so until the end 
 of the game, sometimes having three tallies to one for 
 Williams. 
 
 After four hours of steady playing, in which twenty- 
 six rounds had been played, with no intermission and with ■ 
 unabated interest on the part of the spectators, the game 
 was decided finished, and Amherst was declared the winner 
 by the score of 66 to 32. 
 
 The batting order of the teams was as follows : 
 
 AMHERST TALLIES 
 
 J, T. Claflin (C.) 7 
 
 E. W. Pierce 5 
 
 S. J. Storrs 7 
 
 P. E. Tower 7 
 
 M. B. Cushman 4? 
 
 J. A. Evans 5 
 
 E. W. Fenn 6 
 
 H. D. Hyde, thrower. . . 4 
 
 J. A. Leach 5 
 
 H. C. Roome 5 
 
 H. Gridley 5 
 
 T. Tomson 6 
 
 L. R. Smith, Umpire. 
 
 / 
 
 WILLIAMS TALLIES 
 
 H.S.Anderson (C.) 2 
 
 H. T. C. Nichols 2 
 
 R. E. Beecher 3 
 
 J. E. Bush 4. 
 
 J. H. Knox 4. 
 
 S. W. Pratt, M 2 
 
 A. J. Quick 3 
 
 B. F. Hastings 4 
 
 J. L. Mitchell 3 
 
 C. E. Simmons 4 
 
 G. P. Blagden 1 
 
 H. B. Fitch 
 
 G. A. Parker 
 
 C. R. Taft, Umpire. 
 
 Referee, W. R. Plunkett, President Pittsficl/ Base 
 Ball Club. 
 
 In his interesting book, "Old Boston Boys and the 
 Games They Played," published in 1908 by Brown, Little 
 & Co., Boston, Mr. James d'Wolf Lovett writes: "About 
 
350 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 this time we lent our aid to the class of '66 in organizing 
 the first club at Harvard under the New York rules." This 
 would seem to indicate that theretofore, in common with 
 most other clubs in that section, Harvard had been play- 
 ing under the New England rules, which differed mater- 
 ially from the New York game under the Knickerbocker 
 rules. 
 
 Continuing, upon the same subject, Mr. Lovett says: 
 " The prime movers in starting this game at Harvard were 
 George Flagg, Frank Wright, Arthur Hunnewell, Tom 
 Nelson, Eugene Greenleaf, Frank Harris, Ned Sprague, 
 George Parker, Putnam Abercrombie, Charles Fiske and 
 others. Thus was the pioneer Base Ball club of Harvard 
 College duly organized." 
 
 We may safely assume that all the colleges of the New 
 England States knew the game before the Civil War 
 period, and that those of all the Atlantic States had teams 
 soon after the struggle, in the furore for Base Ball that 
 followed upon its heels. The statistical columns of the 
 Guides contain the records of the hard-fought contests of 
 every year since the game has been established in the great 
 educational institutions of the land. Every season has 
 witnessed fine exhibitions in contests between college 
 teams, and not a few of the best League professionals have 
 graduated from colleges to enter the game as a vocation. 
 
 There are now fully half a hundred or more regularly 
 organized teams in connection with the leading Univer- 
 sities of this country. Among them are Alabama, Amherst, 
 Arkansas, Army, Beloit, Brown, Bucknell, Carlisle, Chi- 
 cago, Columbia, Cornell^ Dartmouth, DePauw, Fordham, 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 351 
 
 Georgia, Georgetown, Harvard, Holy Cross, Illinois, 
 Indiana, Lafayette, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Navy, 
 New York, Northwestern, of Evanston, 111. ; North- 
 western, of Watertown, Wis. ; Pennsylvania, Prince- 
 ton, Purdue, Rochester, Seton Hall, Southern California, 
 Syracuse, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wash- 
 ington and Jefferson, Washington State, Wesleyan, West 
 Virginia, Westminster, Williams and Yale. 
 
 That education and Base Ball go hand in hand had 
 notable exemplification at Boston in the fall of 1908. The 
 story, as given below, is from Boston papers : 
 {The Globe, Sunday, September 20, 1908.) 
 "OLD-TIMERS WILL HAVE GREAT GAME. 
 
 " PROrESSIOKALS AND COLLEGE MEN TO WEAR OLD TTNIFOKMS NOVEL OATH- 
 
 ERING TO BE HELD THURSDAY. 
 
 " One of the old masters would have the opportunity of a life- 
 time could he come back to this mundane sphere for but one after^ 
 noon, next Thursday, and sketch the animated picture that will be 
 presented at the American League Ball Park, when members of the 
 old-time Boston National League world-beaters will meet for a 
 friendly bout their old college rivals. Then the crimson of Harvard, 
 the blue of old Yale, with the green of Dartmouth, will meet in a 
 kaleidoscope of color. 
 
 " This first meeting of old professionals with genuine college 
 amateurs will be a red-letter day in the history of our national 
 pastime. 
 
 " The professionals will wear the same style and color of uni- 
 forms worn by the Boston Club in the 70s, while the collegians will 
 appear once more in the same style and color of the uniforms worn 
 by the rah rah boys during their days in college. 
 
 " No player will be. allowed to take part in the game who has 
 played ball for the last twenty years, while age or early service will 
 be no handicap to a player taking part in the mighty contest. In 
 fact, the more ancient, the more honor and glory for the individual. 
 
 "John F. Morrill, famous in his day as a player, captain, and 
 finally manager of the Boston Club, has given much time to make the 
 event a success. 
 
OUE CHOICE 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 353 
 
 " Among those sure to be here for the game will be A. G. Spald- 
 ing, who pitched nearly every game for the Boston Champions during 
 the first five years of their existence, and who was one of the original 
 members of the club in 1871. 
 
 " Mr. Spalding arrived East from California last Thursday, and 
 wired at once from New York to Mr. Morrill, sending his measure- 
 ment for a uniform for the occasion. 
 
 " George Wright, one of the original members of the team, is 
 due to arrive in Boston from California to-day and should be in 
 good shape to enter the contest. 
 
 " James H. O'Rourke, a. second-year member of the team, still 
 playing ball, has accepted the invitation to join the old fellows, 
 objecting, however, to being considered an old-timer. 
 
 "John Manning, who started out with the team in '74, as young 
 as ever, is already on the ground working for new glory. 
 
 " Harry Schafer, one of the original third-base men, will be 
 there in his old-time style, as young as ever in mind and heart. 
 
 " Frank Whitney, a member of the '76 team, will come on from 
 Nev/ York. Among others who have promised to be on hand wear- 
 ing the grand army badges of the old Boston Club will be Jerry 
 Hurley, William Haws, Robert Wheelock, John O'Rourke and 
 Thomas Bond, one of the really great pitchers of the country for 
 Boston for several years. Charley Snyder from Washington, Murtie 
 Hackett, Dr. Thomas Gunning from Fall River, Thomas McCarthy, 
 one of the real kings of the diamond, John Burdock, if possible, and 
 several others. As guests John M. Ward and John Chapman will be 
 on hand. Among those who will take a long chance v;ill be the writer. 
 
 "Col. Sam Winslow has full charge of the college end of the 
 •meeting, and reports everything going along swimmingly. The colonel 
 was a prime favorite at Harvard about '85, when the old college had 
 a ball team that made the boys sit up and take notice. Walter I. 
 Badger, the old Yale second baseman; William Coolidge, who covered 
 second for Harvard at the same time, and Fred Thayer, the captain 
 of the great Harvard team of '77, have lined up the old guard from 
 their colleges in the most enthusiastic manner. Bigelow Carter and 
 A. Hubbard will wear the blue once more on the ^all field, J. Rollins 
 of Tech, and the greatest amateur catcher of his time, George Rich- 
 ardson, and a large number of college men will be out to offer their 
 services to make the meeting a grand, all-round success. 
 
 . " The gate receipts will go to charity, and Col. Benton and Col. 
 George B. Billings have given much of their valuable time to make 
 the event one long to be remembered. 
 
354 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 "A banquet at the Algonquin Club after the strenuous day's 
 work is down on the program, where the old games will be won over 
 again and Base Ball made better for the meeting of the men who 
 were instrumental in building up a national sport." 
 
 (Boston Transcript, September 25, 1908.) 
 
 " AN HONEST OLD-TIME GAME. 
 
 " PROFESSIONALS DEFEAT AMATEURS OR COLLEGIANS IN BASE BALL CONTEST 
 OF EXCEPTIONAL CHARACTER SUCCESSFUL BANQUET IN THE EVENING. 
 
 " There was nothing of the burlesque order in the remarkable 
 game of Base Ball played on the Huntington Avenue grounds yes- 
 terday by forty-three old-time professional and amateur players. It 
 was a game in which men famous on the diamond in the seventies and 
 eighties took part, and by instinct their old cunning, dulled a bit by 
 long lack of practice, came back to them for the afternoon, and 
 ••hey played the best Base Ball of which they were capable. For 
 seven innings men with gray hair, men with little hair at all, men 
 grown rotund and men grown thin, assumed the old Base Ball gait, 
 laid for infield and outfield flies, and handled the willow at the bat 
 as only men to the diamond born can. For six innings the score ran 
 evenly, the amateurs, or collegians, getting two runs in the first, 
 the professionals one in the third and two in the fourth, and the 
 amateurs tying the score in the sixth with two more runs added to 
 the one they had pounded out in the fifth. In the seventh inning the 
 professionals fell on Smith, Harvard, '86, and by timely work at the 
 bat secured two runs. As the amateurs were blanked in that inning 
 and the game was called, the final score was: Professionals 7, 
 Amateurs 5. 
 
 " Practically every one of the celebrities of decades ago who had 
 promised to take part showed up. To mention all the achievements 
 and past affiliations of each would require columns of space; suffice 
 it that A. G. Spalding, who used to pitch for Boston thirty-seven 
 years ago and probably is the best known man in the Base Ball 
 world, was there, and, in a clean white flannel uniform occupied the 
 pitcher's box for several innings. Next to him was Colonel Samuel 
 E. Winslow, who w^s captain of the Harvard team of '85, which took 
 the collegiate champiqnship by winning twenty-six games and losing 
 one; and after him Walter Badger, Yale's old foot ball and Base 
 Ball player of the early eighties. The two latter acted as captains of 
 the amateur teams yesterday. Mr. Badger played throughout the 
 game; but it was Colonel Winslow who received the cheers of the 
 crowd of six thousand people when, the first and only time up at the! 
 bat, he dropped a beauty in short center ai)d made possible the tying 
 
AMERICA'S NAl'IONAL GAME 355 
 
 .'un. He had only one chance in right field and that was to chase a 
 rolling ball clear to the back fence. His throw in was a work of art. 
 
 "The majority of college players were old Harvard men, but 
 there were several from Yale, Dartmouth, M. I. T., Amherst and the 
 University of Iowa. Twenty-seven men were used on their side, while 
 the professionals had sixteen men. Everybody had a crack at the 
 ball or a chance in the field. There were three umpires, Hon. Louis 
 A. Frothingham, candidate for the Republican nomination for lieu- 
 tenant governor and an old Harvard Base Ball captain himself; Hon. 
 James A. Gallivan, another Harvard man, and Joe Kelley, manager of 
 the Boston Nationals. It was odd to note under what rules the old- 
 timers played. They moved the pitcher's box nearer the plate at least 
 ten feet; the pitchers threw an underhand ball; the batsmen called 
 for a high, low or fair ball, and they had to have it; they had a 
 chance to have nine balls called before they took a base; they ran 
 the danger of being out on caught foul tips; and the catchers could 
 catch foul flies on the bounce and still have their man out. Also, 
 to effect a double play, the catcher could drop the ball after a third 
 strike, pick it up, touch the home plate, and then nail a runner 
 between bases, scoring a double play. All of these things, with the 
 personalities and the histories of the players, with men with mega- 
 phones to announce everything, and with the First Corps Cadet Band 
 to break the innings with tunes appropriate to the individual players, 
 made a very interesting afternoon. 
 
 " In the evening a banquet at the Algonquin Club was attended 
 by all of the participants in the game and a few invited guests. 
 Governor Guild and Hon. Louis A. Frothingham were compelled to 
 send letters of regret. Colonel Everett C. Benton, chairman of the 
 committee in charge of the event, introduced Colonel Winslow as 
 toastmaster, and he called on Mr. Spalding for the first speech. The 
 latter said he was glad he had come three thousand miles for the 
 game, for Boston was the only city where such an event could be 
 carried through successfully. He referred to the fact that the 
 national game got its first real start in this city. ' Just as Boston 
 was the cradle of liberty for the Nation, so also was it the cradle in 
 which the infant game was helped to a healthy maturity,' he added. 
 * The work of the early Boston teams, with Harry Wright — God bless 
 him — Messrs. Adams, Porter, George Wright and other Nestors of 
 Base Ball, left its impress for all that is good in the national game. 
 Base Ball is fast getting a foothold in the remote parts of the world, 
 and the time is surely coming when it will be the universal field sport 
 of the world.' 
 
356 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 " John Lowell, the oldest Base Ball player in the party — he was 
 seventy-one years of age July 39 last, and in honor of whom the 
 famous LoweU Base Ball team was named — told of the difficulties 
 the players of those days had in getting practice, and said that the 
 young men in commercial life who played carried their bases 'from 
 the clubhouse in Bowdoin Square to the Common at 5 o'clock in the 
 morning, played until 7 o'clock and then went to their day's work. 
 
 " Samuel J. Elder, Yale, '73, who was the closing speaker of the 
 evening, said that Bate Ball was typically American, just as Cricket 
 was typically English. The two games illustrated in an exceptional 
 manner the habits and the sentiments of the two nations. 
 
 " ' In England the principal Cricket matches in which the cham- 
 pionship of the country is at stake often take three days to finish. 
 They go about it in a leisurely, dignified way, the spectators bringing 
 with them their luncheon, and the players often taking tea during 
 the game. Imagine Mike Kelly or any of the idols of Base BaU 
 taking tea during a game ! In America we have our hour and fifteen 
 or thirty minutes. It is swift, sharp, keen play. It is decisive, and 
 the same fan who hustles from his office, hangs on to the rail of a car, 
 then gets to the game and enters into it with the keenest zest, is in as 
 great a hurry to get home when the game is over. Base Ball is not 
 only a great pastime, but it is a great salvation, just as is anything 
 that gets people out into the open.' 
 
 "Others who spoke were John F. Morrill, Boston, '76-88; George 
 Richardson, Beacon Base Ball Club; Webster Thayer, Dartmouth, 
 '79; C. H. Taylor, Iver W. Adams, first president of the Boston 
 Base Ball Club; Charles Porter, successor to Mr. Adams; Joseph 
 J. Kelley, manager of the Boston Nationals ; Timothy H. Murnane, 
 and Walter I. Badger, Yale, '82." 
 
 All the larger cities have Public School Athletic 
 Leagues, with regular Base Ball organizations auxiliary 
 thereto. The influence of these is being rapidly extended 
 throughout the country, and now many cities of 50,000 
 population and upwards are organizing leagues in the 
 ward schools, playing regularly-scheduled matches for 
 trophies, presented sometimes by local friends and some- 
 times by patrons of the game who are interested in a more 
 general way. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 357 
 
 What the outcome of this new movement may be no 
 one may safely predict. Since the government has 
 endorsed Base Ball as a National Game, to be fostered 
 and encouraged as a means for building up a healthful, 
 contented and well-disciplined Army and Navy; as the 
 national administration has found that it pays to provide 
 bats, balls, bases and all the paraphernalia of the game 
 to our soldiers and sailors, is it too much to expect that 
 the time will come when these concomitants of our national 
 pastime may be regarded as just as essential to the equip- 
 ment of a well-appointed school as globes, maps, chemicals 
 and astronomical apparatus? 
 
 Perhaps the following able editorial from the columns 
 of the Newark, N. J., Evening News, of September 10th, 
 1908, answers the question: 
 
 "BASE BALL FOR BOYS. 
 
 "The Trenton experiment of providing Base Ball for boys under 
 proper supervision is noteworthy because of its success from practi- 
 cally every reasonable point of view. The experiment consisted of 
 devoting a large proportion of one of Trenton's public parks to the 
 use of Trenton's youthful ball players. A large number of '^\3r 
 monds ' were laid out and a fund was provided whereby balls and 
 bats were purchased. Then, to prevent disputes and disorder, 
 umpires were also selected whose judgment could be relied on and 
 whose decisions were final. 
 
 " A Junior Base Ball League was organized and prizes were 
 awarded for the champion players. No less than 153 teams of about 
 a dozen boys each were formed and admitted to this league, and the 
 summer's series of championship games began last June. Out of that 
 number 147 teams completed the series and still remain in the organ- 
 ization, ready and eager to begin another series next summer. Four 
 months ago a majority of the Trenton people would probably have 
 said that not half the Junior League teams would last the season 
 through, but an American boy can no more be separated from Base 
 Ball than he can from the dinner table when he's hungry. 
 
358 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 " This ' boys' movement ' has taken such a firm hold in Trenton 
 that last week 6,000 citizens attended an athletic meet near that 
 city, given for the benefit of the movement, and $1,000 vpas netted 
 with which to promote and maintain the Base Ball fields and other 
 playgrounds next year. And the beauty of it is, that there has been 
 clean, harmless Base Ball under reliable auspices, the boys have beefi 
 kept out of danger, mischief and immoral associations, and the police 
 records show a very marked decrease in the number of juvenile 
 arrests. Not a single arrest for disorder was made during the 
 entire summer at the ball grounds, though many hotly disputed points 
 had to be settled. 
 
 "Trenton boys are exactly like the boys of Other cities. They 
 love Base Ball. If they can't play themselves they will dig holes in 
 the board fences, climb trees, sit astride chimneys and take all man- 
 ner of risks to see others play. If they can't play in the parks they 
 will play in the streets, and if there's no place at home they wiU run 
 away to play. Trenton seems to have successfully solved the problem 
 of what to do for the boys, and is now trying to find out what to do 
 for the girls. It all goes to show that children must play. It is 
 their privilege by nature, by right and by necessity." 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
^'^ ./>? "-y 
 
 *t£S'i 
 
 >m- 
 
 
 
 '^u 
 
 3 
 
 ■'-« 
 
 
 ^^" 
 
 -^a. . ., 
 
 LINCOLX S NOTIFICATIOX 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 BASE BAI/Ii IN AB.MY AND NAVY COMMANDERS-IN-CHIEF 
 
 WHO HAVE HO,NORED THE GAME -EMPLOYED BY THE 
 
 GOVERNMENT FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT AND DISCIPLINE 
 
 OF MEN. 1860-1910 
 
 A TTENTION has been called heretofore tq the bap- 
 jr\. tism of Base Ball as " Our National Game " during 
 ' the Civil War. But even before that unhappy era it held 
 among its devotees one who was soon to become Com- 
 mander-in-Chief of Army and Navy. 
 
 It is recorded that in the year 1860, when the Com- 
 mittee of the Chicago Convention which nominated Abra- 
 ham Lincoln for the Presidency visited his home at 
 Springfield, Illinois, to notify him formally of the event, 
 the messenger sent to apprise him of the coming of the 
 visitors found the great leader out on the commons, 
 engaged in a game of Base Ball. Information of the 
 arrival of the party was imparted to Mr. Lincoln on the 
 ball field. 
 
 "Tell the gentlemen," he said, "that I am glad to 
 know of their coming; but they'll have to wait a few 
 minutes till I make another base hit." 
 
 The authenticity of this incident I have no reason tO' 
 question. The facts as here presented were conveyed to 
 me in a letter under date of December 18th, 1908, from 
 Mr. John F. Morrill, of Boston, which letter is in my pos- 
 session. The truthfulness of the story was further estab- 
 
 361 
 
362 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 lished by another communication from Mr. Waldo M. 
 Claflin, of Philadelphia, who had it from a personal and 
 intimate friend of Mr. Lincoln himself, Mr. Alexander 
 P. Brown, of Philadelphia. 
 
 The interest of former President Roosevelt in ath- 
 letics, and his special predilection for Base Ball, are too 
 recently and too generally known to require emphasis 
 here. While President, Mr. Roosevelt, in his capacity as 
 Commander-in-Chief of Army and Navy, used his official 
 efforts upon frequent occasions to secure the playing of 
 Base Ball at Army and Navy stations, by garrisons and 
 crews, urging that it was the best available means of pre- 
 serving the esprit de corps, and an excellent avenue for the 
 administration of discipline. He has ever stood for Base 
 Ball as the out-of-door game par excellence of the Ameri- 
 can people, and no wonder! For he is himself the very 
 incarnation of all that goes to make a great ball player. 
 
 Quite recent dispatches by the Associated Press report 
 President William H. Taft and Vice-President Sherman 
 as frequent, highly-interested spectators at Base Ball 
 games at the Capital. Here is one of them : 
 
 "Washington, April 19, 1910.— President Taft went to the 
 Base Ball game to-day, saw Washington beaten, 8 to 4, by the Bos- 
 ton Americans, was initiated into the mysteries of the ' spit ball,' 
 shared a five-cent bag of peanuts with Vice-President Sherman, 
 wished hard for Washington to win and said sadly that he hoped he 
 was not a hoodoo. 
 
 " President Taft arrived at the beginning of the second inning. 
 The Vice-President, a dyed-in-the-wood fan, had gone directly to the 
 grounds from the Senate chamber, 
 
 " Mr. Sherman kept a detailed score of the game, supplying the 
 President with such statistical information as he asked for, and 
 caused some one in the party to remark that if he ever lost the job 
 of Vice-President, he might get a place on Ban Johnson's scoring 
 staff. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 363 
 
 "The President was disappointed in Washington's failure to 
 win, but he said he enjoyed the game and hoped to get to the park 
 frequently. 
 
 " The President was the center of interest up to the sixth inning, 
 when Washington got the bases full, with no one out. Then the ruling 
 passion put the chief executive temporarily in eclipse and the faithful 
 rooters nearly yelled their heads off for Delehanty to ' Hit 'er out !' 
 and for Charley Street to ' Biff it in the eye ! ' Two runs resulted 
 from the combination of bats and cheers. 
 
 " Mr. Taft was as interested as all the rest. He knows Base 
 Ball thoroughly and is up on all the finer points of the game. The 
 day was ideal for the national game." 
 
 As long ago as when the late Hon. Paul Morton was 
 Secretary of the Navy, in 1905, for the purpose of obtain- 
 ing correct information and data as to the status of Base 
 Ball in that branch of the public service, I wrote a per- 
 sonal letter to that official, and received the following 
 interesting reply, which is here published for the first 
 
 time: 
 
 " NAVY DEPARTMENT. 
 
 "Mk. a. G. Spalding, "Washington, March 9, 1905. 
 
 " Point Loma, Cal. 
 
 "Dear Sir: — I am in receipt of your letter of the 2d instant in 
 reference to Base Ball in the Navy. The enlisted men of the Navy 
 have been playing Base BaU as far back as the memory of anybody 
 in the Department goes and it is the chief amusement of the njen 
 on whatever station they may be. For years the game was carried 
 on by subscription on the part of the officers and men, but in 1903 
 my predecessor, Secretary Moody, issued an order, a copy of which 
 is enclosed, which provided the necessary material for the sport at 
 the expense of the Government. With the facilities thus given, the 
 game has been even more general than it had been in former years, 
 and wherever two or three vessels are together, and the weather is 
 favorable, Base Ball games are arranged between the ships, and 
 between representative nines of the ships and land crews, which 
 attract general attention wherever they are played. 
 
 " I am advised that on the Asiatic Station during the last several 
 years regular series of games have been played between teams repre- 
 senting the different vessels of the squadron, and these games were 
 attended by thousands of people, natives of the ports at which the 
 vessels happened to be lying. The games between the teams repre- 
 senting the vessels of the North Atlantic Squadron are features of 
 
AiMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 365 
 
 the winter maneuvers in the West Indies, and whenever opportunity 
 oflFers in the summer and fall cruises the tests are carried on. 
 
 " Many games are played between teams representing vessels of 
 the Navy and posts of the Army whenever a vessel of the Navy hap- 
 pens to be stationed in the vicinity of one of the shore posts. The 
 ofScers who have the responsibility of the administration of the 
 enlisted personnel of the Navy recognize Base Ball as one of the 
 very best influences in connection with the discipline of the ship, 
 not only for the men who actually engage in the game but for the 
 very much larger number of men who are interested spectators. The 
 spirit of the crew of each ship in behalf of their Base Ball team 
 runs very high and there is a healthy rivalry stimulated, not only 
 to develop the best possible teams but to keep the good conduct 
 classes of the vessels large, so that each vessel may have the largest 
 delegation of ' rooters ' at the games. The possibility of being 
 debarred from going ashore to witness a ball game is probably a 
 most efScient influence towards preserving discipline and good con- 
 duct on ships during the Base Ball season. 
 
 " The officers take an active interest in the game, and the train- 
 ing of the ship's team is directed by an officer who has played ball 
 at Annapolis and who generally acts as captain of the team. 
 
 " The influence of the game, as far as I am able to ascertain, is 
 most beneficial and it is heartily encouraged by the Department as a 
 means of giving the men rational enjoyment and to make them con- 
 tented with the service. It is claimed by officers who have had 
 charge of Base Ball teams that where a team has been kept together 
 for a considerable period of time Base Ball playing is developed 
 that would do credit to professionals. 
 
 "While foot ball is also encouraged as one of the sports of the 
 enlisted men, it has never secured the popularity and has never been 
 developed to so high a. point as has been the fact with Base Ball. 
 
 "I trust that the above will be of interest to you and that it 
 will answer the purpose of which you write. 
 
 "Very truly yours, "Paul Morton, 
 
 "Secretary, U. 8. Navy." 
 
 As regards Base Ball in the Army, it is pleasant to 
 note the fact that the national game is by far the most 
 popular form of sport known to our national defenders, 
 the rank and file of the regular army ; but it will be readily 
 understood that, under our system, in times of peace not 
 many men are stationed at any one point in our country, 
 and hence but little is heard of the games played at small 
 
366 AMERICAS NATIONAL GAME 
 
 forts and the few presidios. Wherever troops are sta- 
 tioned, however, contests between nines composed of sol- 
 diers and civilians resident in the vicinity are of frequent 
 occurrence. 
 
 Speaking of Base Ball in the army, a non-commis- 
 sioned officer of the Twelfth Regiment, U. S. A., said 
 recently : 
 
 "Yes, the game is a great one among the boys, even in the far 
 West. While I was a bit too old to play, I saw plenty of Base Ball 
 there before coming East to Chiclsamauga and Tampa at the begin- 
 ning of the Spanish War. Our regiment, the Twelfth Infantry, is 
 the acknowledged champion of the Army. I don't believe the 
 Twelfth's team has ever been beaten, and it has met some strong 
 opponents, too, among the Southern League Clubs. When they are 
 practicable, trips to other posts are frequently made, and in an out- 
 of-the-way garrison a rattling good Base Ball game is no ordinary 
 event. Everybody turns out to see the play. Our colonel — the one 
 we had before the war — he has since been made a brigadier general — 
 was a thoroughbred sport and entered into the spirit of the game 
 with as much vim as the newest recruit. In fact, Base Ball is the 
 game throughout the entire Army and I don't know what the boys 
 would do without it. In the winter there is regular gymnasium exer- 
 cise at most posts, but it isn't like a nip and tucli: tussle on the 
 diamond." 
 
 The United States Army and Navy have been very 
 important factors in the advancement and development of 
 the game of Base Ball. While the game did not originate 
 in the Army or Navy, these important departments of our 
 government were the media through which the sport, dur- 
 ing the Civil War, was taken out of its local environ- 
 ments — New York and Brooklyn— and started upon its 
 national career. 
 
 The returning veterans, "when the cruel war" was 
 "over," disseminated Base Ball throughout the country 
 and then established it as the national game of America. 
 
 At the breaking out of the war, in 1861, the New 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 367 
 
 York Volunteers took their Base Ball implements with their 
 war accoutrements and camp equipage to the front, and 
 then first introduced the game into Army and Navy. Of 
 these volunteer troops, New York ball players were 
 among the very first to enlist. That quality of man- 
 hood which made them good ball players also inspired 
 them to respond promptly to President Lincoln's call for 
 men. Naturally, their exodus from the Empire State 
 made it difficult to keep the game going, as evidenced by 
 the fact that over two-thirds of the organized clubs dis- 
 banded or ceased playing between the beginning and end 
 of the war. 
 
 This wholesale disbandment of clubs at that era has 
 sometimes been construed as indicating a waning interest 
 in the game, and at that period there were many who 
 voiced the sentiment that the sport was doomed. But the 
 real cause of the trouble should have been recognized in 
 the fact that the best ball players were born fighters, and 
 hence ideal material for soldiers. There were many causes 
 of discouragement to all forms of pleasurable pastime dur- 
 ing those gloomy years, and Base Ball suffered perhaps 
 more than any. 
 
 But though Base Ball languished at its New York 
 birthplace, not so in Army and Navy. While the special 
 duty of soldiers and sailors was to shoot and kill, little did 
 the men of either army realize that what was to them 
 simply a camp pastime would come to be in later yearr the 
 national game of their country. 
 
 Although Base Ball was taken up by the volunteer 
 soldiery as a simple camp diversion, all its player^ soon 
 
368 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 became infatuated with it — and so must everyone who 
 comes under its spell. The game continued to gain in 
 popularity among " the boys " as the war progressed, and 
 almost every regiment, and many crews, had Base Ball 
 teams ; and, when occasion offered, games were fought out, 
 in generous rivalry, on Southern fields. 
 
 No one seems to know just how Base Ball found its 
 way into Confederate lines ; but, as many Southern youths 
 had been in attendance at Northern colleges before the 
 war, it is conjectured that this may have been the avenue 
 of its introduction. Whatever may have been the means 
 by which it got there, no one denies that it was there in 
 full glory before the end of the war. 
 
 Thus it will be seen tha,t Base Ball has its patriotic 
 side — thanks to the soldiers and sailors of the Civil War— 
 and this, together with its distinctive American character 
 and spirit and its peculiar adaptability to the American 
 temperament, have caused it to go on from year to year, 
 gaining in power and popularity, until to-day it is the 
 leading field sport of the world. 
 
CHAPTER XXVI, 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 BASE BALL IN AMERICAN COLONIES^ STORY OF LEAGUE 
 
 GAMES IN THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN BASE 
 
 BALL POPULAR IN ALASKA, HAWAII, PORTO RICO AND 
 THE PHILIPPIXES. ^^q^_^q^q 
 
 THAT Base Ball follows the flag is abundantly proven 
 by facts set forth in these pages. It has been 
 played by our soldiers and sailors wherever they have 
 carried the stars and stripes. But no one seems ever to 
 have conceived the idea of taking teams of " All- America " 
 pennant winners to give exhibitions to polar bears and 
 seals on arctic ice during the short days that prevail in 
 December in the land of the " midnight sun." And yet 
 no less a personage than Brigadier General Frederick 
 Funston, the famous hero of the Philippine War, writing 
 in Harper's Round Table, in 1894 — three years before he 
 won his fame and his high commission — describes a league 
 season of Base Ball in Alaska under most remarkable 
 conditions. Here is the story: 
 
 "On the 29th day of March, 1894, a party of eleven Tinneh 
 Indians and myself, after a twenty days' snowshoe journey across 
 the bleak tundras and mountain ranges of Northeastern Alaska, 
 reached Herschel Island, in the Arctic Ocean, sixty miles west of 
 the mouth of the Mackenzie River. Here, in a little cove, locked 
 fast in the ice, were the steam whalers Balasna, Grampus, Mary D. 
 Hume, Newport, Narwhal, Jeanette and Karluck, all of San Fran- 
 cisco. Some of these vessels had been out from their home port three 
 years. The preceding October, after one of the most successful sea- 
 sons in the history of Arctic whaling, all had sought shelter in the 
 only harbor afforded by this defiolate coast to lie up for the winter. 
 The ice-packs coming down from the North had frozen in all about 
 371 
 
372 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Herschel Island, so that as far as the eye could reach was a jumble 
 of bergs and solid floe, but behind the island where the ships lay 
 the salt water had frozen as level as a floor. The nine months that 
 the whalemen were compelled to lie in idleness, while not enlivened 
 by social gayeties, were far from monotonous. With lumber brought 
 up from San Francisco there had been built on shore a commodious 
 one-room house, whose most conspicuous articles of furniture were a 
 big stove that roared day and night, a billiard table and a number 
 of benches and chairs. This was the clubroom of the sixty or seventy 
 ofScers of the fleet, and here they congregated to play billiards and 
 whist or sit about through the long Arctic evenings, while the wind 
 howled outside, smoking and spinning yarns of many seas, or of boy- 
 hood days at New Bedford, New London and Martha's Vineyard. 
 There were veterans who had whaled on every ocean, and had been 
 in nearly every port on the globe; men who recollected well the raid 
 of the cruiser Shenandoah when she burned the fleet on the coast 
 of Siberia thirty years before, and who had been in the Point Barrow 
 disaster, when nearly a score of ships were crushed in the ice floe. 
 The sailors and firemen of the fleet did not have the privileges of 
 this house, but contented themselves with games and amusements of 
 their own. They had an orchestra that played long and vociferously, 
 and there was an amateur dramatic troupe that gave entertainments 
 during the winter. But it was on the great national game of Base 
 Ball that ofScers and men most depended to break the tedium of 
 their long imprisonment and furnish needed exercise. 
 
 "A large number of bats and balls had been brought up from 
 San Francisco by one of last summer's arrivals, and as soon as the 
 ships had gone into quarters seven clubs were organized and formed 
 into a league to play for the ' Arctic Whalemen's Pennant,' which 
 was a strip of drilling nailed to a broomhandle. One nine was com- 
 posed entirely of officers, another of seamen, a third of firemen, a 
 fourth of cooks and waiters, and so on — the seven nines constituting 
 the 'Herschel Island League.' A set of written rules provided that 
 the series of games should begin after a month's practice and con- 
 tinue throughout the winter, and that all must be played on schedule 
 time regardless of weather. Another provision was that on the 
 diamond all ship rank was obliterated, and a sailor could ' boss ' even 
 venerable Capt. Murray without fear of reproof. No sooner had 
 the harbor frozen over than the diamond was laid out and practice 
 begun. Salt water ice is not quite so slippery as that from fresh 
 water, but great care had to be used by the players. 
 
 "After a season of practice, during which there was much 
 speculation as to the merits of the various nines and no end of chaff 
 and banter, the first game of the series was played, and in the brief 
 twilight of an arctic December day, with the mercury 38° below zero, 
 the 'Roaring Gimlets' vanquished the 'Pig-Stickers' by a score of 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 373 
 
 63 to 49. All wintfer, regardless of blizzards and of bitter cold, the 
 games went on, three or four each week, until the schedule was 
 exhausted, and by this time the rivalry was so intense that playing 
 was continued, the clubs challenging each other indiscriminately. 
 The provision in the by-laws that a club refusing to play on account 
 of weather forfeited its position caused one game to be played at 
 47° below zero, and often during blizzards the air was so fuU of fly- 
 ing snow that the outfielders could not be seen from the home-plate. 
 Even after the sun had disappeared for the last time and the long 
 arctic liight had begun,' games were played in the few hours of 
 twilight at midday, but were usually limited to four innings, as by 2 
 o'clock it would be too dark to see the ball. 
 
 "All the whalemen were dressed in the Esquimau fur costume, 
 only the face being exposed, and on their hands wore heavy fur mit- 
 tens. These clumsy mittens, together with the fact that one was apt 
 to fall on the ice unless he gave a large part of his attention to keep- 
 ing his feet underneath him, made good catching practically impos- 
 sible. ' Muffs ' were the rule, and the man who caught and held the 
 ball received an ovation, not only from the whalers, but from the 
 hundreds of Esquimaux who were always crowded about the rope. 
 With the ball frozen as hard as a rock, no one was apt to repeat an 
 experiment of catching with bare hands. One of the center fielders 
 was a corpulent Orkney Islander, whose favorite method of stopping 
 a hot grounder was to lie down in front of it. The Esquimaux con- 
 sidered him the star player of the fleet. Sliding was the only thing 
 done to perfection, the ice offering excellent facilities for distinction 
 in that line; and there was always a wild cheer when a runner, get- 
 ting too much headway, knocked the baseman off his feet and both 
 came down together. The scores were ridiculously large, seldom less 
 than fifty on a side, and sometimes twice that. On the smooth ice a 
 good hit meant a home run. 
 
 " A most amusing feature of the games was the interest shown 
 by the Esquimaux. With the fleet there were nearly a hundred of 
 these people from Behring Strait and Point Barrow, and there were 
 several villages in the vicinity of Herschel Island. These latter were 
 Kogmulliks, the largest Esquimaux in existence, and the presence 
 of the fleet had drawn them from all along the coast. Men, women 
 and children became typical Base Ball cranks, and there was never 
 a game without a large attendance of Esquimaux, who stood about, 
 eyes and mouths wide open, and yelled frantically whenever there 
 was a brilliant catch or a successful slide. At first dozens of them 
 would break over the line and try to hold a runner until the baseman 
 could get the ball, and it was only by vigorous cuffings that they 
 were taught that the spectators' duties are limited to cheering and 
 betting. They borrowed the paraphernalia and tried a few games 
 of their own, but rarely got beyond the first inning, usually winding 
 
374 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 up in a general mel6e and hair-pulling. One o'f their umpires, who 
 insisted on allowing a nine to bat after it had three men out in 
 order to even up the score, was dragged off the diamond by his heels. 
 They are naturally great gamblers and bet among themselves on the 
 results of the whalers' games. 
 
 " A fact that impressed me very much at one of the games that 
 I saw was that the crowd of several hundred people watching our 
 national sport at this faraway corner of the earth, only twenty 
 degrees from the pole, and thousands of miles from railroads or 
 steamship lines, was more widely cosmopolitan than could have been 
 found at any other place on the globe. From the ships were Ameri- 
 cans, a hundred or more, men from every seafaring nationality of 
 Europe — Chinese, Japanese and Malays from Tahiti and Hawaii. 
 The colored brother, too, was there, a dozen of him, and several of 
 the players were negroes. Esquimaux of all ages were everywhere, 
 while the red men were represented by the eleven wiry fellows who 
 had snowshoed with me from their home in the valley of the Yukon. 
 One day I noticed that in a little group of eleven, sitting on an over- 
 turned sled watching a game, there were representatives of all the 
 five great divisions of the human race. 
 
 " There are no men on earth who are more hospitable and more 
 thoroughly good fellows than these whalers of the Arctic Ocean, 
 and it was hard to leave them; but we finally got away and started 
 on the long tramp over the snowy wastes toward the Yukon. Just 
 before we left a notice was posted in the clubhouse which, with many 
 ' whereases,' ' aforesaids,' and other legal formula, recited that the 
 ' Auroras ' thought they knew something about ball, and hereby chal- 
 lenged the ' Herschels ' to meet them on the diamond within three 
 days." 
 
 The New York Svm, in an article published over ten 
 
 years ago, tells how the game even then had made its way 
 
 to our colonies, only a few years after the insurrection 
 
 in Hawaii and the Spanish War had given us our island 
 
 possessions. Here is the article: 
 
 "Westward and eastward the national game is taking its way. 
 Cuba has already talcen up Base Ball, and has gone so far as to 
 send a team of players to this country. In Porto Rico the American 
 soldiers gave a few exhibitions of the national pastime, and on the 
 Fourth of July our men in khaki were running around the bases, 
 and incidentally abusing the umpire. The returns from Guam are 
 not yet in, but Governor-General Leary is a typical American and 
 may be depended upon to do the proper thing by the game. It is in 
 Hawaii, however, that Base Ball has become most quickly acclima- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 375 
 
 tized, and if the Kanakas persist in their pursuit of the game, we 
 may soon expect to see a team of Hawaiian players traveling through 
 the United States, somewhat after the fashion of the Australian 
 Criclseters in Great Britain. Indeed, why may we not look forward 
 to a succession of visits from 'colonial' players, from Cuba and 
 Porto Rico, from Hawaii and the Philippines? Someone has said 
 that in the British military expeditions to the four corners of the 
 earth, the Cricket bat goes with the cannon, and while the United 
 States has no lands or tribes to conquer, it is only to be expected 
 that Base Ball, along with Boston beans and beefsteaks, will invade 
 our new possessions. 
 
 "That Base Ball is popular in Hawaii is evident from the 
 amount of space devoted to the accounts of the game in Honolulu 
 and elsewhere. The Pacific Commercial Advertiser of Honolulu con- 
 tains, in its issue of July 24, an interesting account of a match game 
 for the '99 Base Ball pennant. Three teams were contending for the 
 mastery — the Stars, a name which recalls our famous teams of twflti 
 decades ago, the Artillery team and the Kamehanlehas, a, fine,: 
 resounding title, abbreviated for convenience's sake to Kams. The^ ' 
 Artillery team dropped out of the contest early, discouraged by 
 fairly lost games and no victories. On July 23 the Stars and thtf 
 Kams met. If the Stars had won, the pennant of '99 and the acclaim 
 of the populace would have been theirs, but the Kams played bril-; 
 liantly, won the game and tied the series. All Honolulu was looking 
 forward to the following Saturday, when the deciding game would 
 be played. 
 
 " That the players in Hawaii have a good knowledge of the game 
 is clear from the Advertiser's account. ' The Stars were first up,' 
 says the Base Ball reporter, ' and before three men were out two had 
 crossed the rubber. But the Kams more than evened things up when 
 they came in. An error was made. Jackson lost control of the ball 
 for a moment, the collegians slugged it, and the small boy at the 
 scoreboard hung out the figure 4. The Stars came back with 2 in 
 the fourth, the Kams were put out and the score was again even. 
 In the fifth the Stars flew out in one, two, three order, and the 
 Kams made 2. In the seventh both pulled in two runs, leaving the 
 Kams two ahead. In the final inning the Stars tried for one of their 
 old-time finishes. With but one man out and two on bases their 
 chances seemed bright. A double play by Mahuka, however, did the 
 trick and the game was over.' A very creditable game, creditably 
 reported, with just enough of the familiar Base Ball slang to give 
 verisimilitude and to show that the Hawaiians have ' caught on.' 
 
 " The make-up of the Hawaiian teams is suggestive of the 
 Hawaiian-American alliance. Among the players on both sides we 
 find distinctively native names, Mahuka, Makanani, Kaanoi, Kekuewa;- 
 and names of the Anglo-Saxon type, Crowell, Wise, Leslie, Moore, 
 
BASE BALL IN OUR INSULAR POSSESSIONS 
 Porto Rico— Philippines— Hawaii 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 377 
 
 Gorman, Thompson, Willis and Davis, with one admixture, Toyo 
 Jackson. It is gratifying to observe that these teams played the 
 game well and fairly, and played what is known as ' clean ball,' The 
 Hawaiians have not yet became Freedmanized. May they never be! 
 And this interesting incident of the day is thus recorded by the 
 Hawaiian reporter; ' Senator J. S. McCandle had paid for the privi- 
 lege of admitting all soldiers free, and many of the boys in blue and 
 brown availed themselves of the opportunity.' Our hat is off to 
 Senator McCandle, of Honolulu." 
 
 Mr. H. G. Merrill, writing on Base Ball as played in 
 Porto Rico, says: 
 
 " Base Ball has gained quite a strong hold on the natives in 
 many of the towns of Porto Rico. A letter from Mr. Spinosa, a 
 prominent player and sportsman, tells of a recent game in which 
 the winning run was made amid great excitement. The score was 
 5 to 4 in the ninth inning with three men on bases and two out, the 
 batsman having two strikes called on him. The catcher thought to 
 catch the base-runner napping at first base and threw the ball wild, 
 so that the winning run came in. It was a Sunday game witnessed 
 by a large crowd, and Mr. Spinosa wrote : ' Some of us desecrated 
 the Sabbath in our expressions of the play. The San Juanites were 
 so highly elated that they challenged the regular Santurce team to 
 a game and I intend to give them the worst drubbing they ever 
 dreamed of — ^25 to or something like it.' The Americans on the 
 island are making Base Ball highly popular with the Intelligent class 
 of natives and have coached them so well that many of them play 
 the game in surprisingly good style." 
 
 Up to date information from our island possessions is 
 to the effect that in all the colonies acquired in recent 
 years Base Ball teams are rapidly multiplying in numbers, 
 the players everywhere are swiftly gaining proficiency, 
 while the game itself is advancing with giant strides in 
 public favor. 
 
 Throughout Cuba, Porto Rico and Hawaii regularly 
 scheduled league games are played, exciting deep interest 
 and attracting great throngs of spectators. The same is 
 true of the Philippines. Wherever our soldiers and sailors 
 go the game is immediately introduced, the natives acquir- 
 
378 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 ing it with avidity. As a result of the introduction of 
 Base Ball into our island colonies, many American pro- 
 fessionals are finding winter employment, both as coaches 
 and players, while here and there the appearance of a 
 Spanish name on the published score card of games played 
 at home shows that first-class professionals are being 
 developed in the islands. 
 
 A correspondent, writing from Havana to a New York 
 paper not long ago, gives the following account of a game 
 he witnessed: 
 
 " I have seen some notable games of Base Ball, but never any- 
 thing that approached a contest in Havana about three years ago 
 for the championship of the Island of Cuba. For two years the 
 Matanzas and Havana Clubs had struggled for the mastery, and this 
 was to be the decisive game. There were 20,000 people on the ball 
 grounds, and when I drove out the clubs had been playing three hours 
 and a half, and had not yet reached the third inning. They had had 
 four umpires and the grounds were lined with police. The excite- 
 ment of the people was beyond description. Everybody on the grand- 
 stand was hoarse from violent screaming, and when the third inning 
 came to a close with a home run on the part of the shortstop of the 
 Havanas, the populace crowded over the balustrade and almost 
 smothered the player with caresses. They began all over again the 
 following day under rigid police rules and the curbing of the excite- 
 ment wherever it was possible, and the game was brought to a satis- 
 factory close. The Havanese have picked up the slang of the Ameri- 
 can ball field. It was very odd to hear the incessant jabbering of 
 Spanish interrupted by such phrases as ' home run,' ' foul tip,' ' fair 
 ball,' 'take your base,' etc. The excitement of the players Was no 
 less intense than that of the spectators, but despite all the frenzy 
 which characterized the game it was noticeable that the Cubans 
 played mighty good ball." 
 
 Ever since the occupation of Cuba, at the beginning of 
 the war with Spain, the natives have exhibited an ever- 
 increasing interest in the sport. At Havana league games 
 frequently attract crowds of ten thousand spectators. 
 The players in the big Cuban league are very skillful, 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 379 
 
 ranking with our first-class players except in the art of 
 batting. The games are conducted with systematic regard 
 for the maintenance of good order, much more deference 
 being paid to the umpire and his rulings than is true in 
 our own major league contests. No liquors are sold 
 witjiin Cuban league grounds, the man with a " thirst " 
 being compelled to go a long distance for relief. Betting, 
 however, is a habit so ingrained in the Cuban character 
 that it will be a long time before that evil is eradicated 
 from the game. Professional players do not receive 
 salaries there as here, but seventy-five per cent, of the 
 gross receipts of each game goes to the competing teams, 
 of which the winners receive 50 per cent, and the losers 25 
 per cent. Under this system professional players in the 
 strongest teams get about $100 a week. 
 
 For the following I am indebted to a recent number 
 of Van Norden's Magazine. It is taken from an article 
 written by Wadsworth Haynes : 
 
 " Then there is the Canal Zone, where the ' dirt is flying,' accord- 
 ing to Mr. Taft, and where the canal engineers and workers from 
 the United States have formed a regular league for the greater 
 glory of the national game. There was Base Ball in the Zone as far 
 back as when the French were trying to make the ditch, but it did 
 not flourish. The last reports from Panama gave a seven-team 
 league, in which Empire and Culebra were the big rivals, both being 
 recruited from men working in the heart of the big cut, only a mile 
 apart. 
 
 " ' Active operations ' are going on in the Philippines. Mr. George 
 W. Moore, writing from Luzon some time ago, said : ' When I went 
 over to Masbete the game was not known to the Filipinos, but after 
 I had explained its possibilities they took to it with great enthusiasm. 
 Before long we had many students who were able to play as well as 
 the average American youths. Soon they began to organize teams in 
 the various towns in the provinces, and now we have a regular Base 
 Ball season in Masbete. 
 
 " ' As for fans, the Filipinos have the Americans backed off the 
 
380 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 boards. (Mr. Moore may be forgiven. He did not see the National 
 League post-season games last year.) It is nothing for the spec- 
 tators to swarm on the diamond to express their appreciation of 
 some brilliant play. At one game 6,000 persons were on the field 
 congratulating a player, and it was nearly an hour before the game 
 could be resumed. Everybody in town turns out for the games, and 
 there is a spirit of rivalry that reminds one of the league games in 
 the United States. 
 
 " ' An American umpire would have an easy time of it in Luzon, 
 for the players never treat the arbiter of the game to the criticism 
 and sarcasm that he receives in America. The umpire's decisions 
 are always received without kicking, and the official is accorded a 
 respect that would seem impossible to the men who decide the games 
 in the United States.' O, happy umpires in Luzon! Probably if 
 Merkle had failed to touch second base there the fact would have 
 been thought unworthy of comment." 
 
■ \ 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 BASE BALL IN GREAT BRITAIN AND HER' COLONIES GAME 
 
 IS VERY POPULAR IN CANADA IS GROWING IN FAVOR 
 
 IN AUSTRALIA AND OTHER BRITISH POSSESSIONS. 
 
 1888-1910 
 
 IT must be conceded that efforts to introduce Base Ball 
 into England have not met with the full degree of suc- 
 cess that American levers of the game had hoped and 
 prophesied. Although, as heretofore chronicled in these 
 pages, the game had been presented by strong teams in 
 1874 and again in 1889, it was not until about eight years 
 ago, in 1903, that regular Base Ball clubs began to be 
 organized in England. This long delay was due, doubt- 
 less to two facts connected with the exhibition given in 
 1889. The day upon which that -game was played was 
 characterized by a typical London fog, rendering it very 
 difficult for the crowd to note the fine points of the game, 
 and not easy for players to present the sport in the most 
 attractive way. But even at that. Base Ball was played 
 in such a skillful, scientific and altogether energetic man- 
 ner as to discourage our British cousins from undertaking 
 it at once. Perfectly satisfied with cricket, and not feel- 
 ing the need of a new sport, the American pastime was 
 soon forgotten. 
 
 However, it is impossible to keep Americans from 
 playing their national game, and it happened that certain 
 of our countrymen living at the time in England got 
 383 
 
384 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 together for practice, and, on the occasion of a visit of 
 Buffalo Bill's " Wild West," played a game with his cow- 
 boys. This game — played in the rain — attracted a 
 large concourse. It was won by the cowboys by a score 
 of IS to 5. 
 
 Although this game was played at London, it was in 
 the North and Midland counties that the sport first took 
 on regularly organized form in the way of scheduled 
 games between contesting teams. This was because of the 
 fact that Base Ball in England seems to appeal rather to 
 the mining and factory men than to the denizens of the 
 metropolis. 
 
 It is not known just how many clubs are playing the 
 American game in England to-day ; but probably twenty- 
 five would cover the entire number. 
 
 The strongest supporters of the game in England are 
 the large American business firms, such as the Messrs. 
 Fuller, the great confectioners ; Messrs. Dewar, of whisky 
 fame; J. Earle, of the Remington Typewriter Co., and 
 many of the first music-hall artists here, Americans by 
 birth; and last, but no means least, Mr. Francis W. Ley 
 and H. Newton Crane, for many years American Con- 
 sul at Manchester, and more recently a practicing barris- 
 ter in London. These gentlemen assist the game, both 
 in a monetary sense and by personally attending the 
 games and bringing their friends. One of the music-hall 
 "mummers" is said to have spent close upon £2,000 
 ($10,000) pushing the game forward. The amount of 
 their subscriptions it would not be -politic to state, but 
 it can safely be said that they all give about the same 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 385 
 
 sums. There are practically no English manufacturers 
 supporting the game. Of course it has not paid its pro- 
 moters, but they did not take it up as a money-making 
 scheme, nor with any idea of benefiting their pockets. 
 The assistance they have given has been solely through a 
 love of the game, and of pushing it in England, and bring- 
 ing it before the English public as a sport worth study- 
 ing and playing. The public at present do not know 
 enough of the game to criticise it. 
 
 The progress of the American national game in Brit- 
 ish provinces has been slow but sure — except in Canada, 
 where it gained a footing in its early days, rose rapidly, 
 and has for many years been regarded as the National 
 Game, fairly outclassing lacrosse and all other forms of 
 field sport in popular favor. It was impossible that it 
 should have been otherwise. The term " American," 
 though frequently employed as referring to possessions 
 of the United States alone, covers all the continent, and 
 that which has been long considered strictly our own bids 
 fair soon to become the Game of All-America, for it will 
 not be many years before Base Ball will have supplanted 
 bull-fighting in Mexico, in a measure, as it has cock- 
 fighting in Cuba, while it is likely to drive out the field 
 sports of all South America, so rapidly is it gaining in 
 popularity in the little republics there. 
 
 The Canadian people, in spirit and temperament, are 
 very like our own. Though Britons, they have absorbed 
 Yankee characteristics from being brought into commer- 
 cial competition with business men of the United States. 
 As a result, just as British field sports were found too 
 
386 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 slow for us, they have failed also to keep pace with the 
 vigorous, wide-awake instincts of our neighbors to the 
 North. Canada, in proportion to her population, is just 
 as full of Base Ball fans as is our own country. They 
 play ball, talk ball, and speculate on results of pennant 
 races and league contests just as we do. 
 
 The chief drawback to the game in Canada is the pres- 
 ence of a sparse population in a widespread territory. 
 This means a country of magnificent distances, with long 
 and expensive railroad jumps for league teams, and a 
 consequent discouragement to the investment of capital 
 in professional clubs. 
 
 And yet, notwithstanding all the hindrances, wher- 
 ever there is a congested population in Canada the game 
 flourishes. Toronto, Montreal and Hamilton are centers 
 of Base Ball interest and enthusiasm in the East, while in 
 all the smaller cities adjacent to these are strong teams 
 of high-class players. In the Far West, Winnipeg, Van- 
 couver, Victoria, in fact, all cities of consequence, main- 
 tain clubs. It is quite noticeable, too, that when Cana- 
 dians have a team in a league whose schedule crosses the 
 border the pennant is not always left on this side of the 
 line. British Americans had a way, long years ago, of 
 annexing Base Ball trophies, as exemplified by the victory 
 of the Tecumsehs, of London, in 1877, and only four 
 years ago, in 1907, the Toronto Club defeated Buffalo for 
 the Eastern League pennant. 
 
 In a recent able and comprehensive paper on Base 
 Ball in Canada, Mr. J. P. Fitzgerald, of Toronto, has 
 some exceedingly interesting facts. He shows that some 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME .387 
 
 of the best material in the big States leagues came from 
 over there. He mentions Arthur Irwin, Tip O'Neill, Bob 
 Emslie, Dr. Pete Wood, saying that these were all old- 
 timers who made good when the game was young. But 
 now the good ones, like bargains at a country auction, 
 are " too numerous to mention." Catchers Clarke, of 
 Cleveland; Gibson, of Pittsburg; McLean, of Cincinnati, 
 and Archer, of Chicago, are all " Canucks." Pitchers 
 Grohan, Hardy, Graney and Hollingsworth all claim 
 Canada as their native heath. Congalton, of Boston; 
 O'Hara, of Baltimore, and Jimmy Cockman, of Newark, 
 belong across the border. 
 
 The opposition of Britons everywhere to professional- 
 ism in the realm of sport has militated to some extent 
 against the quality of the game in Canada, for the reason 
 that ambitious youngsters, as soon as they prove fit, 
 come to the States, where, if they are up in the game, 
 they find ready employment at good salaries. 
 
 The trip of the Chicago and All-America teams to 
 Australia, in 1888, planted Base Ball seed in a fertile soil, 
 where the sport has been growing in popularity ever since. 
 It is difficult for one who has not visited the provinces 
 of Great Britain to understand how slow the people of 
 those countries are to take on any new thing, especially 
 anything that had not its origin and development in the 
 mother country. The peoples of Australia, New Zealand 
 and Tasmania are nearly all of British derivation. Either 
 English, Scotch, Welsh or Irish, they know little else 
 than that which they have derived from British sources. 
 Taught from infancy to revere and play the sports of 
 
388 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 their native land, or the land of their fathers, and 
 religiously believing that Great Britain is the greatest 
 country on the face of the earth, they look, and quite 
 naturally, it must be admitted, somewhat askance at inno- 
 vations in that line emanating from other shores. So 
 strong and elemental is the tie which binds in this respect, 
 that we find the peoples of the Antipodes sending their 
 wool to England to be made into hats, caps, clothes, and 
 then returned as the manufactured article, to be bought 
 at high prices, and, after the twofold voyage across the 
 seas, to be worn by the people of those far-distant posses' 
 sions. Accustomed to pay tribute to the mother country 
 in this way, Australians have seemed never to think that 
 they might themselves reap the benefit of their natural 
 resources, and at the same time give employment to thou- 
 sands of skilled workmen, by establishing manufactories 
 of their own. I refer to this matter — quite foreign to 
 the text — to explain why a sport that has in a short time 
 made such headway in America has been so slow to 
 advance in the great island continent of the South Pacific. 
 
 And yet, while Base Ball has not supplanted cricket 
 in Australia, and probably never will, it is making fine 
 progress and becoming exceedingly popular wherever 
 played. There are teams in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, 
 Adelaide, Ballarat, and many other prominent cities of 
 Australia. 
 
 Following is an extract from a letter written by Mr. 
 Harry W. Hedley, an Australian, shortly after the world's 
 tour of the American ball players in 1888. It will be of 
 interest as giving the opinion of one who was certainly 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 389 
 
 not prejudiced in favor of our pastime as against those 
 
 of his own country : 
 
 "Permit me to acknowledge receipt of your very interesting 
 and instructive letter on Base Ball which appears in this week's 
 Leader, copies of which I hope you will duly receive by this post, 
 and to thank you for your reference to my very cursory treatment 
 of the subject written after seeing the game played by its able 
 exponents, whose visit to us last Summer will always remain a 
 pleasant memory with Australians who made their acquaintance. 
 That the game in its thoroughness and "go" is essentially charac- 
 teristic of Americans can quickly be seen, and as an old cricketer 
 I recognize in it many features the study and practice of which 
 would, I feel sure, benefit our cricketers in connection with their 
 own national game. Some thirteen years ago, when I was captain 
 of one of our suburban cricket clubs (St. Kilda), we had a caterer, 
 an American, C. S. Jewett, who introduced Base Ball to us, and 
 we played several enjoyable games with the American Christy Min- 
 strel troupes who visited Melbourne, but I need hardly tell you that 
 when I saw men like Anson, Ward and others on the diamond, and 
 talked ball with such as A. G. Spalding, George Wright and my 
 jovial friend, Harry Palmer, I discovered for the first time how 
 very little I had known previously of your great game. Some of 
 our cricketers who have taken to it have developed fairly good form, 
 and Harry Simpson has done his utmost to thoroughly establish the 
 game in Australia, but I have no desire to paint a picture in unduly 
 roseate colors, and am therefore constrained to admit that it has 
 hardly taken the hold upon our public which seemed probable imme- 
 diately after the departure of the Chicago and All-America teams, 
 and while their remarkably skillful displays were fresh in the mem- 
 ory of our people. I may tell you, however, that we Victorians have 
 during the past few years been suifering from a terribly strong over- 
 dose of horse racing, live and six days' racing continuously in every 
 week, and week after week, without intermission of any " off " season. 
 I am happy to say that there is a prospect of racing reform being 
 extensively carried on with a view to materially curtailing the num- 
 ber of meetings, and when that desirable consummation has been 
 reached I hope for an increased interest to be displayed in other 
 field sports which (cricket and Base Ball included) have suffered 
 from the general attention paid to the turf with its more exciting 
 attraction in the shape of betting. Our great Winter game, as 
 you are doubtless aware, is football, neither Rugby nor Association 
 rules, but a game played under rules of Australian origin. Being 
 an Englishman by birth, though an Australian by the acclimatiza- 
 tion of nearly a lifetime, I have no prejudice in comparing our game 
 of football with the other two named. The Australian game was. 
 
390 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 in fact, evolved from the other two, and is, I have no hesitation in 
 saying, a pronounced improvement upon both. Our footballers are 
 all young fellows, who either attend the schools and colleges or work 
 at their trades — artisans, clerks and others, clerks and tradesmen 
 preponderating — and all our matches are played on Saturday after- 
 noons, the Saturday half holiday being an established institution 
 with nearly every class of the community. 
 
 " Base Ball, I am certain, will not supplant or even rival 
 either , football or cricket in public esteem in this country, but I 
 quite agree with you and with Spalding, Palmer and others who 
 think they may become kindred sports." 
 
 That Mr. Hedley's prophecy was not too bright, the 
 following recent letter from Mr. Leonard I. Lillyman, 
 showing conditions of the game in Australia at the time 
 of the visit of our fleet, in 1908, will amply attest : 
 
 "Twenty teams play regularly in Sydney in Base Ball and 
 there are a like number in Melbourne. These are under the control 
 of the New South Wales Association and the Victorian League, 
 respectively. 
 
 " Last season we introduced the game in South Australia and 
 Tasmania, and efforts have been made to introduce it into Western 
 Australia, and I have not a doubt that they will be as successful 
 as other efforts have been to popularize the American sport. 
 
 " For the benefit of those in the United States who take an inter- 
 est in what we do, I would like to say that we play the game here 
 for the pure love of it. Professionalism is entirely absent, and 
 would be stamped out as soon as it made its appearance. Those 
 who take part are generally devotees of cricket, which is played 
 ill the summer months, and consequently we are compelled to play 
 ball in the winter, which accounts for a good number of lame arms 
 among our pitching brigade. We only play once a week and on 
 holidays, and if we do get but little encouragement we know that 
 we are progressing all the time. 
 
 " The standard of Base Ball in Australia is steadily improving 
 each season, and the visit of the United States fleet to our shores 
 gave our players a much-needed practical lesson in the finer points. 
 Up to last season we had been self-taught — ^taught by studying the 
 rules as they are laid down in Spalding's Guide, with the assistance 
 of a casual visitor from the United States, who would be willing 
 to impart any knowledge of which he was possessed. It was Eagerly 
 devoured by our players, who were only too glad to obtain it, and 
 in turn they imparted it to their comrades. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 391 
 
 " I am told that the quality of Base Ball which is played in 
 Australia at present is quite up to the standard of amateur Base 
 Ball in the United States. 
 
 "The pitchers of the ships of the United States fleet were too 
 much for our batters, but I fancy that it would not have been very 
 long before we would have been able to hit them all over the dia- 
 mond. The speed with which they threw the ball was something 
 new to us, and we are ready to admit that we know very little of 
 the art of throwing. We are going to learn to attain pace, and I 
 hope to be able to tell your American readers that in a few years 
 we possess a ' Mathewson ' among us. 
 
 "When the fleet landed its sailors for games with our clubs 
 we were all delighted. It seemed like putting an American League 
 of Base Ball clubs among us to instruct us in the game which we 
 had played with so much enjoyment. 
 
 " The teams of the fleet played four contests in Sydney. Two 
 were against New South Wales and two against All-Australia. In 
 three of these contests the Americans won. They lost the second 
 game to the All-Australia nine, but it was a well-played contest 
 and the enthusiasm and applause which resulted while it was going on 
 well repaid us for our efforts in behalf of Base Ball and certainly 
 gave pleasure to the American visitors who took part in the games 
 against our boys. 
 
 "The field work of the American players was slightly better 
 than ours. They seemed to know better how to handle them- 
 selves to look after certain plays, and pf course that was to be 
 expected in view of the long training which they had as compared 
 with the teaching that had been given our boys in the effort to bring 
 up the game to a proper standard in Australia. 
 
 "We could not help but observe the work of their pitchers 
 with admiration, because it gave us an inkling of what pitching 
 was like in the United States and was totally different from our 
 conception of delivering the ball to the batter. McCreary, Scott 
 and other pitchers of the American fleet, who were put in the box 
 against us, were batted very little because of the pace with which 
 they delivered the ball. On the other hand, the batters from the 
 fleet did not prove to be so wonderfully effective against our pitchers. 
 
 " I desire to inform the ball players of the United States of the 
 excellent sportsmen whom we met in the fleet players. All the 
 games were most enjoyable, and right through the series we found 
 our opponents grand fellows, and just as splendid sportsmen as 
 were Lieut. Weaver, U. S. S. ' Connecticut,' and Midshipman Cohen, 
 U. S. S. ' Kansas,' who had charge of the teams representing the 
 fleet. To both of these gentlemen we are greatly indebted for much 
 information and for the assistance given to further the game of 
 Base B3.JI in N^w §PUth Wales." 
 
392 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Speaking of Base Ball in Natal, the Natal Witness, 
 of Pietermaritzburg, Natal, says : 
 
 "The presence of a number of Strathcona's Horse in the city 
 induced the Canadians in our midst to seize the opportunity of 
 indulging in the American national game — the first played in the 
 city. Accordingly teams were selected from the regiment and 
 Canadian residents, and they met on the Polo Ground on Satur- 
 day to try conclusions. The result was eminently successful to all 
 concerned, an excellent afternoon's sport being witnessed, and it 
 is quite on the cards that future matches will be played. There 
 were a number of spectators, who had not previously seen the game, 
 but who became interested in it, and admired the dexterity of the 
 players. The match throughout was well contested, the civilians 
 coming off victorious by 13 runs to 9. Lieut. Stevenson captained 
 the losers, and displayed considerable ability in the pitcher's box, 
 while on the civilian side Hargraves and Ward creditably shared the 
 same position, and the batting of Ferguson, Hargraves and Myles was 
 a feature. 
 
 "Mr. Hugh V. Ferguson, formerly of the Globe, but now of 
 the Times, of Natal, who was one of the civilian team, writes: 'If we 
 have but the opportunity to play a few more games I fancy Base 
 Ball will catch on here in NataL' " 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 BASE BALL IN THE ORIENT JAPANESE HAVE BECOME 
 
 ADEPTS AT THE GAME INTERNATIONAL GAMES SHOW 
 
 THE JAPS TO BE VERY PROFICIENT GAMES ELSEWHERE • 
 
 IN THE ORIENT. Ig^g.^giQ 
 
 OF ALL countries into which Base Ball has been 
 introduced in recent years, none has developed 
 greater interest in the sport than has Japan. The fact 
 is quite in keeping with what might have been expected 
 from the little brown men of the Orient. In an early chap- 
 ter of this work it was asserted of Base Ball that it is 
 a combative game. That the Japanese have the spirit 
 of combat recent history abundantly demonstrates. It 
 is no wonder, then, that this progressive island nation, 
 whose people have been so quick to adopt American civili- 
 zation, customs, business systems, manufacturing meth- 
 ods, should also grasp with avidity a form of pastime so 
 peculiarly adapted to their alert, intelligent natures. 
 
 It is not true of Japan, as it is of this country, that 
 Base Ball is played everywhere in the Empire. But it 
 is true that there, as in Australia, in all the larger cities 
 and localities where there are important universities ball 
 clubs are maintained. The government not only gives 
 its countenance to the playing of the game but also aids 
 it substantially in many ways. The rapid progress made 
 by Base Ball in Japan during the past few years makes 
 it certain that the next decade will see it spread generally 
 395 
 
396 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 throughout the Empire, wherever there are boys and 
 men who can take time for such a sport. It must be 
 remembered that conditions in Japan are not favorable 
 to the enjoyment of field sports by the masses. Who may 
 say that in years to come Base Ball may not have liberated 
 multitudes of the youth of that land from their conven- 
 tional thralldom.'' 
 
 Several years ago students of the leading universities 
 of the Japanese Empire adopted Base Ball as their most 
 popular form of outdoor pastime. The Keio University 
 and the Waseda Imperial University both organized 
 strong teams and have played frequent matches, attract- 
 ing thousands of highly interested and enthusiastic wit- 
 nesses. 
 
 Twice, at least, teams from Waseda University have 
 visited America. 
 
 Writing for Sporting Life, R. S. Ransom describes an 
 interesting game played at Los Angeles, in 1905, between 
 the Waseda University team and a nine composed of 
 American Indians from the Sherman Government , Insti- 
 tute, California : 
 
 The meeting of the little brown men from the realms of the 
 Mikado and the red men froip Sherman Institute at Fiesta Park in 
 this city. May 20, under the management of Walter Hempel, marked 
 an epoch in the history of Our national game which is deserving 
 of more than passing mention in the columns of America's greatest 
 Base Ball paper. For the first time a Base Ball game was played 
 by teams whose players were from two races that have adopted a 
 sport heretofore distinctively that of the white man. And victory 
 rested with the men from across the sea because of their all-around 
 superiority in every department of the game, coupled with the 
 steadiness and excellence of Kono's masterly work in the pitcher's 
 box. This young man is a marvel, and his work a revelation to our 
 twirlers, who consider themselves overworked^, if called on to pitch 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 397 
 
 two games during a single week. Already the Japs have played three 
 games here — May 17, winning from the L. A. High School team by 
 the score of 5 to 3; May 18, when Caucasian triumphed over Mon- 
 golian, Occidental winning by a score of 6 to 5, and May 20, when 
 Red and Brown met, with disaster to the Native Sons by a score 
 of 12 to 7. In all these contests Kono, a veritable iron man, did 
 the twirling, showing marked improvement in each successive game. 
 
 " All these contests were witnessed by large crowds, the attend- 
 ance at the Jap-Indian game being by far the largest of the series. 
 During this game, which stands as an event unique in the annals of 
 Base Ball, the Orientals from Japan had it over the Aborigines dur- 
 ing all stages of the game, with the exception of the sixth inning, 
 when the Sherman braves with a whoop broke from the reservation 
 and went tearing madly about until six of them had scored before 
 Field Marshal Hashido and his aides drove them back. 
 
 "The Japanese players represent the Waseda Imperial Univer- 
 sity and are being sent on a tour of the United States at the expense 
 of the government. They have been coached by Fred Merrifleld, an 
 American, who is a professor in the university. When he first intro- 
 duced the American game he was startled by the rapid manner in 
 which the brown men picked it up. They were playing good amateur 
 ball in no time. As they improved, a trip to the United States was 
 talked of, and finally the government made the appropriation. The 
 touring party includes: I. Abe, manager; Fred Merrifleld, coach 
 and trainer; K. Hashido, shortstop and captain; M. Obara, center 
 field; A. Kono, pitcher; S. Suyama, third base; M. Yamawaki, 
 catcher; U. Swzuki, left field; K. Shishiuchi, right field; K. Oshikawa, 
 second base; S. Izumitani, first base; S. Morimoto and S. Tachihara, 
 substitutes. After completing their engagements on this Coast the 
 team will go to Chicago. 
 
 " When it comes to handling the ball these little brown men are 
 all stars, but when it comes to a wise interpretation of the rules 
 they get up against it. The other day the Japs were playing a tight 
 game against Stanford. With a Jap on first base, no outs and the 
 score tied, the Jap at bat hit the ball straight into the air back of 
 first base. The runner on first crouched for the start and the minute 
 the catch was made, zing! he was off for second. Of course he was 
 thrown out by something like forty feet, and when their traveling 
 Jap Base Ball coach was asked to unravel this play he responded 
 something like this: 'Well, you see, sar, the rule he say the runner 
 he shall not proceed until the ball he is catch. So he wait for the 
 bgll to be catch and then he go down to the number two base. Is 
 it not correct to follow the rules of the game? ' 
 
 " And the sport who asked the questions went away and batted 
 his head against an oak tree. The Japs have the old Indian trick 
 of ' sighting ' with the ball before throwing it. Some of them have 
 
BASE BALL IN THE OUIENT 
 
 1. Y. M. C. A. Team, Seoul, Korea 2. Christian College, Macao, China 
 3. American Protestant College, Assiout, Egypt 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 399 
 
 wonderful wings, their pitclier having the most marvelously developed 
 arm ever seen in a pitcher's box. 
 
 " As indicative of the aptitude shown by the. Japanese players 
 in the development of the game, it can be said that when they 
 arrived in this country the 'bunt' was entirely unknown to them. 
 After their first game a class in instruction was held, with the result 
 that this style of playing was at once assimilated, and the brown 
 men ' worked the trick ' successfully thereafter. 
 
 " Here is a description that fits perfectly the pitching wonder, 
 'Iron Man' Kono: 'This little, strong-winged brown man is the 
 goods. He pitches every day, neve'r seems to weaken, and is always 
 the last man to complain of being tired. He has excellent control, 
 and while his curves have not reached the development of the Ameri- 
 can professional, they are as good as those of the average amateur." 
 
 In the fall of 1909 a team from the University of 
 Wisconsin visited Japan, playing nine games that had 
 been scheduled by the Athletic Association of Keio Uni- 
 versity, whose guests the American college men were. 
 
 The Keio champions had some trouble defeating the 
 Wisconsins, winning three games out of four by very 
 close scores of 3-2, 2-1, 5-4, and losing the fourth game 
 by 8-0 in favor of the Americans. 
 
 The Wisconsins won two out of three games with the 
 Waseda team by 7-4 and 5-0, and losing the third in a 
 shut-out, 3-0. 
 
 The Wisconsins easily defeated the Tokio team in 
 two contests, 10-0 and 8-7. 
 
 In the spring of 1911 a team from Waseda University 
 visited the United States, first playing in California, 
 where they acquitted themselves with credit in games 
 played by fine teams. In fielding the Japs are first-class. 
 They are no match for the best American batsmen, and 
 they have not yet developed pitchers equal to our stars. 
 
 Following is the story of a game played some time ago 
 
400 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 at Tokio, between a visiting team from Honolulu and a 
 nine from the Keio University. It serves to show what 
 an excellent imitation can be given of America's national 
 game on the opposite side of the globe. The story is told 
 by Mr. E. S. Wight, in the Philadelphia Evening 
 Telegraph : 
 
 " Base Ball is as popular in Japan as it is in the United States, 
 and when the Honolulu team played Keio University the game was 
 a great function, attended by representatives of the Imperial Court, 
 the Diplomatic Corps, ofBcers of the Army and Navy and some 
 10,000 others. 
 
 "The crowd lined the bleachers around the field. More than 
 two-thirds wore European dress, though no more than a hundred 
 Europeans and Americans were present. The crowd was typically 
 Japanese, containing all classes, from rickshaw men to courtiers, but 
 no women. 
 
 " The athletic field at Keio University is several miles from the 
 center of Tokio, and is reached through miles of streets, with their 
 bird-cage houses, temples and shrines, graveyards and parks. The 
 entrance is guarded by a great arch of evergreen, across which in 
 flaming colors is the English word, ' Welcome,' done in huge 
 chrysanthemums. 
 
 "The field is as large as any big League park, with a bamboo 
 fence surrounding it, over which the verdure of pine, palm and 
 bamboo can be seen. Japan's weather is such that the game can 
 be played the year round, which certainly is a fact calculated to 
 make the big League magnates of the United States jealous. 
 
 " On this occasion the imperial band played ' Bedelia,' ' The 
 Stars and Stripes Forever' and 'The Little Tonquine.' It was the 
 one false note. The music sounded like a kennel of pups with the 
 hydrophobia, kioodeling their death song. 
 
 " The ground was without grass, but rolled as smooth as a tennis 
 court. The players used English terms, and it was positively weird 
 to hear a Japanese crowd shout: 'Good eye!' 'You're the candy!' 
 'Line 'em out!' But they do it, and the Japanese umpire says, 
 ' Stlike one,' ' Two bowl,' in a manner that would turn Silk O'Lough' 
 lin green. 
 
 "The college yell of Keio is 'Rah! Rah! Rah! Keio.' Not a, 
 banzai was heard, but there was as much handclapping and inarticu- 
 late yelling as at home. There was no rowdyism, dirty ball or dis- 
 respect to the umps. Base Ball in Japan is Base Ball with the 
 rowdy part kept out. 
 
AMERICA'S NATldlNAL GAME 401 
 
 " The game went thirteen innings, ending S to 3 in favor of 
 Keio. It was refreshing to see such a game for from 10 sen (S cents) 
 to 60 sen (30 cents). 
 
 " A liberal translation, condensed, of the account of the game 
 given in Tokio's great independent newspaper, Jiji Shimpo, is as 
 follows: 
 
 " ' The heaven-born Honolulu team, by grace of the gods, won the 
 toss and the Keio Invincibles had first chance to swat the honorable 
 ball — that emblem so beautiful of Uncle Sam. The honorable Kauki, 
 of the first base, descendant of a hundred Samurai and beloved of 
 all, grasped his bat as if it were the two-handed sword of his 
 ancestors. Alas ! his honorable legs were not winged and the ball 
 beat him to the first rice bag. 
 
 '"No score was made by either of the honorable sides, though 
 they hewed holes in the atmosphere like foresters. In the fifth 
 inning the gods smiled on Honolulu and the team scored one hon- 
 orable run, then the gods laughed while the honorable Keio boys 
 piled up three tallies. 
 
 " ' Keio's 4,000 rooters then drew in their honorable breaths with 
 a pleased hiss, waved their royal purple flags and exploded like a 
 bunch of firecrackers, with the weird war cry, " Skidoo, doo, doo, for 
 Honolulu," "Razzoo, Razzoo, and 23 for you." At least an American 
 present said this was what the boys meant. 
 
 " ' Not till thirteen innings had been played was Honolulu van- 
 quished, when the whole Keio team, with innate courtesy apologized 
 for their breach of hospitality in beating a visiting team.' " 
 
 The spectacular side of Base Ball around the world 
 
 is pretty well known by this time, but there is another 
 
 side that would touch the heart of any ardent American. 
 
 Take, for instance, the little group of men who represent 
 
 a big oil company up in the wilderness of upper Burmah. 
 
 There are just enough of them to form two nines, and 
 
 when they have an afternoon off, or when their day's 
 
 work is over, they get together and " batter up " in the 
 
 good old way. They are far from home; practically 
 
 exiles, but when they are in the midst of a smashing game 
 
 under a tropical sun, with the natives staring at the 
 
 audacious energy of the white men, they probably feel 
 
 themselves much nearer home than at any other time. 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
THOMAS J. LYNCH 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 THE UMPIRE AND WHAT IS DUE TO HIM AND HIS OPPICE— 
 VERY GREAT ADVANCE MADE IN TREATMENT OP THE 
 
 UMPIRE THE NEW PRESIDENT OP THE NATIONAL 
 
 LEAGUE A FORMER UMPIRE. 
 
 1860-1910 
 
 UP TO this point consideration has not been given 
 to the Umpire. In this omission I have not 
 been unmindful of the importance of that functionary 
 to the game ; nor have I forgotten how extremely difficult 
 it has ever been to secure for him the deference due to his 
 position from managers, players and the public. But, as 
 the umpire has been in evidence from the very inception 
 of the sport, and is to-day a more potent factor than ever, 
 I have deferred treating of him and what is due to him 
 until it might be done in a chapter devoted exclusively to 
 that subject. 
 
 To secure the presence of intelligent, honest, unpreju- 
 diced, quick-witted, courageous umpires at all contests 
 in scheduled games has been one of the most vexatious 
 problems confronting those in control of our national 
 sport. The combination of attributes required is very 
 difficult to find in any individual. It is not easy to put 
 one's hand upon a man who possesses any two of these 
 several qualifications; and yet the efficient umpire must 
 have them all. 
 
 The umpire must be intelligent. And by intelligence 
 405 
 
406 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 I do not mean that he must have education or culture. 
 The best umpire in the National League would not shine 
 as a scholar in a gathering of college professors. But 
 he could outclass the entire faculty of any university in 
 America in promptly and quickly deciding the fine points 
 of a game of Base Ball, and that because he has the pecu- 
 liar quality of intelligence required for his duties. The 
 rules in vogue for the government of our national pastime 
 are not so numerous that one of ordinary acumen may 
 not be able to acquire them. However, the acquisition 
 of information and the ability to apply it are two very 
 different things. One may have the capacity to commit 
 the rules so thoroughly to memory that he can repeat 
 them forward or backward, in the order of their setting 
 or any other order, and such freakish accomplishments 
 may only serve to unfit him for the duties of umpire, for 
 they may overwhelm him with an "embarrassment of 
 riches " along the line of multiplied rules which he has no 
 talent to apply. 
 
 He must be honest. A crooked umpire at a ball game 
 is as offensive as a scoundrelly jurist on the bench. His 
 power to beget disgust for the sport is even greater than 
 that of the judge to bring the law into reproach. The 
 umpire does not deal with unfamiliar, abstruse, legal tech- 
 nicalities, whose veiled meaning needs to be explained by 
 the citations of other judges in other cases in other 
 courts. He must hand down his decision instanter before 
 an audience composed of hundreds who know Base Ball 
 law as well as he — or who think they do. 
 
 He must be absolutely without prejudice. Did you 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 407 
 
 ever think what that means? Consult your own feelings 
 at the next contest you witness. Note how perfectly free 
 you are from bias against the visitors. Put yourself in 
 the umpire's place for a little while. Let a team bluster, 
 and kick, and play horse, and dispute your decisions from 
 the opening of the game. Let them play rowdy ball, 
 seeking thereby to gain unfair advantage not only of the 
 adversary, but of you. Let them encourage rooters in 
 the grandstand to hoot, and howl, and insult and brow- 
 beat you in your earnest efforts to be just. Let them 
 encroach upon the rules far enough to strain without 
 breaking them. Let them invite the imposition of fines 
 for petty offenses. All this let players do — you being the 
 umpire — and remain without prejudice, if you can. Per- 
 haps if you are endowed with superhuman graces you 
 may put aside the desire to give them the worst of it — 
 not otherwise. Is the picture overdrawn.'' I don't think 
 you will say it is if you have been an attendant at many 
 games. 
 
 The umpire must be quick-witted. He may not, like 
 the wise old owl of the bench, look over his gold-rimmed 
 eyeglasses, inform the assembled multitude that he will 
 "take the matter under adviseinent," and then adjourn 
 court for a week or two to satisfy himself how he ought 
 to decide. No, indeed. He must be " Johnny-on-the 
 Spot," with a decision hot off the griddle, and he must 
 stick to it, right or wrong — or be lost. 
 
 The umpire must be courageous. With perfect com- 
 posure and dignity he must render judgment, though he 
 knows that in .so doing he is likely to precipitate a riot, 
 
408 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 with himself as the object of a cowardly mob's unreason- 
 ing frenzy. He must stand in the midst of a team of 
 recalcitrants like "Patience on a monument, smiling at 
 grief," listening, until patience ceases to be a virtue, to 
 the jibes and jeers and innuendoes of all before imposing 
 the fine authorized by the rules. 
 
 Do you wonder that, during the evolution and develop- 
 ment of our national game, the umpire problem has been 
 so difficult of solution? Are you surprised, with such a 
 requisition of heaven-born attributes, that now and then 
 an umpire fails to measure quite up to the standard of 
 perfection called for? Do you regard it as passing strange 
 that, in the half-century of professional Base Ball, diffi- 
 culty has been occasionally experienced in finding men 
 equal to the requirements of this most exacting position? 
 
 But I have not mentioned nearly all the attributes 
 demanded of every umpire. Until, in the course of the 
 development of the game, the double-umpire system was 
 introducd Mnto certain leagues a few years ago, it was 
 required of the umpire that he should be not only Omnis- 
 cient, knowing everything about the game; Omnipotent, 
 having power to control players, rooters, spectators ; but 
 he must be also Omnipresent, standing behind the batter, 
 to judge of balls and strikes at close range; behind the 
 pitcher, to watch for infield plays ; at first base, to decide 
 when base runners beat the ball ; at second base, to deter- 
 mine the result of a slide or a double; at third base, to 
 note if the runner touched that sack. 
 
 When I visited England in 1874, with competing 
 teams of star ball players, the severest criticism I met 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 409 
 
 from real English sportsmen on the American game, and 
 that which I found most difficult to answer, was that the 
 Base Ball umpire has too autocratic power. It seemed 
 strange, didn't it, to have men living under even a limited 
 monarchy censuring the great American Republic's game 
 as too autocratic? And yet so it was. And the autoc- 
 racy is there all right. The umpire is clothed with abso- 
 lute power. It must be so from the very nature of the 
 game. Base Ball is governed by inflexible rules, and it 
 is the function of the umpire to enforce the laws to the 
 letter. Just insofar as he can do this to the satisfaction 
 of magnates, managers, players and spectators he is efll- 
 cient. It is gratifying to note that marked improvement 
 in this respect characterizes the game of to-day over that 
 of even a few years ago. 
 
 There was a time when the umpire was simply tolerated 
 as a necessary evil. He was known to be essential to the 
 playing of the game; hence he was permitted to be there 
 in an official capacity. But he was feared and hated alike 
 by members of both teams engaged, and was the special 
 object of derision and abuse on the part of occupants of 
 both grandstand and bleachers^ because his authority did 
 not extend to them. He was always the scapegoat for the 
 defeated nine and their apologists. There has been notice- 
 able improvement in this regard. The slugging of umpires 
 by players is no longer an essential part of the pro- 
 gramme, and their mobbing by spectators, though occa- 
 sionally indulged in, is not encouraged by public opinion. 
 
 Still later on, it became necessary to protect umpires 
 against the outrageous machinations of club owners. The 
 
THE UMPIUE AS HS IS 
 
412 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 practices of certain managers at one time threatened the 
 very life of the game itself; for always and everywhere 
 the prosperity of Base Ball has depended upon public . 
 confidence in its integrity, and whenever and wherever 
 that has been withdrawn serious injury has followed. 
 
 Some years ago unprincipled, narrow-minded men in 
 control of league teams conceived the idea of working 
 umpires for rulings uniformly favorable to their players 
 by vicious methods. If the president of the league hap- 
 pened to be a weakling, they would manage it through 
 him. Umpires who would not give- their nines the best 
 of every close decision would be protested and changed. 
 The telegraph wires were kept hot with messages from 
 such magnates demanding that this umpire be sent here, 
 and that umpire be sent there, and the other umpire be 
 sent elsewhere, to meet the whims and caprices of these 
 persistent mischief-makers. The result was that upright 
 umpires lost heart and withdrew from the game. Weak 
 and dishonest umpires were handled at will, to the disgust 
 of players and the public, and to the very great injury of 
 the sport. 
 
 There was a time when the owner of the New York 
 club practically dictated what umpires should and should 
 not officiate at games upon the Polo Grounds of that city, 
 and at that time this practice was general throughout 
 leagues where weak-kneed presidents would permit it. The 
 result of the pernicious action was shown in many ways. 
 It caused the presence in the game of dishonest and incom- 
 petent umpires; it offered a premium on rowdy ball; it 
 begot disgust and mistrust on the part of the public 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 413 
 
 and when that began to affect the patronage of the sport, 
 the evil had to be checked. 
 
 The establishment of the Supreme Court of Base Ball 
 in the organization of the National Commission, or Board 
 of Arbitration, has accomplished wonders in the way of 
 eradicating this abuse. The rules have been greatly 
 strengthened by requiring this enforcement. Managers 
 who now interfere with umpires in any way are liable to 
 severe punishment. Players who are guilty of offense 
 against the presiding official at any game are subject to 
 heavy penalties, and even spectators may not go too far 
 in the way of personal abuse ; for the presence of minions 
 of the law is now required to preserve the peace. 
 
 In closing this chapter, I desire to speak a word for 
 the umpire of the present and the future. As I have 
 already said, he is essential to the game. There can be 
 no Base Ball without his presence. His position at the 
 best is not an enviable one. In every game there will need 
 to be close decisions. He must give offense to somebody 
 in each recurring contest. That every umpire will make 
 mistakes is true. What, then, is to be done about it.!" 
 
 First, then, I answer, we must be fair to him. We, of 
 America, pride ourselves upon love of fair play. Former 
 President Roosevelt's claim for a " square deal " echoed 
 throughout the land and found an answering echo in every 
 true American heart. Each mother's son of us is ready 
 to shout himself hoarse in approbation of a square deal 
 for himself, his "sisters, his cousins and his aunts." But 
 how about this square deal for the Base Ball umpire.'' 
 Is he different.'' Is he outside the pale for those to whom 
 
414 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 fair dealing is to be extended? We all know the nature 
 of his duties. We know that he must give his decision 
 with lightning-like rapidity. Is it a square deal to dub 
 him " rotten " if he doesn't give our team the close deci- 
 sion every time? Is it? I have stood in the pitcher's 
 box and seen Ross Barnes, while covering second base, 
 take a ball thrown by the catcher, whirl, and with a motion 
 quick as flash apparently put the runner out. Later, I 
 have asked in a low voice : 
 
 "Ross, did you put it on him?" 
 
 And the answer would come in a whisper, " Not by a 
 yard." 
 
 That is one of the commonest tricks of the game. In 
 this case Barnes fooled the umpire. He had fooled me. 
 But down the line there were spectators who had not 
 been fooled. They could see that the runner was safe, 
 and they howled. But was that a square deal? Was it 
 fair play? The umpire believed he was right. I believed 
 him to be right. Those who were in a position to see 
 from an angle impossible to him and to me knew that he 
 was wrong. But he had made the decision according to 
 his best judgment. He couldn't change it. He, and not 
 the spectators, was judge. He was standing at the time 
 back by the catcher's box, and if I, only a few feet away, 
 and watching as closely as possible, could not see the play, 
 it surely was not fair nor square to dub the umpire " rot- 
 ten " because he couldn't. 
 
 And so, in behalf of the sport we love, and to the 
 exploitation of which the umpire is absolutely essential; 
 because the future success of the great American national 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 415 
 
 game depends upon it ; because as Americans we are com- 
 mitted by nature to stand for " fair play " ; because as 
 men we believe in a " square deal " for everybody, I be- 
 speak for the Base Ball umpire always and everywhere 
 the same consideration that we so freely accord to the 
 wearer of the ermine on the bench, the difficult exactions 
 of whose office in many respects are not to be compared to 
 those of the man who holds the indicator in his hand at 
 a Base Ball contest. 
 
 In recent years public sentiment has been rapidly 
 crystallizing along the line of according to the umpire 
 his proper position in the game. Time was, as I have 
 said, when he was looked upon as a necessary evil — to be 
 tolerated, but not respected. It is not so to-day. 
 
 As illustrative of progress that has been made in the 
 direction of widening the scope of the umpire's jurisdic- 
 tion, I recall an incident of which I was witness during 
 the World's Championship series of 1910. It was on the 
 grounds of the Philadelphia Athletics and upon the occa- 
 sion of the first game of the series. The Chicago Cubs 
 had captured the pennant of the National League, the 
 Athletics being in possession of the same trophy of the 
 American League. 
 
 The magnificent grandstand of the Philadelphia club 
 was thronged by a mighty multitude of Base Ball enthusi- 
 asts. For several years the National League had held 
 the World's Championship flag, and, although betting 
 favored the Cubs, the knowing ones felt that the Athletics 
 had more than a fighting chance to win. So the great 
 crowd, although good natured, was highly wrought up. 
 
416 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Among the spectators that day, as might have been 
 expected, were many magnates of both major and minor 
 leagues. Chairman Herrmann, of the National Commis- 
 sion; President Lynch, of the Nationals, and President 
 Johnson, of the Americans, together with other old-time 
 and modern Base Ball lights, were present in the best 
 places in the grandstand. 
 
 The gathering of such a galaxy of celebrities natur- 
 ally attracted the camera fiend, and he was there, con- 
 spicuously, and in large force. The teams were engaged 
 in preliminary field practice, while the batteries were 
 warming up and onlookers were watching the play and 
 singling out their favorites, when a very active photog- 
 rapher, with paraphernalia of his craft, appeared before 
 the grandstand directly in front of the central and most 
 crowded section. For some moments he plied his art, 
 snapping groups here and there, when a murmur of pro- 
 test began to be heard from those whose view he was 
 obstructing. The umpire had taken his place and was 
 about to make announcement of batteries, when the hub- 
 bub increased. 
 
 " Down in front," " Move on," " Cut it out," " Bounce 
 him," "Throw him out," were some of the ejaculations 
 hurled at the artist. 
 
 The picture-taker paid no attention for awhile, but 
 finally the remonstrance became so widespread and general 
 that he was forced to take notice. Removing his hat, 
 the photographer said, politely but firmly, "Gentlemen, 
 I am within my rights here. I have the permission of 
 President Johnson to make these exposures." 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 417 
 
 "Oh, get out; we've got some rights, too," derisively 
 shouted someone. " I paid $3 for this seat," yelled 
 another, " and I want to see something." And then a 
 refrain went up from the throats of thousands: "Too 
 much Johnson," " Too much Johnson," " Too much 
 Johnson." 
 
 Suddenly a hush fell upon the great assemblage. The 
 umpire was approaching the stand. The camera man 
 turned, saw hope in the man of the indicator, and shouted 
 out to him a repetition of his claim that he had permission 
 of President Johnson, of the American League, to make 
 his snap-shots. 
 
 " Time is up," called the umpire. " I am about to call 
 the game. You'll have to get out." And he got. 
 
 I was seated near President Johnson. I had seen him 
 arise as if to corroborate the claim of the artist, but 
 upon the appearance of the umpire, and hearing his fiat 
 of authority, the great Ban Johnson, blushing like a 
 schoolgirl, took his seat, while thousands upon thousands 
 cheered the verdict of the man in temporary but absolute 
 control of the game. 
 
 This chapter would be incomplete without reference 
 to the honor that has recently come to a National League 
 umpire in his selection to the presidency of the National 
 League and, by virtue of that office, to membership on the 
 National Commission, the Supreme Court of arbitration 
 in Base Ball. 
 
 Thomas J. Lynch, of New Britain, Conn., is the man 
 thus honored. He is 52 years of age and served as umpire 
 for eleven years, part of the time for the Eastern League, 
 
418 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 and for the National League from 1896 to 1899, when 
 he retired from the game until his election to the presi- 
 dency. He has an excellent record as umpire, both for 
 his ability to make accurate and prompt decisions, and 
 for his unswerving integrity in his treatment of players, 
 management and the public. 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
JOHN T. BEUSH 
 
CHAPTER XXX. 
 
 PLEA FOR THE BASE BALL MAGNATE A SOMEWHAT ABUSED 
 
 INDIVIDUAL WHO CARRIES A BURDEN OF DUTIES AND 
 RESPONSIBILITIES OF WHICH THE PUBLIC KNOWS LITTLE 
 AND CARES LESS. igeO-lQll 
 
 IF IN these chronicles it has not been made to appear 
 that our national game owes something of both pres- 
 tige and perpetuity to the men who have directed its 
 business aifairs, then have I failed in one important point 
 of my undertaking; for, during my connection with Base 
 Ball, as player, captain, manager, magnate and league 
 ofBcial, I came to know much about men who have man- 
 aged its destinies. I know something about their duties, 
 their trials and their responsibilities, and I have sought 
 in these pages to accord to them their due meed of praise 
 for the success that has attended their patriotic and pain- 
 staking efforts to preserve Base Ball as a game worthy 
 the great American Nation. 
 
 The public is not always discriminating in its judg- 
 ments. It is prone to throw bouquets at those who tickle 
 their senses and forget the men who are to be credited 
 with the selection and employment of these favorites. 
 The men who, uncomplaining, have lost fortunes in vain 
 attempts to further the interests of clubs they have owned 
 and managied, and whose players have delighted countless 
 thousands, are lost to memory. Those who have played 
 the part of " angel " to teams that have been forced to 
 421 
 
ARTHUR H. SODJiN 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 423 
 
 disband for lack of patronage are, of course, unknown or 
 lost to sight. But the magnates who have made good are 
 known to everybody. They are exploited by the bright 
 young men of the press; they are looked upon by the gen- 
 eral public as beings to be envied ; as men without a care 
 in all the world, except to expend upon their persons and 
 their pleasures the alleged countless coins that flow in an 
 unending stream through the turnstiles of their clubs. 
 That these men have any other vocation in life than to 
 enjoy an uninterrupted good time, a succession of blissful 
 holidays, with free ball games as a continual performance, 
 seems never to enter the minds of many. 
 
 It is to correct this very serious error that this chap- 
 ter is written. I shall not here refer to the unlucky finan- 
 ciers whose enthusiasm for the game has led them into the 
 backing of forlorn hopes in hopeless territory; nor shall 
 I dwell upon the misfortunes of those who have gone to 
 the wall by reason of inability to meet competition on the 
 business side of the game. I shall undertake, however, to 
 show that the Base Ball magnate who achieves whai the 
 world denominates success is up against a serious enter- 
 prise ; that he must go " the pace that kills," that owner- 
 ship of a great ball club in a populous and prosperous 
 city involves man-killing experiences; that the manage- 
 ment of a major (and sometimes of a minor) league club 
 often Works havoc to the health and happiness of the man 
 who undertakes it, and that the long list of physical and 
 mental wrecks strewn along the shores of Base Ball history 
 tells a story of sacrifice to our national game that is not 
 generally appreciated or known, 
 
rilANK DE HASS KOBISON 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 425 
 
 A few years ago I happened to be paying a business 
 visit to a city of some importance in the Middle West. 
 The owner of the local club, whom I had known in former 
 years, learning of my presence, sent a complimentary invi- 
 tation to attend a series of ball games then scheduled for 
 that city. I went, and from the grandstand sent my card 
 to the magnate who was on the bench below, pencil and 
 card in hand, industriously keeping score and directing 
 his players in the game. He responded at once by coming 
 to my side. 
 
 I was not prepared for the change I noted in my 
 friend's appearance. He had been a ball player in other 
 days, a fellow of fine physique, active and strong. Now 
 he was attenuated; his hand trembled as he marked the 
 score card; deep furrows crossed his forehead; his once 
 dark hair had turned to gray ; he was prematurely an old 
 man. The game progressed, and favorably for his team. 
 When it was ended he said : " Thank God, we've won. We 
 needed that game very badly." Then he added : " Spald- 
 ing, do you know that I'm a miserable, mental and physical 
 wreck.'' I can't stand the strain much longer. My wife, 
 too, is disgusted with the whole business. I've made some 
 money, and we're going to buy a farm and get out of 
 Base Ball." It was a simple story, but it portrayed the 
 experiences of many another. 
 
 The responsibilities of a Base Ball club owner are 
 great and his trials are many. While those who are 
 ignorant of the troubles that beset his path regard him 
 with envy, he is an ever-present " buffer," receiving the 
 oft-repeated blows of opposing interests. He must stand 
 
A. J. REACH 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 427 
 
 between the public and its relentless demands for impos- 
 sibilities. He must provide grounds easily accessible, and 
 fit them up with elaborate grandstand, bleachers, club 
 house and toilets, that shall meet all requirements of com- 
 fort, cleanliness and convenience. His grounds must be 
 located as close by many avenues of rapid transit as pos- 
 sible. He must make sacrifice of much money to save time 
 for patrons who want to come late to games in 
 great throngs and depart early in a solid body. If the 
 trolley lines provide inadequate facilities for handling the 
 crowds, the magnate is to blame ! 
 
 He must stand between the press and the interests of 
 his club in many ways. At least twice a day must he 
 receive representatives of evening and morning papers, 
 and by " soft words " turn away the " wrath " of adverse 
 criticism that is always seeking to discover something with 
 which to find fault. He must be ready to answer diplo- 
 matically, satisfactorily and promptlj"^ any impudent 
 question that may come from the lips of an irresponsible 
 reporter. "Why don't you release Murphy?" "What 
 do you play O'Brien on second for.-"' "Why don't you 
 strengthen your pitching staff?" "Say, are you going 
 to sell Corrigan?" These are a few samples of conun- 
 drums that come to the club owner, and which he must 
 adroitly answer, skillfully parry, or invoke the ire of the 
 interrogator, with its inevitable results. 
 
 He must stand by his team, good, bad or indifferent. 
 He must receive the brunt of hostile comment directed 
 against his players, whether merited or not, from both 
 press and patroiis, apologizing for shortcomings where 
 
CHKIS VON HEll AHE 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 429 
 
 they exist, excusing as accidental errors in play that cost 
 him infinitely more than they could possibly cost anyone 
 else on earth. 
 
 He must hear and patiently consider the never-ending 
 stream of complaints growing out of jealousies and ambi- 
 tions among his players, and must, for the sake of the 
 game, and in his own personal interests, maintain the 
 esprit de corps of all members of the team. He must 
 listen to fault finding on the part of the men with the 
 manager he has placed over them, and, acting as judge, 
 must be patient, impartial and just, insisting upon proper 
 deference being paid to the official and at the same time 
 requiring the manager to be fair and reasonable in his 
 treatment of players. 
 
 He must be present at as many games as possible, 
 watching the individual work of the team, that he may be 
 personally advised of the capacity of each in order to 
 weed out the weaklings. Meanwhile it is important that 
 he shoidd have his eye on the players of other teams in 
 the league, in the hopes of picking up here and there an 
 artist unappreciated by the manager under .whom he is 
 playing. He must be on the grounds to see that order 
 and decorum are preserved, and on occasion he must stand 
 between the umpire and the mob. 
 
 Again, he must be big enough to rise above the petty 
 annoyances that thrust themselves upon him. Put your- 
 self in the magnate's place a moment for illustration of 
 this point. All the afternoon you have sat watching the 
 game. It has been characterized by many embarrassing 
 incidents. It has been an " off day " for your team. The 
 
PEESIDENTS OF KATIOXAL LEAGUE CLUBS 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 431 
 
 boys have made too many errors, and the visitors have 
 been on their mettle. Every close decision has seemed to 
 be against you. The game has ended with a score show- 
 ing your nine to have the small figures. Everything has 
 gone wrong. The attendance has been light. The crowd 
 is glowering in disgust. You turn from the grounds, 
 thinking to escape to your home, where you may forget 
 the Base Ball business and its discouragements for just a 
 little while. But, alas ! Every man you meet is loaded 
 with the same question. "What was the score to-day.'"' 
 You are perfectly aware that your interrogator knows 
 the score as well as you do. You saw him in the grand- 
 stand, where he caught your eye half a dozen times just as 
 errors had been scored against your team. But you must 
 feign a cheerfulness you do not feel and make a civil 
 answer. Then you must control the ire arising within 
 you as he asks : " What in the d — 1 is the matter with 
 your club, anyhow.'"' "Can't your boys play the game 
 any more ? " " Where on earth did you get the lobster 
 you are playing on third.'"' Remarks similar to these 
 come from every man you meet on the homeward path. 
 And next day, when the game has been brilliantly won 
 by your team, the bombardment of exclamations and 
 interrogatories is hardly more satisfactory, for now the 
 jubilant fan, in the exuberance of his joy, shouts to the 
 ears of all the world, "How was that.?" "What's the 
 matter with our boys.'' " " Say, it looks as if we'd got the 
 flag cinched for sure this year, don't it.'"' And so forth 
 and so on. Your club in defeat, with anathemas on the side 
 for you. Our team in victory, with the bouquets for us. 
 
PRESIDENTS OF AMERICAN LEAGUE CLUBS 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 433 
 
 And at night when, harrassed and worried by the 
 embarrassments and perplexities of the day, the magnate 
 seeks needed rest, thoughts of other trials, troubles and 
 tribulations force themselves upon his mind, driving sleep 
 from his tired eyelids. And, if perchance sweet sleep 
 shall come to restore in part his wasted energies, that 
 ever-ready instrument of torture, the telephone, is used 
 by the ubiquitous reporter to call him and ask for the 
 line-up of to-morrow's game. 
 
 The magnate must be a strong man among strong men, 
 else other club owners in the league will combine in their 
 own interests against him and his interests, and by collu- 
 sion force him out of the game. 
 
 Nor is the league official exempt from his woes. As a 
 magnate of magnates, he comes in for his tribulations, 
 too. He, also, is called upon to act as " buffer." Indeed, 
 that seems to be his special calling. He must not only 
 stand between the players and managers and magnates of 
 his league, but, if a member of the Commission, he muslj 
 at times receive the jolts of players and managers anq 
 magnates of all the leagues, major and minor, and what 
 he does not learn of trouble in the politics, management 
 and playing of the game, and in the administration of dis- 
 cipline, he may find in the hospital for the insane to which 
 his trials are likely to drive him. 
 
 Are these pictures here presented of the vexations of 
 magnates overdrawn.'' Are they mere phantasies of the 
 imagination.'' Let us see. Only a short time ago Harry 
 C. PuUiam, the bright young President of the National 
 League, put the muzzle of a revolver to his head and ended 
 
JAMES A. HART 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 435 
 
 his life. Unable to endure the strain of meeting the trying 
 problems that confronted him in life, he gave up the 
 battle. 
 
 That heroic figure in base ball history, William A. 
 Hulbert, lived only a few years after taking upon his 
 shoulders' the burdens of the National League. The 
 brothers, DeHass and Stanley Robison, so long identi- 
 fied with Cleveland and St. Louis Base Ball interests, both 
 died in managerial harness before their allotted span of 
 life. The names of Harry Wright, Ford Evans, Chas. H. 
 Byrne, John I. Rogers and others occur to me as those of 
 men who have given up the fight right in the midst of 
 battle. 
 
 And in addition to these are those who fill the ranks of 
 magnates still living, but who have either been forced to 
 leave active Base Ball management in order to escape 
 nervous collapse, or who are yet in the field, carrying on 
 the work, but all the time conscious that they must soon 
 retire— or join the silent majority. 
 
 I met James A. Hart, late President of the Chicago 
 Base Ball Club, of the National League, one day after 
 he had sold his interest to its present owner. He had 
 retired, broken in health and completely discouraged. 
 He had greatly improved when I met him, and I said: 
 "Well, James, you're looking fine. Don't you regret hav- 
 ing got out of the game.'"' "Not a regret," answered he. 
 " I'm getting all right again, and life is going to be worth 
 living once more; but it wouldn't be with a ball club on 
 my hands." 
 
 There are Base Ball magnates — a few — who seem to 
 
436 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 be equal to the emergency; men of strong physical and 
 mental fibre, and of temperament just suited to the work. 
 August Herrmann, Chairman of the National Commis- 
 sion — the Supreme Court of Base Ball — is such a man. 
 With a jovial, Teutonic temperament, nothing seems to 
 disturb his equanimity. B. B. Johnson, President of the 
 American League^ is another of quality suited to the place 
 he holds. He is not likely to wear out. Thomas J. 
 Lynch, the new President of the National League, is a 
 man of strong parts who will probably endure. John T. 
 Brush, President of the New York National Club, is one 
 of those thin, wiry men of steel whom nothing seems to 
 wear out, and Mr. A. H. Soden, of the Boston Nationals, 
 is strong ; but such men are exceptional. Very few mag- 
 nates continue as these men have, year after year, under 
 the relentless strain of Base Ball management. 
 
 And so, concluding this plea for the Base Ball mag- 
 nate, I ask, simplj"^ in the interests of fair play, that when 
 one feels inclined to bear down too hard on the man 
 behind the club some consideration be given to facts herein 
 set forth ; for, like that of Mr. Gilbert's policeman, the lot 
 of a Base Ball magnate is not always " a happy one." 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
WILLIAM A. SUNDAY 
 
CHAPTER XXXI. 
 
 BASE BALI, AND EELIGION BILLY SUNDAY AS PLAYER AND 
 
 PREACHER ANECDOTES OF THE INTEREST CHURCH 
 
 PEOPLE TAKE IN THE NATIONAL SPORT THE RELIGIOUS 
 
 editor's REPORT OF A GAME. 
 
 IT CANNOT be claimed for Base Ball that it is essen- 
 tially religious, either as to its features or its objects. 
 During the history of the evolution and development of 
 the pastime, magnates, managers, even players, have been 
 known who were not conspicuous examples of personal 
 piety. So far as the sport has developed any religious 
 side whatever, it can be said of it that, thus far it has 
 avoided sectarian bias or control — though it must be con- 
 fessed that it escaped that once by only "the skin of its 
 teeth." , 
 
 While all this is true, it will not be denied that about 
 every religious cult known has had representatives among 
 its votaries. Perhaps the term " Pan-denominational " 
 might properly be employed to ^describe its constituent 
 elements. Moreover, that word seems to be useful as sug- 
 gesting the Pandemonium which has sometimes character- 
 ized its councils and its exploitation. During my long 
 connection with Base Ball I have known among its man- 
 agers and players Agnostics, Baptists, Catholics, Dunk- 
 ards. Episcopalians, Fanatics, Mormons, Gentiles, Israel- 
 ites, Hebrews, Jews — but why go through the entire 
 alphabet to show that the game has within its ranks 
 439 
 
440 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Quakers and all 
 the rest? Everybody knows that. 
 
 However, it is of interest to know that churchmen, of 
 high and low estate, have been as fanatical in their love 
 for Base Ball as they have been zealous in their religious 
 predilections. Billy Sunday, who seems to be about the 
 most successful evangelist in the Presbyterian Church, 
 was converted while playing ball professionally, and it is 
 said that his contracts from that time on eliminated Sun- 
 day ball for Sunday. 
 
 The following special telegram, from the Hoosier capi- 
 tal, tells of Billy's work in the early days of his evangel- 
 istic career : 
 
 " IndianapoliSj July 12, 1904. — ^'Bill/' Sunday, who was known 
 in Base Ball circles years ago as the renowned outfielder of the 
 Chicago Club, is doing missionary work in the Indiana gas belt 
 towns and is talking to crowds of laboring people every night. He 
 has become as widely known as an evangelist as he once was as a 
 Base Ball player, and though it is many years since he was asso- 
 ciated with Anson, Pfeffer, Kelly, Burns and others who made up 
 the Chicago aggregation, he often refers to his old chums and the 
 kind words they gave him when he determined to reform. 
 
 " He is telling the story of his conversion and the happiness the 
 new life has brought him to Indiana audiences every night and, 
 incidentally, he has woven into his addresses the story of how prayer, 
 as he verily believes, saved a game of Base Ball. As he tells the 
 story, the fight for the pennant was between New York, Chicago and 
 Detroit that year, but it finally narrowed down to the two last- 
 named cities, and the final bout with Detroit came. The score was 
 close. Everybody was excited and the players were nerved to the 
 highest pitch by the great responsibility that rested upon them. 
 
 The last half of the ninth inning was being played,' says the 
 ex-ball player. 'Two men were out and Detroit, with Charley 
 Bennett at bat, had one man on second and another on third. He 
 had two strikes on him and three balls called, when he fell on a ball 
 with terrific force. It started for the clubhouse. Benches had 
 been placed in the field for spectators and as I saw the ball sailing 
 through my section of the air I realized that it was going over the 
 crowd, and I called, " Get out of the way." The crowd opened and 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 441 
 
 as I ran and leaped those benches I said one of the swiftest prayers 
 that was ever offered. It was: "Lord, if you ever helped a mortal 
 man, help me get that ball." 
 
 " ' I went over the benches as though wings were carrying me up. 
 I threw out my hand while in the air and the ball struck and stuck. 
 The game was ours. Though the deduction is hardly orthodox, I 
 am sure the Lord helped me catch that ball, and it was my first 
 great lesson in prayer. 
 
 "'Al Johnson, brother of the present Mayor of Cleveland, ran 
 up to me and handed me a ten-dollar bill. " Buy a new hat, Bill," 
 said he. " That catch won me $1,500." ' " 
 
 The following news item, from the San Diego, Cal., 
 Sun, 1911, seems to prove that Rev. " Billy " finds his evan- 
 gelistic work garners financial returns as well as converts : 
 
 "Billy Sunday is Sure Getting It. 
 
 " Erie, Pa., July 20. — William A. Sunday, quondam professional 
 Base Ball player, now professional revivalist, closed the evangelistic 
 season of 1910-11 here the other day $70,507.77 to the good as a result 
 of his year's work ' winning souls to Christ.' 
 
 " This return for about ten months' work, more than the President 
 of the United States has drawn for the same time, is evidence that 
 from a monetary standpoint, evangelistic work is more profitable than 
 playing professional Base Ball. The Rev. Mr. Sunday recently 
 refused an offer to go back to the ' majors ' once more. The induce- 
 ment was but $500 a month. 
 
 " Seven thousand a month looks better to Billy. Besides he 
 thinks he can do more good in the world preaching than playing 
 ball! 
 
 " During the past season Billy Sunday broke all evangelistic rec- 
 ords for money earned. It brings the cost of Sunday's services to 
 about $2 a ' convert.' " 
 
 In point of dogma it is a far cry from the tenets of 
 Evangelist Billy Sunday to those of Cardinal Gibbons, 
 but since both are identified with Base Ball in their per- 
 sonal records, Billy as a player, and the Cardinal as a 
 "fan," the placing of their names in juxtaposition here 
 may not appear as an ecclesiastical inconsistency. 
 
 Some years ago the Baltimore team visited St. Charles 
 College at Ellicott City, Md., where, in the presence of 
 
442 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Cardinal Gibbons, Bishop Curtis, of Wilmington, Del., 
 the faculty of the college and a number of visiting Cath- 
 olic priests from Washington and Baltimore, they gave 
 an exhibition of professional ball playing. The feature of 
 the occasion was the comments on the game made by the 
 Cardinal at the dinner given to the players in the college 
 refectory, of which the following paragraphs are worthy 
 of special note as being a valuable endorsement of the 
 merits of professional Base Ball as exhibited by the most 
 expert exemplars of the game known to the National 
 League in 1896. The Cardinal said: 
 
 " I am not what you might call a crank, but I am surrounded 
 (referring to a number of clergy seated at the same table with him) 
 by several excellent critics of the game, some of them even being 
 well enough versed in the pastime to lay claim to the title of authori- 
 ties. From them I have learned the merits of Baltimore's Base 
 Ball players, and, without hesitation, say that these young men, who 
 have obtained such prominence in their chosen profession, are worthy 
 of the praise bestowed upon them, and both the State and city can 
 well afford to be as proud of their achievements as they themselves 
 no doubt are. 
 
 "Let me say," he continued, "that I favor Base Ball as an 
 amusement for the greatest pleasure-loving people in the world. It 
 is necessary that there should be popular amusements, and in conse- 
 quence it is wise that the most generally patronized of these amuse- 
 ments should be innocent, since, were the opposite the case, the 
 opportunity of committing sins of greater or less degree would be 
 too openly set before the public. Base Ball is a clean sport. It 
 is an innocent amusement. Never have I heard that the games were 
 being used as vehicles for gambling, the most insidious of vices, and 
 this one fact alone raises it above the level of the average sporting 
 event. It is a healthy sport, and since the people of the country 
 generally demand some sporting event for their amusement, I would 
 single this out as the one best to be patronized, and heartily approve 
 of it as a popular pastime." 
 
 The Cardinal's words were listened to with the closest 
 attention by the players and the clergymen, who had 
 remained in the room after the body qi students had filed 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 443 
 
 out. He finished in silence, but his words had made a 
 deep impression on his hearers, and especially upon the 
 players, not one of whom could find words sufficient to 
 thank him for the glowing eulogy of the national game 
 that he had delivered. The Cardinal displayed the great- 
 est interest in the game, toward which he had been look- 
 ing forward for some time, and which was arranged espe- 
 cially for him at his invitation. The curving of the 
 pitched ball attracted his attention at the outset, and he 
 spent some time in investigating the phenomenon from 
 behind the wire screen. No detail of the game escaped his 
 watchful eye. 
 
 The following reprint from the Chicago Tribune, in 
 1906, is presented as showing what a strong hold our 
 national game has upon some very excellent and highly 
 religious people, whose counterparts live in every village 
 and city in America: 
 
 " Rev. Mr. Perkins (so-called because that isn't anything like 
 his real name) is one of the shining lights of the Episcopalian 
 Church in Chicago, a man noted for his high ideals and his good 
 works. 
 
 "Rev. Mr. Perkins has a son who strayed into strange ways, and 
 finally wound up as a Base Ball reporter — and a corking good one. 
 Indeed, he is almost as well known in his line as his reverend father 
 is in his. 
 
 " The son never laid any claim to being wise in his father's line, 
 but Rev. Mr. Perkins always has had quite an idea that he would 
 have made quite as good a Base Ball reporter as minister. 
 
 "Thereby hangs a tale. Last year the son was an ardent and 
 faithful supporter of the Cubs. His heart was with Comiskey, but 
 he couldn't see how Commy's bunch ever could beat Murphy's crew. 
 His father, who attends Base Ball as often as there is no service, 
 or meeting of the guild, was a wild and woolly admirer of the Sox, 
 and one of the most ardent believers that they could beat anything 
 on earth. And at home, instead of starting a discussion on higher 
 criticism, the father and son debated strongly upon the relative 
 
444 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 merits of the South and West Side teams, and the debate waxed 
 hotter and hotter as the post-season series came nearer. 
 
 " Comiskey heard of it, and was so tickled that he sent the 
 minister seats for all the post-season games — and it is stated that 
 the church sei . ices during that week were adjusted to fit the post- 
 season schedule — up to Sunday. 
 
 " Rev. Mr. Perkins witnessed all the games, but on Sunday he 
 was absent. It is stated that the afternoon services were cut short 
 and that within a minute after pronouncing the benediction he was 
 at a phone inquiring the score. 
 
 " And that night he wrote to Comiskey a letter of congratulation, 
 and at the close he said: 
 
 " ' It appears to me unfortunate both for myself and ray church 
 on this occasion that I was forbidden by my calling to wager upon 
 the outcome. Otherwise I should have won enough to pay off the 
 parish debt.' 
 
 " There was another fan who, on that memorable Sunday after- 
 noon when the Sox clinched their claim for the world's pennant, 
 suffered. He is one of the best Base Ball cranks in Chicago, a rooter 
 for the Sox and an ardent supporter of Comiskey. He has the good 
 fortune (although he didn't think so that day) to have a good and 
 pious wife, who is one of the leaders in a little church up in Edge- 
 water. This fan isn't particularly religious, but he respects and 
 admires his wife's stand in the matter, and during fifteen or twenty 
 years of married life has assimilated more or less of her belief and 
 feelings. 
 
 " The post-season series, however, was too much for him. He 
 attended five games and admits that he was planning to attend 
 morning services with his wife and make a sneak to the ball park 
 in the afternoon. Luck, however, was against him. A special after- 
 noon service of great importance was announced, and his hope of 
 seeing the deciding game evaporated. He knew he could not offer 
 any excuse that would satisfy his wife, and that a plain explanation 
 meant to hurt her feelings. So he decided to make a martyr of 
 himself and attend the special service. 
 
 " It is not believed that the service did him much good. His 
 mind was away down on the Base Ball field. 
 
 " He was sitting there, picturing the great throng on Commy's 
 park, the excitement, the noise, the enthusiasm, and pulling hard for 
 the Sox to win. 
 
 " He wasn't even giving a thought to what was going on in 
 church, and twice his wife had to pull his coattails to get him to 
 stand up. 
 
 "Suddenly he saw Deacon Morris arise and tiptoe into the 
 vestry. He knew there was a telephone there, and for five minutes 
 he had been wondering if he dared slip out and ask what the 
 score was. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 445 
 
 " About five minutes later Deacon Morris tiptoed back up the 
 aisle, smiling, and sat down just across the aisle. 
 
 " The fan slipped along the pew, leaned out, and an instant 
 later the worshipers in the surrounding pews heard him ask in a 
 stage whisper: 
 
 "'What's the score?' 
 
 " And without a flicker of hesitation Deacon Morris whispered 
 back, so he could be lieard by half the church: 
 
 " ' Sox got 'em beat in the sixth.' 
 
 " For just an instant everybody looked startled, and then the 
 minister, whether by accident or design, no one knows, remarked: 
 
 " ' Let us sing the long meter doxology.' 
 
 " But there is a minister out on the Northwest side who made 
 himself one of the most popular men in the district on that same 
 Sunday afternoon, when all Chicago and most of the world waited to 
 hear the news. 
 
 "There was a meeting of the Bible class called for 4.30 in the 
 afternoon. This class is the biggest thing in the church, and almost 
 all the men and women, especially the young ones, are members. 
 
 " That Sunday afternoon the lecture room of the church was 
 crowded — and the minister was late. He usually started things off, 
 and then turned over the meeting to the class itself, explaining and 
 helping only when needed or called upon. So the meeting was 
 opened without him. 
 
 " Shortly thereafter he came in, red from rapid walking, and 
 beaming with smiles. He sat down until the hymn was finished, and 
 then, walking forward, remarked: 
 
 "'Ladies and Gentlemen: I have glorious news for you. The 
 White Sox are champions of the world — I stopped to learn the score, 
 feeling that we could study better if we knew.' 
 "And the class broke into cheers." 
 
 Some twenty odd years ago the local department of 
 the Brooklyn Eagle happened to be rushed with work dur- 
 ing the absence of the Base Ball editor, and it was found 
 necessary to assign the religious editor to the task of 
 writing up the Base Ball match of the day at the Capito- 
 line grounds. The writer in question went to the game, 
 watched the contest to its finish, and the next morning 
 sent in the following report : 
 
 "A very refreshing season of Base Ball was experienced in the 
 Capitoline Vineyard yesterday afternoon, affording exceeding unc- 
 
446 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 tion to a congregation of fully two thousand souls. Brother Murphy, 
 of the Brooklyn Class, first wielded the rod, even as did Moses at 
 the rock of waters, and smiting the ball with prodigious smite was 
 richly blessed with two bases. It then became the blessed privilege 
 of Brother Fitzgerald to stand forth, but, despite his most fervent 
 efforts. Divine Providence interfered with a foul tip, and the brother 
 harvested naught. During this season Brother Murphy had experi- 
 enced a change of bases, garnering unto himself the third thereof, 
 whereat there was great rejoicing, mingled with lamentation and 
 rending of garments among the disciples of the conflicting tribes. 
 At this critical point in the salvation of the class Brother Maloney 
 came among them as a physician of souls, but the sheaves of great 
 rejoicing were not for him. Like Jacob he wrestled, and like Nathan 
 he fell, for his adversaries were plenteous and their wisdom that of 
 the serpent, forasmuch when he smote the ball so that it soared 
 they that were as Philistines unto him did congregate around about 
 that the ball might not escape them, and did hold forth each man 
 his hands, until their fingers in number were like unto the lilies of 
 the valley, and they seized the ball and bore it thence in triumph." 
 
 On reading the story before sending it out to be set 
 up, the city editor called the writer to the desk, and asked 
 him, as he handed him the report : 
 
 " What's all this got to do with the game I sent you to 
 write up ? " 
 
 " Anything the matter with it ? " asked the writer. 
 
 " This is no way to write up a ball match." 
 
 " Why not.?" queried the writer indignantly. " That's 
 the way they did it," he continued, " and that's my way." 
 
 " But, man alive," resumed the editor, " this reads like 
 a sermon." 
 
 "What if it does," was the reply. "Have you any 
 objections to sermons.? If you don't like my style of 
 writing the game up you had better send some secular 
 cuss to the next game when the old man is absent." 
 
 The report was sent in and it created quite a sensa- 
 tion for the time being. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
ERNEST L. THAYER 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 POETIC LITERATURE OF BASE BALL INTERESTING STORY 
 
 OF " CASEY AT THE BAT " ITS AUTHOR DE WOLF 
 
 hopper's part in making the poem a CLASSIC 
 
 OTHER POEMS. 
 
 LIKE every other cause worthy the best efforts of 
 J writers of note, Base Ball has a literature peculiarly 
 its own. Love has its sonnets galore; War its epics in 
 heroic verse ; Tragedy its sombre story in measured lines, 
 and Base Ball has " Casey at the Bat." 
 
 To this day men of splendid mental equipment are 
 burning midnight oil in labored efforts to solve the author- 
 ship of the immortal productions usually accredited to 
 the " Bard of Avon." It is not, therefore, passing strange 
 that more than one individual has taken to himself the 
 honor of having written the popular Base Ball classic. 
 At various times in the early history of this poem its 
 authorship was assumed by Joseph Quinlan Murphy, Will 
 Valentine and Ernest L. Thayer. That Mr. Thayer was 
 its author has long been established beyond the perad- 
 venture of a doubt, the false claimants fading away as 
 soon as the real author was brought to the front. 
 
 The poem, " Casey at the Bat," was first published in 
 the San Francisco Examiner, June 3, 1888, and won 
 instant favor among the Base Ball fraternity. But it 
 needed the impetus given it by DeWolf Hopper to bring 
 to it the widespread popularity that it has since attained, 
 and which not only calls for its repetition whenever 
 
 449 
 
450 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Hopper appears before the footlights, but which also 
 demands its publication at frequent intervals in the 
 daily press. 
 
 I shall not undertake to determine as to whether the 
 poem made Hopper great, or Hopper made the poem 
 great. As a friend of Hopper, and an admirer of the 
 poem, I am inclined to the opinion that each owes a good 
 deal of popularity to the other. The poem as usually 
 published consists of eight stanzas, beginning with the 
 words : " There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped 
 into his place." As originally printed, however, it em- 
 braced thirteen stanzas, and in its perfect form, as writ- 
 ten, was as follows : 
 
 CASEY AT THE BAT. 
 
 (A Ballad of the Republic. Sung in the Tear 1888.) 
 
 The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day; 
 The score stood four to two with but one inning more to play; 
 And then, when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same, 
 A sickly silence fell upon the patrons of the game. 
 
 A straggling few got up to go, in deep despair. The rest 
 Clung to that hope which "springs eternal in the human breast;" 
 They thought, If only Casey could but get a whack at that, 
 We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat. 
 
 But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake, 
 And the former was a lulu and the latter was a cake; 
 So, upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat, 
 For there seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to the bat. 
 
 But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all, 
 And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball, 
 And when the dust had lifted and men saw what had occurred, 
 There was Jimmy safe at second, and Flynn a-huggin' third. 
 
 Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell, 
 
 It rumbled through the valley; it rattled in the dell; 
 
 It knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the flat, 
 
 For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 451 
 
 There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place; 
 There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face, 
 And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat, 
 No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat. 
 
 Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt; 
 Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt. 
 Then, while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip, 
 Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip. 
 
 And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air, 
 
 And Casey stood a-watching it In haughty grandeur there, 
 
 Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped — 
 
 " That ain't my style," said Casey. " Strike one," the umpire said. 
 
 From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar. 
 Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore. 
 "Kill him; kill the umpire!" shouted someone from the stand; — 
 And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand. 
 
 With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone; 
 He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on; 
 He signalled to the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flew; 
 But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, " Strike two." 
 
 "Fraud," cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud," 
 But one scornful look from Casey, and the multitude was awed. 
 They saw his face grow stern and cold; they saw his muscles strain, 
 And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again. 
 
 The sneer is gone from Casey's lip; his teeth are clinched in hate; 
 He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate. 
 And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go. 
 And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow. 
 
 Oh! somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright; 
 The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light. 
 And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout; 
 But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has Struck Out. 
 
 Mr. Thayer, the author of " Casey at the Bat," has 
 his home at Worcester, Mass. His father being a wealthy 
 manufacturer, young Thayer, after finishing his course 
 at Harvard University, from which he graduated in the 
 class of 1885, started out to " do " the world. He had 
 
452 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 been the editor of the Lampoon while at college, and was 
 looked upon by his classmates as a particularly bright 
 and witty fellow. Upon arriving at San Francisco, the 
 youth — to show his independence of parental patronage — 
 sought and received employment on the Examiner, in 
 whose columns the poem appeared during his term of ser- 
 vice. 
 
 The following letter, being the second in a series estab- 
 lishing his authorship of the poem, explains itself: 
 
 "Rome, Grand Hotel du Quirinal, 
 "To the Sporting Editor of the .Yews: "February 4, 1905. 
 
 " Since writing to you the other day, other facts about ' Casey ' 
 have occurred to me which, perhaps, will be of interest to you. 
 Except as originally published in the Examiner. 'Casey' has never 
 been correctly printed — barring one or two cases in which I have fur- 
 nished the copy. When the poem was first copied into an Eastern 
 paper — I think by the New York Siin — the clipping editor cut off the 
 opening stanzas and began where Casey advances to the bat. Later 
 on, Mr. Hopper began to recite the complete poem as it was given 
 to him by Mr. Archibald Clavering Gunter, who saw it in the Exam- 
 iner. Some one who heard Hopper's recitation wrote out the first 
 five stanzas from memory — and a very bad memory he must have 
 had — and tacked them to the mutilated version as it was printed in 
 the 8iin and many of its exchanges, and then published a combi- 
 nation which has been printed up and down the land as 'Casey at 
 the Bat.' I think that if the matter were of any importance the 
 easiest way to establish the authorship would be to let the different 
 claimants furnish a copy which might be compared with the poem 
 as it was first printed in the Examiner. 
 
 " I may say, in conclusion, that though some of the mutilated 
 reprints of ' Casey ' have my name on the title page, I have never 
 authorized them. I have left the poem to its fate — except that once 
 I had a few copies printed for circulation among my friends, and 
 only recently, when I am charged with falsely claiming the poem, 
 has it seemed to me my duty to say something of my connection 
 with it. Finally, while a certain Will A'alentine may have written 
 a Base Ball poem in a Sioux City paper before 1888, it could not 
 have been ' Casey at the Bat,' and if anyone is anxious enough to 
 search the files of that paper this fact will become patent. With 
 apologies for troubling you. Very truly yours, 
 
 "Ebnest L. Thayek." 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 453 
 
 Among the mountain of clippings in the collection cf 
 the late Henry Chadwick I find the following, without 
 newspaper credit or date. I am therefore compelled to 
 print jt in this form, or not at all : 
 
 " Casey is dead ! 
 
 "There are many Caseys, dead and alive, but this particular 
 Hibernian won fame because he was ' Casey at the Bat.' 
 
 " Not only fame for himself, but a reputation for DeWolf 
 Hopper, who was a sort of foster father to him, did he win, and 
 with his demise is learned for the first time the identity of his 
 author. 
 
 " Wherever Hopper is known, Casey of bat fame is an acquaint- 
 ance also. For seventeen years Hopper has recited the poem relat- 
 ing to Casey's wild blows at the ball in nearly every city in this 
 country, and in London as well. At benefit performances, at Lambs' 
 gambols, at regular performances — in fact, at nearly every gathering 
 which Hopper has attended since he became known upon the stage — 
 he has been called upon to recite ' Casey at the Bat,' and he always 
 nas responded. 
 
 " And until yesterday the original of the poem which has found 
 such favor was not known. 
 
 " The Casey who just died was John Patrick Parnell Cahill, a 
 former Base Ball player. On the Pacific Coast he was very popular 
 as a player, and after his retirement from the diamond still held 
 his head high, for he had been perpetuated in verse under the name 
 of Casey. His demise occurred in Pleasanton, California, last 
 Friday, of consumption. 
 
 " Exactly seventeen years ago, when Hopper appeared in 
 ' Prince Methusaleh ' at Wallack's, he first used the poem. No less 
 known a person than Archibald Clavering Gunter, novelist and 
 dramatist, called his attention to it. By so doing. Hopper believes 
 Gunter did as much to earn him a reputation as any role he ever 
 played. 
 
 " Gunter approached him one evening and asked him if he would 
 like to have a novel poem. Hopper replied in the affirmative, and 
 Gunter handed him the ' Casey at the Bat ' verses. Hopper was 
 highly pleased with them and used them at Wallack's Theater. They 
 made an instantaneous success. 
 
 " Gunter did hot know the authorship of the verses, and 
 Hopper spent three years in an effort to find out. He had about 
 despaired of ever learning the name of the man who penned the 
 lines, when by chance the information was borne to him. The 
 comedian was billed to appear at Worcester, Mass. From an old 
 friend of his family residing in that city he received a note asking 
 
454 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 him if he would like to meet the man who wrote ' Casey at the Bat.' 
 Hopper accepted the invitation gladly and the next day was pre- 
 sented to Ernest L. Thayer, of Worcester. Thayer admitted the 
 authorship and told the circumstances which led up to the penning 
 of the verses." 
 
 Another poem, of equal literary merit, a parody on 
 Macaulay's "Lays of Ancient Rome," which appeared 
 about the same time, and which is supposed to have first 
 been printed in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, seems to 
 have been lost to literature, unless this reference to it 
 shall result in its reproduction. I have been unable to 
 secure a copy, but a friend recalls the opening stanza, 
 in these words : 
 
 " Ho, lictors, sound the war note ; 
 
 Triumvirs, clear the way; 
 
 The great barbarian ball teams 
 
 Will play in Rome to-day." 
 
 The reference, of course, is to the World's Tour of 
 the Chicago and All-America teams, in 1888-9. 
 
 It will be manifestly impossible to reproduce here a 
 tithe of the meritorious verse that has been written on our 
 national game. From a collection of many poems the 
 following are selected as representing the wide range 
 over which the Base Ball Pegasus has roamed: 
 
 THE SPORTSMAN'S CODE. 
 From Harper's Round Table. 
 
 Nira- these are the laws of the athlete, 
 
 That stretch the length of the field. 
 Th^y make the code of the runner fleet 
 
 Who has never yet learned to yield. 
 They tell you how to lay your plan. 
 
 And how to carry it through. 
 They help the man, who's done what he can, 
 
 To bear his Waterloo. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 455 
 
 You shall give the foeman all his due, 
 
 And let him win if he can; 
 But keep all rights that belong to you, 
 
 For that is the law of man. 
 You shall hold the ground that is yours by right. 
 
 And yield not a foot you have trod. 
 But grant his right in a stand-up fight, 
 
 For that is the law of God. 
 
 If you row with the crew in the boat, 
 
 It's a. wretched thing to spy. 
 There's plenty of work when you leave the float. 
 
 But little to do for the eye. 
 There's plenty to do to swing and slide, 
 
 And steady the fragile shell; 
 But to gain your strength from the other side 
 
 Is a method sent from hell. 
 
 No man shall yield on the foot ball field 
 
 Till the final whistle sounds. 
 No man shall show by a single blow 
 
 That he has no place on the grounds. 
 But when the foe is in racking pain 
 
 And cannot move or fight, 
 You shall help him up to his feet again, 
 
 And chafe his bruise and bind his strain. 
 To show the make of your own good grain. 
 
 For that is fair and right. 
 
 The strength of the team, or nine, or crew 
 
 Is not the strength of the " star." 
 'Tis what the body together can do 
 
 That carries the victory far. 
 So you shall give your mite to the rest 
 
 To bring the whole team through, 
 And then at the time of your single test 
 
 They shall give their strength to you. 
 
 And these are the laws of the athlete. 
 
 You can heed them or not, as you like, 
 But they make the code of the runner fleet. 
 
 And they check a man when he'd strike. 
 They tell you how to lay your plan. 
 
 And how to carry it through.' 
 They help the man, who's done what he can. 
 
 To bear his Waterloo. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 457 
 
 BASE BALL. 
 By 8. D. Richardson. 
 
 'Tis a glorious game, with a well-earned fame, 
 
 A diamond in royal setting; 
 And its beautiful rays light up our days 
 
 From the field with an emerald fretting. 
 So day after day I am watching the play, 
 
 Absorbed In the outings and innings; 
 Though I rislc not a dime, I'm gainer each time. 
 
 And the joy that it gives is my winnings. 
 
 But sometimes on a day my mind is away 
 
 From the game with an idle perusing. 
 And I thinlc of another so much like the other 
 
 That I blend them together in musing: 
 'Tis the old game of life, with its conquest and strife. 
 
 With its wonderful outings and innings; 
 Where the umpire of fate forever doth wait 
 
 Giving gladness and sorrow for winnings. 
 
 There's the man at the bat, he's a king on that plat, 
 
 And he watches the ball that is fleeting 
 'TiU his blow meets the same, and it soars o'er the game 
 
 And receives from the people a greeting. 
 'Tis the man who doth wait while fortune that's great. 
 
 Changing hands Kke the shuttle in weaving. 
 Comes and touches his mace, and he runs every base. 
 
 While the people shout, " Luck is retrieving ! " 
 
 See the pitcher, whose aim is surely not tame. 
 
 While his curvings are often perplexing; 
 And the poise of his fist, with the twist of his wrist. 
 
 To those running the bases is vexing. 
 'Tis the man who in fame hits the mark all the same. 
 
 Though he throws a curved ball there to do it; 
 And the one who would steal a base on his field, 
 
 Will have cause to remember and rue it. 
 
 And the catcher with nerve that all good might deserve. 
 
 And a visor drawn low for the danger; 
 With a smile by that base that's as cruel to face 
 
 As the blow of a spiteful sky-ran^r — ■ 
 'Tis the man of strong nerve, whom no terror can swerve. 
 
 And who laughs where the peril is thickest; 
 And he guards the home base 'gainst the strong in the race. 
 
 And outs them with hand that is quickest. 
 
458 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 There's the guard at each base who, alert in his place, 
 
 Knows his work and performs it with pleasure; 
 And the fielders that stand with the game well in hand 
 
 And consider high balls but a treasure. 
 'Tis the men of each age, who on history's page 
 
 Have written their names with their actions; 
 Catching fame on the fly, though it comes from the sky. 
 
 And ne'er bothered with foolish attractions. 
 
 So the old game of life, with its conquest and strife. 
 
 Ever moves, with no pause or delaying. 
 The wise and the great and the foolish with fate 
 
 On the field of the great world are playing. 
 And the games will ne'er close 'till the boioks shall disclose 
 
 All the wonderful outings and innings. 
 With the sun 'neath the West and the players at rest. 
 
 And the blest with their bountiful winnings. 
 
 THE SLIDE OF PAUL REVERE. 
 Grantland Rice, in Atlanta Journal. 
 
 Listen, fanatics, and you shall hear 
 
 Of the midnight slide of Paul Revere- - 
 
 How he scored from first on an outfield drive 
 
 By a dashing sprint and headlong dive — 
 
 'Twas the greatest play pulled off that year. 
 
 Now the home of poets and potted beans. 
 
 Of Emersonian ways and means. 
 
 In Base Ball epic has oft been sung 
 
 Since the days of Criger and old Cy Young — 
 
 But not even fleet, deer-footed Bay 
 
 Could have pulled off any such fancy play 
 
 As the slide of P. Revere, which won 
 
 The famous battle of Lexington. 
 
 The Yanks and the British were booked that trip 
 
 In a scrap for the New World Championship — 
 
 But the British landed a bit too late. 
 
 So the game didn't open till half-past eight, 
 
 And Paul Revere was dreaming away 
 
 When the umpire issued his call for play. 
 
 On, on they fought 'neath the Boston moon. 
 As the British figured — " Not yet, but soon " — 
 For the odds were against the Yanks that night, 
 With Paul Revere blocked away from the fight — 
 And the grandstand gathering groaned in woe, 
 While a sad wail bubbled from Rooters' Row. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 459 
 
 But wait — Hist! Hearken! and likewise hark! 
 What means that galloping near the park? 
 What means that cry of a man dead sore? 
 "Am I too late? Say, what's the score?" 
 And echo answered both far and near, 
 As the rooters shouted, " There's Paul Revere ! " 
 
 Oh, how sweetly that moon did shine, 
 When P. Revere took the coaching line! 
 He woke up the grandstand from its trance, 
 And made the bleachers get up and dance- 
 He joshed the British with robust shout 
 Until they booted the ball about — 
 He whooped and he clamored all over the lot 
 Till the score was tied in a Gordian knot. 
 
 Now, in this part of the " Dope Recooked " 
 
 Are the facts which history overlooked — 
 
 How Paul Revere came to bat that night 
 
 And suddenly ended the long-drawn fight — 
 
 How he singled to center and then straightaway 
 
 Dashed on to second like Harry Bay — 
 
 Kept traveling on with the speed of a bird. 
 
 Till he whizzed like a meteor rounding third — 
 
 " Hold back, you lobster "■ — but all in vain — 
 
 The coachers shouted in tones of pain — 
 
 For Paul kept on with a swinging stride, 
 
 And he hit the ground when they hollered " SLIDE! " 
 
 Spectacular plays may come and go 
 
 In the hurry of Time's swift ebb and flow — 
 
 But never again will there be one 
 
 Like the first American " hit and run." 
 
 And as long as the old game lasts you'll hear 
 
 Of the midnight slide of P. Revere. 
 
 BALTIMORE'S LAMENT. 
 
 Baltimore American. 
 
 When the team from Podunk Centre comes to play in Baltimore 
 We will see the game presented as it was in days of yore. 
 When the score was in the hundreds as the coming shades of night 
 Called it at the seventh inning, and the players had a fight; 
 When 'twas " out " if any fielder caught the ball on its first bound, 
 And they " crossed the runner out " before he'd travelled half way 
 round, 
 
460 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Oh, they'll give us old time Base Bali, with the old time sort of 
 
 score, 
 When the team from Podunk Centre comes to play in Baltimore. 
 
 The Orioles will hustle for the annual championship 
 
 Of the Turnpike League; they'll try to beat the team from Hutner's 
 
 Slip, 
 And the nine from Perkin's Crossing must play ball its very best, 
 While the Punkintown star pitcher's curves will be knocked "galley 
 
 west." 
 The club from Sleepy Hollow will agree that Jerry Nops 
 Has a way of giving pitchers' fancy inshoots knockout drops. 
 " Oh, kiU him ! Kill the umpire ! " will the bleachers loudly roar 
 If the team from Podunk Centre tries to win from Baltimore. 
 
 Our " Mugs " McGraw will do his best to play Base Ball and win, 
 And he'U wear some zephyr coaxers on his broad, determined chin; 
 And " Robby," too, will say " B'gosh " and chew a wisp of hay 
 To conceal his strong emotion when a liner gets away. 
 The Turnpike League 'will have a pennant made of green goods 
 
 bright. 
 And each team will play to win it with all their strength and might, 
 So we'll see the game played this year as it was in years before 
 When the team from Podunk Centre comes to play in Baltimore. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
KALl'H h. I'AIXE 
 HUGH S. rULLEKTOX WILL S. IIIWIN 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 
 PROSE LITERATtJKE OF THE GAME CONTUIBUTIONS OF BASE 
 
 BALL WRITERS ON THE SCIENTIFIC FEATURES AND VAST 
 ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NATIONAL PASTIME. 
 
 THE prose literature of Base Ball began with the 
 game itself, and has kept pace with it in attractive 
 form. If it is true, as has herein been said, that whenever 
 the elements are favorable and wherever grounds are avail- 
 able the game is in progress, it is quite as true that where- 
 ever and whenever newspapers and periodicals are printed 
 in America literature of the game is in process of making. 
 Not only volumes but libraries have been written. His- 
 torical, statistical, descriptive, narrative, technical and 
 humorous articles and books, in unlimited numbers, have 
 flooded the country for years, and the cataclysm con- 
 tinues its supply of literary matter in an ever-increasing 
 deluge. Recently the high-class magazines have taken up 
 the subject, and the foremost publications of America 
 are devoting much valuable space to the exploitation of 
 features of the American game. 
 
 From out of this vast ocean of material one can only 
 present, in a work like this, a few excerpts, touching 
 divers phases of the general theme. In selecting these, I 
 have only chosen such as here appear as representing 
 types of Base Ball writing, each peculiar to its author or 
 its class. 
 
 The following characteristic editorial is from the 
 New York Sun of April 18, 1908 : 
 
 463 
 
464 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 " THE GREATEST LIVING WRITER. 
 
 " Our valued and vertiginous contemporary, the Chicago Tribune, 
 has not given up to stockings and gloves what vifas meant for the 
 permanent happiness of mankind. In spite of its ferocious war on 
 Gloversville and Hosierdom it is still true to the felicities, rarities 
 and preciosities of style. Ithuriel EUery Sanborn was present 
 with all his squadron of language at the 'christening' of the Chi- 
 cago Base Ball season last week. We invite students of the living 
 speech to the works of the ' master ' : 
 
 " ' The Cardinals were outbatted by many parasangs. 
 
 " ' Big Jeff Overall cut the cardiac region of the plate. 
 
 " ' The turnout from Bugville was surprisingly large. 
 
 " ' Zimmerman makes winning clout. 
 
 " ' One on a pass, the other on a puncture. 
 
 " ' Compiling a double. 
 
 " ' There was a gay yelp when Steinfeldt smashed. 
 
 " ' After, Overall had whiffed. 
 
 " ' Overall caught him off balance, accomplishing Roger's demise. 
 
 " ' But for Brown's unfortunate decease he could have scored 
 pulled up. 
 
 " ' Moran poked a hot one. 
 
 '"The little fellow stabbed it. 
 
 "'There were two dead Cubs. 
 
 "'A couple of underground shoots. 
 
 " ' Manager Frank had not touched the pan. 
 
 " ' Arbiter Klem showed him a slewfoot print on the edge of the 
 rubber. 
 
 " ' Opposed to the Cubs' star was Left Handed Lush.' 
 
 " If Mr. Joseph Medill were here to exult in the glory of the 
 ' master ' and the Cubs he might need an interpreter at first, but he 
 would instantly applaud the originality, the tang, the bite, the pro- 
 cession of home bagging parts of speech that belong to the Hon. 
 Ithuriel Ellery Sanborn. May his vocabulary increase, if such a 
 thing is possible. We take the liberty of nominating him as a mem- 
 ber of the Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge's Academy. Is there another 
 living writer who can produce in quantities to suit such muscular, 
 meaty and animated English?" 
 
 The following appeared a few years ago in the edi- 
 torial columns of the Memphis Appeal: 
 
 "THE GAME OF BALL. 
 
 "Ball playing is looked upon as the national sporting game of 
 this country, just as p»ker is looked upon as the national gambling 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 465 
 
 game, and never was ball playing so popular as it is at present. We 
 have national leagues of all kinds. Every city of consequence has 
 its Base Ball club, a -member of some league or other. Serai-profes- 
 sional clubs are numerous. Big business houses maintain amateur 
 clubs. Every vacant lot has its ball, players orgaiiized and unor- 
 ganized. The public streets are occupied by ball tossers who avail 
 themselves of every opportunity to throw a ball across the street to 
 some one else quite as eager as themselves. Base Ball is the topic 
 of universal conversation, and keeping the percentage of the several 
 clubs is making us a nation of mathematicians. On the streets, in 
 the alleys, ih business offices, in public resorts, in private houses, at 
 morning, noon and night, young and old, rich and poor, are dis- 
 cussing Base Ball and arguing in favor of their particular favorites. 
 The boy or girl of IS who does not know the batting record of 
 every member of the local league is looked on with pity. A game 
 at Red Elm Park attracts 7,000 people who pay to get in. People 
 go wild with excitement as they did long ago when they watched the 
 contests in the arena in the Circus Maximus, in the stadium, or as 
 they did who lined the road from Marathon to Athens to watch the 
 footrunners. Bourke Cockran drew an audience of 6,000 people 
 during a time of political excitement, but they paid no admission. 
 Demosthenes, risen from the dust of ages, and advertised to deliver 
 a new philippic, could not draw a paid audience of 7,000. The 
 country is Base Ball crazy, and it is a pleasant form of dementia. 
 The game is harmless and healthy, and thosie who witness it feel a 
 relief in leaving dingy offices or dull workshops and going where 
 they can fill their lungs with pure air and shout to their heart's 
 content." 
 
 The professional ranks of actors, musicians and artists 
 have always contained large numbers of lovers of Base 
 Ball, and many of them have divided their time between 
 devotion to their arts and to the game. DeWolf Hop- 
 per's reciting of " Casey at the Bat " into world-wide 
 fame has been spoken of. The cartoons of Davenport 
 and other famed artists have contributed great pleasure 
 to enthusiasts. John Philip Sousa, the popular bandmas- 
 ter, not only has an organized team among his instrumen- 
 talists but occasionally writes upon the subject. The 
 Base Ball Magazine of February, 1909, contains a very 
 interesting contribution from the pen of the great band- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 467 
 
 master, together with a halftone cut illustrating some of 
 his members — himself among them — in full Base Ball uni- 
 form, with the word " Sousa " emblazoned on every breast. 
 The following was published in the Chicago Inter- 
 Ocean, Tuesday, May 5, 1891. It is in a vein character- 
 istic of its author, Leonard Dana Washburn, an Inter- 
 Ocean writer, who lost his life in a railway accident, in 
 Indiana, a few months after this Base Ball story appeared: 
 
 " You can write home that Grandpa won yesterday. 
 
 " And say in the postscript that Willie Hutchinson did it. The 
 sweet child stood out in the middle of the big diamond of pompa- 
 dour grass and slammed balls down the path that looked like the 
 biscuits of a bride. The day was dark, and when Mr. Hutchinson 
 shook out the coils of his right arm, rubbed his left toe meditatively 
 in the soil he loves so well, and let go, there was a blinding streak 
 through the air like the tail of a skyrocket against a black sky. 
 There would follow the ball a hopeless shriek, the shrill, whistling 
 noise of a bat grippling with the wind, and a dull, stifled squash 
 like a portly gentleman sitting down on a ripe tomato. 
 
 " Then Umpire McQuaid would call the attention of a person 
 in a gray uniform to the fact that circumstances rendered it almost 
 imperative for him to go away and give somebody else a chance. 
 
 " There were ten of the visiting delegation who walked jauntily 
 to the plate and argued with the cold, moist air. Mr. Field lacer- 
 ated the ethereal microbes three times out of four opportunities 
 to get solid with the ball, and Brer Lewis Robinson Browning 
 walked away from the plate with a pained expression twice in 
 succession. The Gastown folks found the ball six times. Two of 
 their runs were earned. 
 
 "Mr. Staley, who pitches for the strangers, did not have speed 
 enough to pass a street car going in the opposite direction. His balls 
 wandered down toward the plate like a boy on his way to school. 
 If our zealous and public-spirited townsmen did not baste them all 
 over that voting precinct it was because they grew weary and 
 faint waiting for them to arrive. Dahlen continued his star engage- 
 ment with the bat, getting a single, a slashing double, and a triple 
 that missed being a four-timer only by the skin of its teeth. 
 
 " Even with all this, it is probable that Pittsburg would have 
 won the game had it not been for a party named Miller, who played 
 short for the wanderers. He covered about as much ground as a 
 woodshed, and threw to first like a drunkard with a cork leg. By 
 
468 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 close attention to details Mr. Miller rolled up four errors, and three 
 of them cost three runs. 
 
 "The town boys won the game in the first and second innings. 
 Ryan hit an easy one to Miller as soon as the procession started. 
 Mr. Miller picked up the ball with great agility and hurled it with 
 wonderful speed at an elderly gentleman on the top row of the 
 bleachers. Then Reilly threw Cooney's effort so that Beckley could 
 easily have landed it had he been eighteen feet tall. Carroll's two- 
 bagger brought both Colts in. 
 
 •• In the second Wilmot removed the ball to the left field fence. 
 Mr. Browning threw to Miller, who at once fixed his eye on third 
 base and threw the ball with unerring directness at President Hart, 
 who was posing on the roof of the grandstand with a haughty 
 smile. Wilmot scored. And in the seventh Willie-Forget-Me-Not 
 Hutchinson hit the ball a lick that brought tears to its eyes. Kitt- 
 ridge, who was just due, got a strong reverse English on the leather 
 and started an artesian well in far-away left. Willie came right 
 home. 
 
 " Bierbauer's single and a measly throw by Kittridge gave a run 
 to O'NTeil's pets in the second. Beckley's beautiful triple, and a sac- 
 rifice by Carroll fetched another, and in the ninth Reilly hit the 
 ball a welt that caused it to back out over the north wall. That 
 was all. 
 
 " Grandpa Anson wasn't feeling real well, and said several 
 saucy things to the umpire out loud. He was on first and Dahlen 
 was on second when Carroll hit down to Bierbauer. That person 
 choked the ball on the ground and thereby removed both the man 
 Anson and the man Dahlen. The former claimed interference and 
 tried to explain things to McQuaid in a voice that could have been 
 heard at the stockyards. McQuaid pulled out his watch and began 
 to study the figures, whereupon the big captain moved grandly to 
 the bench, and the show went on." 
 
 Mr. Ralph D. Paine prefaced one of his able articles 
 
 on our national game, published in the Outing Magazine 
 
 a few years ago, with these words : 
 
 " After the allied armies had stormed the walls of Peking, 
 seven years ago, the British officers hastened to lay out cricket and 
 hockey fields in the spacious grounds of the Temple of Heaven. 
 Before skirmish-firing had ceased to vex the city's suburbs ' The 
 Peking Field-Sports Club ' had been organized, with an ' honorary 
 secretary' of the Bengal Lancers. We correspondents viewed these 
 proceedings with much interest and began reluctantly to agree with 
 the popular opinion that the English are the only genuine sport- 
 ing race. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL CAME 469 
 
 " Not long after this, however, a squad of British officers rode 
 into the vast enclosure of the Temple of Earth, where were encamped 
 the Ivhaki-clad troopers, ' dough-boys,' and gunners of Uncle Sam. 
 The visitors were amazed to hear from beyond the yellow-tiled roofs 
 a mighty roar as if an army were shouting itself black in the face. 
 The terrific commotion rose and fell in waves of wrath and jubila- 
 tion, and the puzzled Englishmen pushed on until they came to 
 rows of templed walls and marble terraces, swarming with hun- 
 dreds of blue-shirted fighting men. 
 
 " Here in one of the most sacred and inviolable places of all 
 China — a place for ages dedicated to an annual pilgrimage of sol- 
 emn worship by the Emperor — a thousand lusty Americans were 
 using the very altars for ' bleachers ' while they ' rooted ' for the 
 rival nines of Riley's Battery and the Sixth Cavalry squadron. The 
 American Army League was in full swing for the Peking cham- 
 pionship, and the hoarse volleys of ' Rotten umpire ! ' ' Soak it to 
 her, Kelly ! ' ' Wow-w, slide, you lobster ! ' re-echoed from gray para- 
 pets that had never before been profaned by a foreigner. 
 
 " It was all as typically American as it was a unique episode in 
 history. Those athletic Englishmen from India had their eyes 
 opened to an appreciation of the national pastime of eighty-odd 
 million Americans, and before the occupation ended they were 
 deserting their own fields to enjoy the thrill of a fiercely fought 
 nine-inning battle on the diamond of Chaffee's Camp. 
 
 " These Yankee exiles fell to ' playing ball ' as naturally as 
 to foraging, and while they were engaged in driving the festive three- 
 bagger through the startled air of North China, jackies in white 
 duck were circling the bases in blazing Cuba and Honolulu, or land- 
 ing from revenue-cutter patrols to stake out a home-plate on frozen 
 Alaskan beaches; and soldier and sailor teams were swinging their 
 bats from one end of the Philippines to the other. As the British 
 drum-beat has encircled the globe, so has the slogan of ' Play ball ! ' 
 followed the Stars and Stripes, proclaiming the reign of the finest 
 outdoor game ever devised." 
 
 In the May number of the American Magazine for 
 1911, writing on "Hitting the Dirt," Mr. Hugh S. Ful- 
 lerton, of Chicago, had a forceful paper from which the 
 following is a reprint: 
 
 " Base stealing, the gentle art of sprinting and ' hitting the dirt,' 
 is the finest drawn and most closely calculated play in Base Ball, 
 and the one that, above all others, reveals the mathematical exacti- 
 tude of the national game. A player who can run eighty-five feet in 
 three and one-third seconds from a flatfooted start, ought to reach 
 
470 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 second base exactly tied with the ball, nine times out of ten starts, 
 if the play is perfectly made by the runner, pitcher, catcher and 
 baseman. The slightest inaccuracy or hesitation decides the play. 
 
 " It seems a simple matter to run ninety feet while a ball is 
 being thrown sixty-eight feet and caught and thrown back, approxi- 
 mately one hundred and thirty-two feet, caught again and held in 
 position to touch the runner. Yet there is art and science in the 
 feat. All pennant winning teams are base running teams. Every 
 manager urges base running, tries to train his men to it; and then, 
 except in rare instances, refuses to permit them to run, and plays 
 the hit-and-run and sacrifice game instead. 
 
 " The figures show that the sacrifice hits average about one- 
 third more per season than the stolen bases, and that the hit-and- 
 run is used sixty per cent, oftener (this in major leagues) than 
 stealing bases. The figures also prove that base stealing succeeds in 
 about sixty-three per cent, of the times tried, and the hit-and-run 
 in less than sixty-six per cent., and further, that the hit-and-run 
 results in almost seven per cent, of the times it is attempted. In 
 the face of these figures and of the expressed desire to increase base 
 running, few managers will order a base running attack except 
 when a pitcher opposing his team is notoriously weak at ' holding 
 up ' runners and watching the bases. 
 
 "In the average seasons of the two maj or leagues — the Ameri- 
 can and National — 89,156 face the pitchers. Of these 27,058 reach 
 first base — 19,154 of them on safe hits, 1,303 on errors that permit 
 them to achieve the first ninety feet — 645 by being hit by pitched balls, 
 and 5,950 on bases on balls. These figures are the averages of the 
 two leagues for five seasons. Of the 27,058 who reach first base, 
 17,138 arrive at second, 12,822 at third, and 8,272 score. 
 
 " Yet the average number of stolen bases in the 1,232 games 
 of the two seasons of the major leagues is only 2,744. That is, out 
 of 55,988 opportunities to steal bases, only 2,7-^4 are improved. 
 
 " The figures appear to prove that the pitchers and catchers have 
 acquired a mastery over the runners. The truth is that the cause 
 of the degeneracy of the art of base running is twofold; first, the 
 hit-and-run play and the sacrifice, and, second, the 'endency toward 
 stereotyped playing. Of the 2,744 pilferings, 1,951 are of second 
 base, 744 of third, and 19 from third to the final goal." 
 
 It would be of interest, did space permit, to present 
 Mr. Fullerton's deductions to prove his proposition that 
 it is easier now than ever before to steal bases. 
 
 In Pearson's for May, 1911, Christy Mathewson, the 
 famous pitcher of the New York " Giants " of the Na- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 471 
 
 tional League, wrote under the caption, " Outguessing the 
 Batter," and the following incident is from his article: 
 
 "Many things have been said and written about pitchers out- 
 guessing batters, and batters outguessing pitchers, and to tell the 
 truth there has always been a question in my mind about the out- 
 guessing proposition. I have seen so many instances where guesses 
 went wrong — so many hundreds of instances — that I am about the 
 last human being in the world to pose as an oracle on the subject 
 of pitching psychology. Nevertheless, there certainly is a lot of 
 psychology about pitching a. base ball, * » ♦ Joe Tinker, the 
 clever little shortstop of the Chicago club, is a man with whom I 
 have fought many battles of wits, and I am glad to acknowledge 
 that he has come out of the fuss with flying colors on many occa- 
 sions. There was a time when Tinker was putty in my hands. For 
 two years he was the least dangerous man on the Chicago team. 
 His weakness was a low curve on the outside, and I fed him low 
 curves on the outside so often that I had him looking like an invaUd 
 every time he came to the plate. Then Joseph went home one night 
 and did a little deep thinking. He got a nice long bat and took his 
 stand at least a foot farther from the plate, and then he had me. 
 If I kept the ball on the inside edge of the plate, he was in a 
 splendid position to meet it, and if I tried to keep my offerings 
 on the outside, he had plenty of time to ' step into 'em.' From 
 that day on Tinker became one of the most dangerous batters I 
 ever faced, not because his natural hitting ability had increased, 
 but because he didn't propose to let the pitcher do all the ' out- 
 guessing.' " 
 
 The following extract from some periodical was also 
 found among Mr. Chadwick's eifects without a credit or 
 date attached: 
 
 " The rules of the game will continue to shift one way and the 
 other in the eternal duel between pitcher and batter, between attack 
 and defense. For thirty years this effort at adjustment has been 
 like the struggle between big guns and armor-plate. The science 
 of pitching developed much faster than ability to hit the ball. 
 Therefore the pitcher was handicapped in various ways, and the 
 batter permitted to smite the missile freely until the tide swung the 
 other way again. In recent years the ' slab-artist ' has been given the 
 advantage, and the complaint grows that there is not batting enough. 
 This feature of the game has by no means reached a final solution. 
 
 "The revision of the rules has always been entrusted to the 
 professional experts, aj)4 V^WC edicts are obeyed by at least a 
 
472 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 million of players, all, the way down to the barefooted tots who 
 whang a three-cent ball with a barrel stave and wrangle over ' the 
 foul-strike rule.' The vast army of amateurs must, therefore, look 
 to the leagues for every change or improvement in the game, and 
 in this way the professional element dominates the Base Ball of 
 eighty millions of Americans. Unlike the history of other sports, 
 professional Base Ball has helped instead of hindered the game of 
 the amateur. Where one State league plays its circuit of six or eight 
 small cities, a hundred amateur nines are springing up to pattern 
 after the organization of the professionals, and with uniforms, man- 
 agers, and regular schedules, boom the game for the pure fun of it. 
 In Greater New York alone more than two hundred clubs of ama- 
 teurs and semi-professional players contest regular series of games 
 in private grounds and in the public parks. 
 
 "As a 'national game,' Base Ball has no more than begun its 
 conquest. One of the great, popular awakenings of this generation 
 has been the ' outdoor movement,' in which the gospel of fresh air 
 and wholesome exercise has been preached from every housetop. 
 The public schools are teaching it, employers are promoting athletic 
 clubs for their working people, and a million dollars is not con- 
 sidered an extravagant sum to invest in the equipment of a college 
 athletic plant. The average American is so constructed that athletic 
 endeavor bores him unless it is enlivened by the spirit of competi- 
 tion. He must be trying to ' lick the other fellow ' or he will quit 
 the game in disgust. Base Ball is the one sport open to all, without 
 any barrier of expense, and with rivalry enough to rivet the interest 
 of its players. 
 
 "The pallid student with bulging brow may croak that it is a 
 wicked, economic waste for thousands of grown men to be paid 
 large salaries for hitting a ball with a stick of wood. On the con- 
 trary, these clean-built, sunburned, vigorous athletes of the league 
 diamonds are the faculty members of the National University of 
 Base Ball Culture, and their pupils are to be found in every other 
 American home. 
 
 "The greatest day of the sporting calendar is 'the opening of 
 the league season.' Then it is worth the price of admission just 
 to see twenty thousand cheering Americans banked half way round 
 the velvet turf in the sparkling April weather; when the heroes in 
 their spick-and-span uniforms parade grandly across the field behind 
 the band; when the big flag soars to the top of the tall pole; when 
 the Mayor or Governor tosses the dedicatory horsehide sphere from 
 his box; when the first gladiator strides up to the home plate, and 
 Ihe umpire croaks ' Play ball ! ' " 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV; 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 SOME GENERAL FACTS CONCERNING THE TECHNIftUE OF 
 
 BASE BALL INTRODUCTION OF THE GLOVE, THE MASK 
 
 AND OTHER ACCESSORIES CURVED BALL CONTROVERSY. 
 
 WHILE writing this book, I have purposely avoided 
 touching upon the technique of the game of Base 
 Ball in its several departments, for the reason that the 
 opinions of up-to-date, scientific experts so widely and 
 so honestly vary as to what really constitute important 
 methods that there is no intelligent hope of bringing them 
 together by opening in these pages a discussion of the 
 many playing features of the game. 
 
 However, I may, with perfect consistency, touch upon 
 certain beginnings of things within my own recollection, 
 welcoming any amendments to them of fact that may be 
 antedated by the memories of others. 
 
 The first glove I ever saw on the hand of a ball player 
 in a game was worn by Charles C. Waite, in Boston, in 
 1876. He had come from New Haven and was playing at 
 first base. The glove worn by him was of flesh color, with 
 a large, round opening in the back. Now, I had for a 
 good while felt the need of some sort of hand protection 
 for myself. In those days clubs did not carry an extra 
 carload of pitchers, as now. For several years I had 
 pitched in every game played by the Boston team, and had 
 developed severe bruises on the inside of my left hand. 
 When it is recalled that every ball pitched had to be 
 476 
 
476 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 returned, and that every swift one coming my way, from 
 infielders, outfielders or hot from the bat, must be caught 
 or stopped, some idea may be gained of the punishment 
 received. 
 
 Therefore, I asked Waite about his glove. He con- 
 fessed that he was a bit ashamed to wear it, but had it 
 on to save his hand. He also admitted that he had chosen 
 a color as inconspicuous as possible, because he didn't 
 care to attract attention. He added that the opening on 
 the back was for purpose of ventilation. 
 
 Meanwhile my own hand continued to take its medi- 
 cine with utmost regularity, occasionally being bored 
 with a warm twister that hurt excruciatingly. Still, it 
 was not until 1877 that I overcame my scruples against 
 joining the "kid-glove aristocracy" by donning a glove. 
 When I did at last decide to do so, I did not select a 
 flesh-colored glove, but got a black one, and cut out as 
 much of the back as possible to let the air in. 
 
 Happily, in my case, the presence of a glove did not 
 call out the ridicule that had greeted Waite. I had been 
 playing so long and had become so well known that the 
 innovation seemed rather to evoke sympathy than hilar- 
 ity. I found that the glove, thin as it was, helped con- 
 siderably, and inserted one pad after another until a good 
 deal of relief was afforded. If anyone wore a padded 
 glove before this date I do not know it. The " pillow 
 mitt" was a later innovation. 
 
 About this time, 1875-6, James Tyng, catcher for the 
 Harvard Base Ball Club, appeared on the Boston grounds 
 ope dajjr, and, stepping to his position, donned the first 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 477 
 
 wire mask I had ever seen. This mask had been invented 
 and patented by Mr. Fred W. Thayer, a Harvard player, 
 now a prominent lawyer of Boston. Like other protective 
 innovations at that stage of the game, it was net at 
 first well received by professionals. Our catcher, James 
 White, was urged to try it, and after some coaxing con- 
 sented. I pitched him a few balls, some of which he missed, 
 and finally, becoming disgusted at being unable to see 
 the ball readily, he tore off the mask and, hurling it toward 
 the bench, went on without it. 
 
 This wire mask, with certain modifications, is the 
 same that has been used by catchers ever since. 
 
 In June, 1908, the New York World had the following 
 version of the introduction of the mask: 
 
 "Very few, even of the old-time Base Ball fans, could tell who 
 had the distinction of being the first player to don a Base Ball 
 mask. Dr. Harry Thatcher, Of Dexter, Me., at that time a resident 
 of Bangor, is the man, and the mask was invented by a BostOH 
 man and a captain of the Harvard Base Ball nine. 
 
 " It was way back in the '70s that the Base Ball mask was 
 first invented. The national game was a rather crude affair com- 
 pared with what it is now, but the principles of the game were 
 about the same and the players of those early days realized the 
 troubles of the man behind the bat. At that time catcher's and first 
 baseman's mitts were unheard-of things, and those players caught 
 the ball bare-handed. 
 
 " It was a few years prior to 1878 that Fred Thayer, of Boston, 
 at that time a player on the Harvard nine, realized the necessity 
 of a covering for the face of the catcher in a Base Ball game. 
 He set about to see what he could do in that way, and the result 
 was a Base Ball mask. It had its beginning then. 
 
 "When Mr. Thayer had a mask which he thought would answer 
 its purpose, he introduced it in the games which the Harvard nine 
 was playing at that time and of which he was captain and third 
 baseman. Harry Thatcher was 'the man behind the bat' on Cap- 
 tain Thayer's team, and it fell to him to don the mask for the first 
 time. 
 
 " It is said that Dr, Thatcher did not take to the idea very 
 
478 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 well, for the players on the Harvard team guyed him not a little 
 for wearing it, as they said that it was 'babyish' and cowardly to 
 wear a protection to the face. So the doctor was not seen very 
 often after that wearing Mr. Thayer's invention, but instead used 
 a rubber mouthpiece to protect himself from foul tips and the in- 
 shoots of the slab artist. 
 
 " Shortly after Mr. Thayer got out the first sample of his 
 invention Mr. Spalding saw the possibilities of the Thayer invention 
 and sought to get control of it. Finally the matter came to a head 
 in a lawsuit over who had a right to the patent. Finally, February 
 12, 1878, Mr. Spalding was granted a patent. 
 
 " F. H. Davis, of Bangor, has the mask that was worn by 
 Addison Hamlin, of that city, when the catcher on the Harvard 
 nine during his college course, and it differs in appearance from 
 the modern Base Ball mask very little. 
 
 " Of course, it is somewhat cruder in appe;;rance than the fin- 
 ished product of the present day, but it has the same general features. 
 The padding is of cotton batting with lo'jg leather strips wound 
 around the wire to keep it in place. The w're shield to the face 
 is different from the masks of to-day in th'.c it comes to a sharp 
 point in front, so that if a ball should hit it it would glance off." 
 
 That Dr. Thatcher was not, and that James Tyng 
 
 was, the first catcher to wear the mask in a regular game 
 
 it is quite possible to demonstrate by competent witnesses, 
 
 but in doing this a slight discrepancy in time is introduced. 
 
 In a letter quite recently received from Mr. Fred W. 
 
 Thayer, the inventor of the mask, that gentleman writes: 
 
 " 116 Federal Street, 
 "My Dear Mr. Spalding: "Boston, May 18, 1911. 
 
 " I am in receipt of your favor of the 9th instant. You shall 
 have the facts in regard to the catcher's mask, and I think you 
 can feel assured that the data are all correct. 
 
 " In order to give you the whole story I shall have to ask you 
 to go back to the year '76 that you may know what the conditions 
 were in Harvard Base Ball matters. 
 
 " Thatcher was the catcher in the season of '76. He left college 
 at the end of the year. 
 
 "You will recall the fact that college nines especially had rarely 
 more than one, possibly two, substitutes, and these were 'general 
 utility ' men. 
 
 " Tyng was the best all around natural ball player of my time. 
 He had played third base, center field, and helped out in other posi- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 479 
 
 tions, including catcher, in the season of '76. In one or two games 
 in which he caught behind the bat he had been hit by foul tips 
 and had become more or less timid. 
 
 "He was, by all odds, the most available man as catcher for 
 the season of '77, and it was up to me to find some way to bring 
 back his confidence. 
 
 " The fencing mask naturally gave me the hint as to the protec- 
 tion for the face, and then it was up to me to devise some means of 
 having the impact of the blow kept from driving the mask onto the 
 face. The forehead and chin rest accomplished this and also made 
 it possible for me to secure a patent, which I did in the winter of 
 I878. 
 
 "Tyng practiced catching with the mask, behind the bat, in 
 the gymnasium during the winter of '77, and became so thoroughly 
 proficient that foul tips had no further terrors for him. 
 
 " The first match game in which the mask was used was on 
 Fast Day, in Lynn, against the Live Oaks, in April, 1877. There- 
 after the Harvard catcher used it in all games. 
 
 " I hope this will give you the data which you wish. At all 
 events it gives you the real facts in regard to the Base Ball mask. 
 "Yours faithfully, 
 
 (Signed) "Fred W. Thayer." 
 
 In a communication from Mr. George Wright, the 
 famous old-time ball player, bearing date Boston, May 17. 
 1911, he says: 
 
 " The first time I saw the mask and it being used was by Tyng, 
 when catching in a game on the Harvard nine in 1877. What game 
 it was I cannot remember. But that fall Mr. Thayer, by appoint- 
 ment, brought the mask to my store on Eliot street. Harry Schafer, 
 being there, put it on, when we threw several balls at it, which 
 glanced off, he not feeling any jar or effect from them. We pro- 
 nounced it a success and decided it would come into general use. 
 I made arrangements at the time with Mr. Thayer to patent the 
 mask, control the sale of it, and pay him a royalty, and, as you 
 know, after the above date the mask gradually came into general 
 use. Who the first professional player was to use it I cannot say. 
 The mask was patented 1878." 
 
 To Roger Bresnahan, manager of the St. Louis 
 Nationals, belongs the credit of the recent introduction 
 of shinguards for the catcher. 
 
 When sliding, as an aid to the base runner, began, I 
 
480 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 am not prepared to state with authority. I do know, 
 however, that its introduction was not by " King " Kelly, 
 as has sometimes been claimed. As early as 1866 (Kelly 
 began to play as a lad in 1873), at a game at Rochelle, 
 Illinois, Robert Addy startled the players of the Forest 
 Citys by a diving slide for second base. None of us had 
 ever witnessed the play before, though it may have been 
 in vogue. Certainly we were quite nonplussed, and just 
 as surely the slogan, " Slide, Kelly, slide," had not been 
 heard at that time. 
 
 All the varied modifications of the slide have been well 
 known for many years, and, but for the fact that differ- 
 ent players adopt different methods of "getting there," 
 not many changes have been introduced, some reaching 
 the bases "head-on," others feet foremost, still others 
 sliding sideways, and a few by a low dodge and grab of 
 che sack with one hand. 
 
 The bunt sacrifice hit is a comparatively recent intro- 
 duction to the game. Years before it was thought of 
 much attention had been given to placing hits in exposed 
 portions of the field, and some batsmen had gained con- 
 siderable proficiency in the science. Others made a spe- 
 cialty of the long, high drive, in the hope of a muff or of 
 aiding base runners to advance after the ball had been 
 caught, with only one man out. But to stop the ball at 
 close infield, with the expectation of giving advantage to 
 base runners, and with the forlorn chance of beating the 
 ball to first, was not adopted systematically as a feature 
 of the game until much later. I regret that I am not 
 able to give the name of the player who introduced this 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 481 
 
 very important innovation or the time of its first presen- 
 tation. 
 
 As a matter of fact, from the time of the adoption 
 of regular playing rules by the old Knickerbockers, 
 changes in the technique of Base Ball have been remark- 
 ably few in number as compared with the great advances 
 in skill and science of play. The ball has been recently 
 improved, but is still of practically the same size and 
 Weight. Bats are substantially of the same form and 
 material as at the beginning of professional Base Ball. 
 The masks and gloves and mitts have been somewhat bet- 
 tered in material and workmanship, and uniforms and 
 shoes are better; but the same general quality of fabric 
 and fashion are yet employed in their making. 
 
 In one department of the game, however, the change 
 has been very marked. Pitching has undergone a complete 
 revolution. Indeed, the word " pitching," which was 
 properly applied to the act of ball delivery at first, is 
 to-day a misnomer. The ball as now presented to the bats- 
 man is not pitched, but thrown. Whereas, in the early 
 days, it left the pitcher's hand with a peculiar snap of 
 the wrist from an unbent elbow, and below the hip, now it 
 may be hurled in any manner at the pitcher's option. 
 
 Perhaps at this point it may be of interest to consider 
 briefly the causes that resulted in the change from the 
 old-time straight arm pitch to the present unre- 
 stricted delivery of the ball. First, then, it must be con- 
 ceded that the method employed at the beginning was 
 never acquired by many men. It seemed to be a natural 
 gift to a few players in the early seventies and before, 
 
482 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 but, in spite of the earnest efforts of hundreds to acquire 
 the science of deHvery as required by the pubKshed rules, 
 less than a dozen pitchers were using it up to 1876, and 
 only half a dozen gained eminence as pitchers at this time. 
 These were Brainard, Cummins, Matthews, McBride, 
 Spalding and Zettlein. All the above named, with the 
 exception of Cummins, who began pitching in 1873, were 
 in the game from 1870 to 1876, when the National League 
 was formed, following which, in 1884, after numerous 
 modifications, the straight arm delivery was finally abro- 
 gated. 
 
 The fact that so few ball players were ever able to 
 acquire the " knack " of straight arm pitching led to many 
 embarrassments at the beginning of professional Base 
 Ball. The game was rapidly growing in favor, new clubs 
 and new leagues were coming into existence all over the 
 country, but the supply of pitchers did not correspond- 
 ingly keep pace. Something had to be done. As the rules 
 were unchanged, and as only a dozen legal pitchers were in 
 the country, clubs were forced to put men in the box who 
 attempted the straight arm delivery, but who only suc- 
 ceeded in presenting a very poor imitation. The effect of 
 this course was to put the question up to the umpire, and 
 if he ruled against the pitcher there was a disappointed 
 crowd, no game, or an utterly uninteresting exhibition. 
 If the umpire ruled in favor of the bogus pitcher, there 
 was bitter controversy on the field and usually a protested 
 game. Still, it was a fact that there were not enough 
 legal pitchers to man all the teams, and the result of this 
 condition was a growing tendency on the part of umpires 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 483 
 
 to be lax in the enforcement of the rule. In most cases, 
 where the demand of the captain of the club possessing 
 a legitimate pitcher was not too strong, the umpire per- 
 mitted the unlawful delivery of the ball rather than stop 
 the game and disappoint the crowd. 
 
 It should not be understood that no modifications of 
 the straight arm delivery had been made previous to 1884. 
 There had been several changes, but each resulted in 
 partial failure. The original Knickerbocker rules of 
 1845 required that 
 
 " The ball must be pitched and not thrown for the bat." 
 
 In 1860 the rule was revised by the original National 
 Association of Base Ball Players, providing that 
 
 • The ball must be pitched, not jerked nor thrown to the bat." 
 
 In 1875 another change provided that 
 
 "The ball must be delivered to the bat with the arm swinging 
 nearly perpendicular at the side of the body, and the band in 
 swinging forward nust not be raised higher than the hip." 
 
 The National League, in the first year of its existence, 
 
 in 1876, made a change providing that 
 
 "The ball must be delivered to the bat with the arm swinging 
 nearly perpendicularly at the side of the body, and the hand in 
 passing forward must pass below the hip." 
 
 In 1878 the National League again changed the rule, 
 requiring the pitcher to deliver the ball 
 
 " Below his waist." 
 
 In 1883 the National League once more revised the 
 rule, requiring that the ball should 
 
 " Be delivered below the pitcher's shoulder." 
 
 None of these cha,nges were satisfactory. The require- 
 ment that the ball should be delivered with the arm swing- 
 
484 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 ing perpendicularly gave too much latitude to the umpires 
 who did not agree in their interpretation of the term. 
 The provision of 1878 induced pitchers to wear their 
 belts abnormally high to elevate the " waist line " to the 
 shoulder, and the rule of 1883, requiring delivery below 
 the shoulder, was deceptive and differently construed by 
 different umpires. 
 
 It was not, therefore, until the change of 1884, remov- 
 ing all bans and permitting the pitcher to use his own 
 option as to his method of delivering the ball, that the need 
 of further change was removed. I was present at the 
 meeting of the Leagufe when this action was taken. I do 
 not recall who presented the resolution removing all bans 
 from the pitcher, but I remember that it followed much 
 acrimonious discussion, and I was most heartily in favor of 
 doing away with all restrictions. 
 
 The withdrawal of the old-time straight elbow restraint 
 of course enabled pitchers to devote their talents to the 
 development of new methods of delivery calculated to 
 deceive the batsman, but long before this some efforts in 
 that direction had been made. 
 
 Arthur Cummins, of Brooklyn, was the first pitcher 
 of the old school that I ever saw pitch a curved ball. 
 Bobby Matthews soon followed. This was in the early 
 seventies. Both men were very light, spare fellows, with 
 long, sinewy wrists, and having a peculiar wrist-joint 
 motion with a certain way of holding the ball near the 
 fingers' ends that enabled them to impart a rotary motion 
 to the ball, followed by a noticeable outward curve. 
 
 In 1874 Tom Bond inaugurated the present style 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 485 
 
 of pitching or, rather, underhand throwing, with its in- 
 curves and out-shoots. This style of delivery was then 
 in violation of the straight-arm pitching rules, but 
 umpires were disposed to let it go, and thus gradually, 
 in spite of legislation, the old style gave way to the new. 
 
 In the first year of the existence of the National 
 League seyeral of its pitchers began the delivery of the 
 curved ball, that is, a ball which, after leaving the pitcher's 
 hand, would curve to the right or left, and could be made 
 to deceive the batsman by appearing to come wide of the 
 plate and then suddenly turn in and pass over it; or, 
 appearing to come directly over the plate, to shoot out, 
 missing it entirely. 
 
 The result of this work on the part of the pitcher 
 was to make hitting much less frequent and small scores 
 characterized all well-played games. In 1877, as a result 
 of the curved ball, a hot controversy arose into which 
 many scientists were drawn. Distinguished collegians 
 openly declared that the " curved ball " was a myth ; 
 that any other deflection of a thrown ball than that 
 caused by the wind or opposing air-currents was impos- 
 sible. Men high up in the game clung strenuously to the 
 same opinion. Col. J. B. Joyce, who had been a ruling 
 spirit in the old Cincinnati Red Stockings, held to this 
 view. It was absurd, he claimed, to say that any man 
 could throw a ball other than in a straight line. A prac- 
 tical test was made at Cincinnati in the presence of a 
 great crowd to convert the Colonel. A suryeyor was 
 employed to set three posts in a row, with the! left-hand 
 surface of the two at the ends on a line with the right- 
 
486 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 hand surface of that in the middle. Then a tight board 
 fence about six feet high was continued from each end 
 post, also bearing on the straight line drawn. Will White, 
 one of the most expert twirlers of the day, was selected 
 to convert Col. Joyce. The test took place in the pres- 
 ence of a big crowd and was a success in everything but 
 the conversion. White stood upon the left of the fence at 
 one end, so that his hand could not possibly pass beyond 
 the straight line, and pitched the ball so that it passed to 
 the right of the middle post. This it did by three or four 
 inches, but curved so much that it passed the third post 
 a half foot to the left. Col. Joyce saw the test success- 
 fully performed, but he would not be convinced. 
 
 The following is from the Cincinnati Enquirer of Octo- 
 ber, 1877: 
 
 " During the entire summer of 1877 the question has been mooted 
 whether or not there is or can be such a thing as curved pitching. . 
 Upon the subject a variety of opinions have been freely expressed. 
 Some persons have stoutly maintained that the curve is a reality, 
 while others have as decidedly afBrraed that it was merely a halluci- 
 nation of a willingly deceived imagination. At length the question 
 was taken up by Prof. McFarland, of the Ohio Agricultural Col- 
 lege, in the affirmative, and by Prof. Stoddard, of the Worcester 
 University, in the negative. 
 
 "Prof. McFarland says: 'Of course, a curve throwing of a 
 ball, causing it to deflect from a direct line, is possible, for if the 
 ball be held in such a vifay that by a peculiar motion of the wrist and 
 arm it is made to revolve on an axis other than its true one it must 
 continue to revolve on such axis to the right or left as would neces- 
 sitate from the pitcher using his right or left hand, and hold a posi- 
 tive motion in such deflected direction.' 
 
 " Per contra, Prof. Stoddard says : ' It is not only theoretically 
 but practically impossible for any such impetus to be conveyed to 
 a moving body as would be required to perform the action sup- 
 posed, by inexperienced persons, to control the movement of what 
 is termed a curved ball; for, as is well known, the motion of any 
 body such as the ball is in the direction of the propelling force and 
 that being direct, and the ball itself having no volition or power to 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 487 
 
 alter its own course, how can such a result occur? To cause the ball 
 to curve would require the constant, attendant action of some control- 
 ling power along its entire pathway; but as no such accompanying 
 agency exists there cannot possibly be such a thing as a curve to 
 the right or left of the true line.' 
 
 "Professor Lewis Swift, of the Rochester University, thus 
 set forth his ideas of the curved ball problem, correcting at the 
 same time the erroneous report that he had predicted the feat as 
 impossible. 
 
 " ' In complying wiih the request to give a philosophical reason for 
 the curvature of a ball by Base Ball experts, I do so the more cheer- 
 fully to correct an impression that I am a disbeliever in the per- 
 formance of such a feat, which statement, unauthorized by me, was 
 first promulgated in your paper. It is true that some time ago, 
 when the subject was first broached to me, I denied that it was 
 possible to do it, but when so many keen-eyed observers asserted 
 that they had seen it repeatedly done, I began to investigate the 
 matter, and soon saw, that instead of being impossible, it was in 
 accordance with the plainest principles of philosophy. I will now 
 as plainly and briefly as I can, consistent with clearness, proceed 
 to give an explanation of what, at first thought, and without having 
 seen it, one would suppose to be contrary to the laws of motion. 
 In the first place, let it be borne in mind that when a ball is 
 thrown with great velocity, and especially against the wind, the 
 air in front is considerably condensed, but if the ball has no rota- 
 tion, the only effect of the air's resistance is to impede the velocity, 
 but not so when the ball rotates. 1. Suppose a ball to be fired from a 
 rifled cannon — say to the east — the ball emerges with a rapid rota- 
 tion at right angles to the direction of motion. One face of the 
 ball is continuously in front, the upper, the lower, the north and 
 the south sides of that face, pressing constantly and equally against 
 the air, consequently it has by its rotation no tendency to deviate 
 in any direction. It may be well here to state that the object in 
 giving such a ball a rotation is (as no ball can be made equally dense 
 in every part and perfectly round) to present every part of the 
 forward face on every side of the line of motion, all inequalities, 
 therefore, of density and symmetry are at every instant equally 
 divided on all sides, and the ball will go undeviatingly in the direc- 
 tion desired. 
 
 '"2. Suppose a pitcher should throw a ball, say to the east, 
 giving it a rotation whose axis should correspond with the northern 
 and southern horizons. The air in front being more dense than in 
 the rear, of course the friction of the rotating ball will be greatest 
 on the front side, and will cause it to deviate, not to the right nor 
 left, but slightly up or down, depending in which way the ball 
 rotates. 
 
 " ' 3. Suppose the pitcher, at the instant the ball leaves his hand, 
 
488 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 should impart to it a rotation whose axis would lie in the zenith and 
 nadir like a spinning top, such a ball, because the friction is greater 
 against the compressed than the rarified air, will ' curve ' either 
 to the right or left, depending in which direction it rotates. If it 
 rotates from the north, through the east to the south, which is the 
 direction a right hand pitcher would most easily give it, it would 
 curve to the left, and vice versa. If any one believes that the cause 
 assigned is inadequate to produce the observed effect, let him imagine 
 experiment No. 3 to be performed in a dense medium — water for 
 example, and I think he will be convinced that a ball can be curved, 
 but if he still doubts it, let him suppose the ball to be a croquet 
 ball driven full of long, projecting spikes, and sent rapidly through 
 the water, rotating as it goes. It would be the very essence of folly, 
 and at variance with every principle of philosophy, to contend that 
 it would move in a straight line.' " 
 
 The foregoing is only interesting from historical and 
 scientific standpoints, since every careful observer in 
 the grandstand, behind the batsman, is able clearly to note 
 the very wide deflection given the ball by modern pitchers 
 of every league. 
 
 Other deceptive deliveries than the "curved ball," with 
 its in-curves, its out-shoots, its rise and drop, are later 
 innovations. The "spit-ball," of which more was heard 
 a few years ago than now, is one, and the " fade away," 
 with a line of motion like that described by the undulations 
 of a snake while crawling, is used by Christy Mathewson 
 and a few others, I believe. 
 
 The removal of the straight-arm pitching restriction, 
 by the amendment of the rules in 1884, was responsible 
 for the evolution of the "Phenom." He came into the 
 game from Keokuk, Kankakee, Kokomo and Kalamazoo. 
 He was heralded always as a " discovery." His achieve- 
 ments were "simply phenomenal." Once in a great while 
 he "made good." Usually he proved to be a flat and 
 unmitigated failure. The trying-out of these wonders 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 489 
 
 became a very frequent occurrence, and the appearance of 
 one for that purpose was sure to call out the ejaculation, 
 "Hello, here's another phenom. Wonder how long he'll 
 last?" 
 
 Ever since the introduction of the "curved ball," as 
 has been already stated, very low scores have become the 
 rule. The pitcher has come to be regarded as the most 
 important man in the game, and, as a result of the 
 strain to his wrist and arm, his numbers have had to be 
 augmented, until now some league clubs employ half a 
 score of twirlers. 
 
 Not until recently has there been any change in regard 
 to the pre-eminent prestige of the pitcher in the game. 
 Now, however, there are indications that a new order of 
 things is about to be inaugurated which shall .give the 
 batsman great prominence ; and this is due to the intro- 
 duction of the cork-center ball, just adopted by both the 
 major leagues as the Official League Ball. 
 
 For some years rule makers and close students of 
 the science of Base Ball have been trying to devise some 
 means by which the batting end of the game might be 
 strengthened. A very low score, in the nature of things, 
 makes a close score. But there is no reason why a larger 
 score, involving sharper work on the part of every player 
 on the team, under conditions equally favorable to both 
 sides, should not still be a close score, with many more 
 incidents to interest the spectator. 
 
 The ball that has been in use for so many years had 
 a small core of solid rubber in the center. While it was 
 about right as to size and weight, its resilience was not 
 
490 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 all that could be desired. It did not leave the bat with 
 that live, crackling sound which betokens the force of the 
 concussion and suggests a long hit. The new ball has a 
 small core of cork, encased by a shell of rubber, which 
 gives to it greater resilience and accuracy of flight. 
 
 Although at this writing the season is not over, the 
 games thus far played have been characterized by many 
 more base hits than have been recorded up to this time 
 in recent years. It is possible that pitchers may not be 
 altogether pleased with the innovation, but it is certain 
 to delight the public, and it will incidentally give all 
 other players on the team a chance to strengthen their 
 averages. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV. 
 
 SUMMARY OF THE PROSPEROUS PHASES OF BASE BALIj 
 
 MULTIPLIED MILLIONS WITNESS GAMES EVERY YEAR 
 MAGNIFICENT PALACES SHELTER ENTHUSIASTIC SPEC- 
 TATORS. 
 
 FOR more than ten recent years each Base Ball season 
 has seemed to be a climax of prosperity, only to find 
 the succeeding season further advanced in every way than 
 its predecessors. 
 
 I do not limit or attempt to define the qualification 
 of prosperity and success by any material advantage 
 which may have happened to each individual club of the 
 major league circuits. Superficial observers of Base Ball 
 conditions are too prone to believe that the general condi- 
 tions affecting the national game are contingent upon 
 the attendance in the greater cities. 
 
 It is true that prosperity in the cities means a certain 
 amount of Base Ball interest in all the territory which is 
 within the metropolitan influence, but it is also true that 
 there has been a very wonderful and general growth of\ 
 interest in sections which are remote from the major 
 league circuits, and which are dependent for their pro- 
 fessional Base Ball upon the so-called minor league organ- 
 izations. 
 
 If we look for a specific date from which to measure 
 the revival of conditions from the chaotic period which 
 followed the organization and death of the Brotherhood 
 
494 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 of Base Ball Players, in 1890, and the elimination of 
 " Freedmanism," in 1902, we may accept the reorganiza- 
 tion of the New York National League Base Ball Club 
 as the beginning of the professional rehabilitation of the 
 national sport. 
 
 Following closely upon that was the settlement of all 
 disputes between Base Ball organizations and the signing 
 of a new National Agreement, which provided for the 
 sanest court of executive administration in the history 
 of the sport — the National Commission — all of which 
 tended to place Base Ball on a basis which commanded 
 the admiration of the patrons and gave permanent assur- 
 ance to promoters of the stability of their occupation. 
 
 As the seasons followed in natural sequence, that of 
 1910, through the cumulative effect of all the good which 
 had been accomplished, surpassed all others in the broader 
 interest which was taken in the pastime, the superiority 
 of attractions from the purely professional standpoint, 
 and the wider-reaching and firmer hold which Base Ball 
 had attained upon the masses by reason of competent and 
 able management at its fountain-head — that being care- 
 fully adjusted and well balanced organization with a fair 
 deal for all. 
 
 The major leagues succeeded so handsomely through- 
 out the year that at the finish of the season all of their 
 clubs, with perhaps two exceptions, had balances to their 
 credit ranging from small amounts to handsome sums. 
 The exceptions, if they were losers, lost so little that they 
 were not distressed financially, and in view of embarrass- 
 ments under which they had been compelled to labor, 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 495 
 
 owing to the vicissitudes of the sport from a professional 
 standpoint, were cheerful and optimistic as to the future. 
 
 Forty-nine organized leagues completed their season 
 and were awarded championships in 1910. Probably 
 about sixty leagues, working under direct rules and fol- 
 lowing the system which governs the parent maj or leagues, 
 endeavored to make progress through the year, but some 
 of them weakened through causes which experience teaches 
 to avoid and were unable to last to the final games' sched- 
 uled for their circuits. 
 
 In addition to these leagues, we must not omit in sum- 
 ming up general Base Ball conditions the great number 
 of municipal and what are known as semi-professional 
 leagues which were in existence from one ocean to the 
 ether. 
 
 How many of these are to be found in the States of 
 the Union is without the pale of known data. In some 
 cities there are as many as fifty such leagues. In others 
 there are half a score. In general, it would not be far 
 amiss to say that there probably are not less than 5,000 
 scattered throughout the cities. This may appear to 
 be a high estimate, but when the radius of the national 
 game is taken into consideration, and when the actual 
 number of contests played on a certain day amount to 
 more than 200, as was indicated in one Eastern newspaper 
 alone, it would seem that the local leagues are a far greater 
 factor in the national sport than many imagined. 
 
 Add to these the college and school games, which are 
 also sufficiently well organized to become fixtures, and 
 one can begin to conceive of the expansion of the national 
 
496 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 game, although still be far from anything like actual pos- 
 session of the facts. There are 10,000 games played 
 every day of which the public hears nothing; perhaps 
 double that number. 
 
 So much for the activity of players on the diamond. 
 
 Principal causes for the growth in interest of the 
 pastime have previously been stated. There is a great 
 contributory cause which must not be neglected when 
 undertaking to make a review of the progressive strides 
 of the sport. 
 
 I refer to the erection in the larger major and minor 
 league cities of permanent and substantial structures to 
 house our national pastime. 
 
 When Base Ball first became established as a public 
 sport, which requested public attention for its share, the 
 conditions were so precarious that most of the Base 
 Ball promoters felt that wooden stands, arranged with 
 tiers of seats for the accommodation of patrons, were all 
 that they could aiford. 
 
 The earliest stands were small affairs compared with 
 those which were erected along in the nineties. At vari- 
 ous times the structures that were in use at Base Ball 
 parks burned to the ground by reason of fires which 
 started through accident. 
 
 As the stability of Base- Ball became more assured, 
 owners decided to branch out and erect fireproof build- 
 ings on their grounds. First of these stands was the 
 concrete and steel affair which was built at Cincinnati 
 by John T. Brush. In the course of time Mr. Brush 
 became owner of the New York Base Ball Club. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 497 
 
 When the huge, wooden stadium burned at the Polo 
 Grounds, in the spring of 1911, Base Ball men sat aghast, 
 because it meant much to the national pastime to lose 
 the home of the most important National League club 
 in the largest city of the United States. 
 
 There was some doubt as to whether Base Ball would 
 be continued on the historic field, because of the possibility 
 of a short lease, but Mrs. Harriet G. Coogan, owner of 
 the Polo Grounds, through her husband. Col. J. J. Coogan, 
 assured Mr. Brush that the lease would be extended as 
 long as the life of the National League. 
 
 In effect, this means a permanent home for Base Ball 
 in the city of New York. The moment that the lease 
 was effected Mr. Brush announced that he would rebuild 
 on the Polo Grounds and would erect a concrete and steel 
 stadium, modeled after the style of the stand which was 
 burned, but which would accommodate 50,000 spectators 
 and would not have a stick of timber in it. 
 
 The estimated cost of this structure will be $100,000, 
 but it is quite well assured that before the new stadium 
 is completed it will cost more than that sum. However, 
 it will be a lasting monument to Base Ball in the City of 
 New York and something of which the city will be proud. 
 
 Shaped like a horseshoe, supplied with hundreds of 
 comfortable boxes and seats, with no stairways, but easy 
 ascents from all parts of the structure to another, it will 
 be more like the fitting of an outdoor opera house than a 
 ball park, showing that Base Ball promoters have pro- 
 gressed as well as the game. 
 
 Philadelphia has two fine plants, one of them fireproof 
 
498 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 and the other nearly so. Chicago has one of the most mag- 
 nificent outdoor grounds in the United States, equipped 
 by Charles Comiskey, of the Chicago American League 
 Club. Pittsburg has erected a stand which is a model, 
 and Cleveland is the fortunate possessor of an up-to-date 
 outdoor park which probably will stand as long as there 
 is Base Ball. Every foot of the structure on this modern 
 edifice is concrete or steel. 
 
 Washington has a new concrete and steel stand and 
 the Boston American League club shortly is to have one. 
 St. Louis owners contemplate building and will put in 
 concrete and steel whenever they improve their parks. 
 The Chicago National League club contemplates a new 
 structure that may eclipse them all. So, everywhere, there 
 is a tendency to add to the solidity and the permanency 
 of the sport, which assures more comfort for patrons. 
 
 Nor is the lavish expenditure for better accommoda- 
 tions for Base Ball patrons confined to the larger cities 
 of the major league circuits. Indianapolis and Toledo, 
 of the American Association, have new and expensive 
 plants. 
 
 Newark and Baltimore, in the Eastern League, have 
 recently rebuilt their grounds, while Toronto, in the same 
 circuit, possesses a new, fireproof stand. 
 
 Atlanta, in the Southern League, has an equipment 
 far better than most major league clubs could boast ten 
 years ago, and at Birmingham, Ala., the owners of the 
 Base Ball club have a new concrete and steel structure 
 which is a gem. It well belongs to the " Gem City of the 
 South." 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 499 
 
 In connection with the subject of new stands for the 
 convenience of patrons, it may also be added that most 
 Base Ball concerns are finding it advantageous to pur- 
 chase the property on which their parks are located. As 
 in most cases this necessitates buying real estate of much 
 value, the fact that such holdings become permanent for 
 the purposes of outdoor recreation is confirmatory of the 
 stability of the national game after its years of evolution. 
 
 In the major leagues both of the St. Louis grounds, 
 both of the Chicago parks, that at Detroit, the one at 
 Cincinnati, the field at Cleveland, Pittsburg's new park, 
 the Washington ground, both of the Philadelphia grounds, 
 the Boston National League ground, a new field to be pro- 
 vided for the accommodation of the New York American 
 League club, and the Polo Grounds in New York, since 
 the recent agreement between its owner and the owner of 
 the New York National League Base Ball Club, are per- 
 manent. 
 
 The field in Brooklyn is leased, as is that of the Bos- 
 ton American League club, but it is said that the Boston 
 American League club has purchased a plot of real estate 
 in that city on which a structure will be built for the 
 national game corresponding in all its details to the 
 best that have been built elsewhere. 
 
 The value of this real estate is rather hard to conjec- 
 ture, for it is located in varying sections of diff'erent 
 cities. Presumably it would be out of the question to 
 estimate the property which is used by the New York 
 club at less than $300,000. It comprises two city blocks 
 and might bring that amount at forced sale. As this 
 
500 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 is probably the most valuable plot in the major league 
 circuits, the other fifteen clubs may be accepted as play- 
 ing on real estate which is worth anywhere from $50,000 
 to $100,000. Some of it may be less valuable than 
 $50,000, but, as population increases and the cities expand, 
 it is noticeable that Base Ball values enhance as well as 
 everything else. 
 
 The estimated attendance at the National League 
 games in 1910 was 3,705,574. That at the American 
 League games was 3,550,951. The total for both leagues 
 was 7,256,665. Very likely there was not so large a paid 
 attendance as the above figures would indicate, because 
 where the attendance is made public by the authority of 
 some of the club owners they are accustomed to give the 
 paid attendance and the free attendance conjointly. 
 
 More spectators attend Base Ball games on passes 
 than many imagine. It is a rather sad commentary on 
 our municipal politics that history is filled with incidents 
 where those in temporary authority have seemed to be 
 impressed with the idea that Base Ball promoters were 
 operating clubs for their benefit and for that of their 
 friends. Were the names of those on the free lists in some 
 of the large cities to be published, perhaps even the hard- 
 ened conscience of the American voter might be shocked. 
 
 If we go on the basis of 6,000,000 paid admissions to 
 major league games, which is a liberal estimate, and fig- 
 ure that the average admission was thirty-three and one- 
 third cents per spectator, which is also fair, we find that 
 the gate receipts of the major leagues in 1910 were about 
 $2,000,000. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 501 
 
 Of that sum, less than a quarter of a miUion was 
 returned directly to the promoters for their interest in 
 their investment. True, some of them made large profit, 
 which was offset by very small profit on the part of others, 
 and perhaps a trifling loss on the part of one or two. 
 
 So that in the same breath in which we can point to 
 the great strides which the game has made, to its popu- 
 larity, to its signs of assured permanency, we can also 
 say that it is not a pastime which robs the public in any 
 way, for the bulk of its income is turned directly back 
 into circulation through salaries to players, expenses for 
 travel, and the hundred and one incidentals which are a 
 part of any great amusement enterprise. 
 
 It is by no means a selfish game, operated for purely 
 mercenary motives. If that were the case, there is more 
 than one man who has been. prominent in Base Ball and 
 who is still prominent in Base Ball councils who would 
 have givep up his ■ share of the burden of maintenance 
 long ago. 
 
 Indeed, we may go further and state that it is only 
 within recent years that there has been anything like 
 reasonable financial return to the investors. There are 
 many men who have expended thousands of dollars on the 
 national pastime who never realized a penny of income 
 from it in their lives. 
 
 Until there was a new National Agreement, which gave 
 the sport stability, the life of the minor league club owner 
 was one of annoyance and hazard. 
 
 The coming of the new National Agreement was the 
 dawn of an era of prosperity in the minor league circuits 
 
502 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 which has enabled owners to venture upon $50,000 and 
 $100,000 plants for their patrons. 
 
 Without the National Agreement, there was no minor 
 league owner who was sanguine that he would hold his 
 players over night. Confident now in the stability of his 
 organization, and able to realize something for his team 
 by development of his resources, the minor league owner 
 is willing to risk. 
 
 Becoming thus enterprising, he provides better Base 
 Ball for his patrons, and the result is that the attendance 
 has steadily increased in every minor league circuit in the 
 United States, with perhaps a half dozen exceptions, for 
 the last five years. 
 
 Roughly estimating, probably 10,000,000 spectators 
 see the games in the ten largest minor league circuits of 
 the country. That is a very conservative estimate and 
 is established more on the paid spectators than on the 
 actual total attendance. 
 
 At other minor league games there may be another 
 10,000,000 during the season. Suppose that we credit 
 the minor organizations in general with 20,000,000 for 
 the year. Even if a little too large it will not be too 
 large in another year or two, and the figunes are conserva- 
 tive enough for immediate data. 
 
 The minor and the major leagues together, therefore, 
 would have an estimated attendance of 26,000,000 for 
 the season. Until one realizes that 26,000,000 are six 
 times the population of New York City, one scarcely 
 begins to comprehend what Base Ball attendance amounts 
 to in the course of a season. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 503 
 
 This is not all. No consideration has been given the 
 college games as yet or the various public school games, 
 the games of the amateur leagues and the games of the 
 semi-professionals. 
 
 Yale and Princeton and Yale and Harvard draw 
 crowds of 10,000 to 20,000 when they play. One public 
 school boy game in New York attracted 20,000 spectators. 
 Frequently these school boy games, given under the aus- 
 pices of the Public Schools Athletic League, are attended 
 by 10,000 spectators. 
 
 More than all else, who in the world is to be able to 
 make any reasonable kind of estimate of the attendance 
 at games when Smithtown plays Rockville and Rockville 
 plays Jones' Falls.'' 
 
 At some of those contests there are from 2,000 to 
 3,000 spectators, and when it is probable that on Satur- 
 day, which is a sort of half holiday everywhere, there are 
 at least 20,000 of those contests being played in the 
 States of the Union, we begin to feel like holding up our 
 hands in dismay and affirming that it is almost out of the 
 question to express the growth of Base Ball and its 
 present status except by the million mark. And millions 
 denote it more accurately than thousands. 
 
 The future of Base Ball, to be judged by its imme- 
 diate present, is practically limitless, for, in spite of the 
 fact that its development is broader, sounder and better 
 at present than it ever has been, there are manifold indi- 
 cations that it will thrive and not starve so long as the 
 present admirable system of organization is maintained. 
 
 Without organization it loses at once its foundation, 
 
504 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 and experience has proved that so repeatedly that the 
 man who trifles with the present system of adjusting griev- 
 ances and operating on a basis of mutuality will be a 
 Benedict Arnold to his fellow associates. 
 
 Thirty years ago the greatest drawback to Base Ball, 
 then coming into its own, was the lack of communication 
 between the smaller cities. Many a time I have known a 
 team of young ball players to take a tramp of four or 
 five miles to play with the team in a neighboring town 
 and walk all the way home after the game was over. 
 
 The interest in the sport was there. That same honest, 
 high-spirited interest which exists at the present time, but 
 the facilities were lacking in those days. 
 
 While we are speaking about the development of Base 
 Ball, it might not be out of place to say that what the 
 boys lacked thirty years ago ihv boys of to-day have at 
 their doors.' 
 
 Reference is made to the electric railroads which 
 traverse the country from one ocean to the other.- Now- 
 adays it is almost invariably the case that the county 
 seat is connected with all of the important towns of the 
 county by electric railroad, and very frequently a chain 
 of these railroads connects the smaller cities, so that it is 
 only a matter of an hour's ride before a visiting team can 
 be transported from its own town to that in which it is 
 to play. 
 
 These " short hauls," as I believe the railroad men call 
 them, have done a tremendous good for pure amateur Base 
 Ball, and for Base Ball between the smaller city leagues 
 which are not quite large enough _to enter regularly into 
 professional Base Ball. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 505 
 
 One hears a great deal about the " Trolley Leagues " 
 in these days and that is exactly what these organizations 
 are — ^leagues dependent upon the trolley railroad for 
 , transportation. These organizations are composed of the 
 sterling young ball players of the United States, and if 
 the satiated enthusiast of the city becomes a little too well 
 satisfied with the well doing of his favorite professional 
 club, he need only to visit one of these "trolley league" 
 games to find Base Ball in all of the glory by which he 
 remembers it when he sat on the grass and cheered for the 
 home team. 
 
 By contrast with other countries, the United States 
 within five years has taken long strides ahead of England 
 and France in the matter of stable and safe structures for 
 an outdoor sport. 
 
 It is true that in London, and perhaps in Paris and 
 Berlin, greater generosity has been shown to the citizens 
 in leaving untouched certain fields for those who are fond 
 of games which are popular in those cities, but in the 
 matter of stands to accommodate patrons there is nothing 
 which can equal such Base Ball palaces as have been built 
 in Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburg and other 
 cities, to say nothing of the improvement contemplated 
 for New York, where both the American and the National 
 Leagues will build on a grander scale than is in existence 
 throughout the world of sport. 
 
 When conditions are sane and settled among the 
 organizers of Base Ball there is no trouble to locate 
 prosperity. It appears at the door and begs to enter. 
 
 Nothing can better illustrate this than to compare the 
 
506 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 finish of the season of 1910, the best in the history of the 
 national pastime, with that of the finish of 1890, the 
 worst. 
 
 Base Ball values are to-day quoted at one hundred 
 cents on the dollar, to use a phrase which is popular with 
 the men in financial circles. 
 
 At the end of 1890, a season of war and strife between 
 players and owners, Base Ball values had been whittled 
 down to less than ten cents on the dollar. 
 
 There were some who had lost their all and who had 
 been forced out of the game. Strife did it. Strife will 
 invariably mar the success of any sport and, unless it is 
 possessed of the vitality and intrinsic merit of Base Ball, 
 ultimately will kill it. 
 
 Estimating the growth of Base Ball upon the basis 
 which has been in evidence for the last five years, it is 
 within reason to predict that the year 1920 will see 
 10,000,000 paid admissions at the contests of the major 
 leagues. 
 
 The million mark expands the further one analyzes the 
 steady growth of the sport, and looks forward to a future 
 which may be blessed with safe conduct under a sane 
 National Agreement and with level-headed men to conduct 
 the administration. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 A CHAPTER or REMINISCENCES REFERRING TO THE GAME 
 OF BASE BALL AND SOME MEN WHO HAVE PLAYED IT 
 
 IN OTHER YEARS BALL PLAYERS AS A RULE ARE MEN 
 
 OF HONO£. 
 
 MOST everybody remembers the story of Horace 
 Greeley's mountain ride with Hank Monk, the 
 celebrated California stage driver of early days, and how 
 that story was told and retold until it became the stock in 
 trade of everybody on the Pacific Coast. Something akin 
 to this is the widespread publicity given to a tale that I 
 encounter frequently in all kinds of publications, relating 
 to my introduction to the game of Base Ball. 
 
 This narrative declares that the first time I ever heard 
 of Base Ball was when a veteran of the Civil War came to 
 Rockford in 1863 and explained it to me. The story goes 
 on to state that I immediately organized two teams ; that 
 three years later I was clerking in a Chicago grocery 
 and went out to watch a game between two clubs of the 
 Windy City ; that the pitcher of one of the nines got his 
 leg twisted, so that the game was likely to go by default, 
 when I volunteered my services and pulled the unfortunate 
 club out of its deplorable situation, etc. 
 
 Now, I dislike to shatter this beautiful fairy tale. 
 Especially distasteful is it to me to wreck the bright halo 
 placed upon my brow by some good natured, highly imag- 
 inative, but ill-advised historian ; but the fact is that, with 
 S09 
 
510 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 the exception of the opening statement that a returning 
 soldier told me about playing the game in the army, there 
 is hardly enough truth in the balance of the story on 
 which to hang a feather. It was emphatically not true 
 that I, at thirteen years of age, organized two Base Ball 
 teams. On the contrary, I was at that time an overgrown, 
 unbaked, country boy, as green as the verdant prairies of 
 my native State, and so bashful that I was almost afraid 
 to go out of doors, lest I should meet and be spoken to 
 by someone not a member of my family. 
 
 I was boarding at the home of a relative at Rockford. 
 It was my first prolonged absence from home, and memo- 
 ries of the homesickness of that period haunt me like a 
 nightmare to this hour. The only solace I had, the only 
 bright skies for me in those dark days of utter loneliness, 
 were when I could go out to the commons to watch the 
 other fellows play Base Ball. And then my diffidence was 
 so great that I would go way down the outfield, take a 
 seat on the turf and watch the boys have fun. I think 
 no mother, parted from her young, ever had a stronger 
 yearning to see her beloved offspring than had I to break 
 in to those crude games of ball on the commons at Rock- 
 ford. Oh, if I only could get in! But I'd rather have 
 died than suggest such a thing, and the players were too 
 busy to think of me. So I would sit, and watch, and 
 yearn, and covet a place among the happy lads who were 
 having such happy times. 
 
 One day the unexpected happened. The balls used in 
 those days were composed of melted rubber, around which 
 yarn was wound and a leather cover sewed on some- 
 times. These balls would bound as high as a house and 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 511 
 
 if a fellow got a fair lick at one, it would certainly go 
 some. On this particular day I was occupying my usual 
 place, far out beyond center field, when one of the boys 
 hit the ball square on the nose and it came soaring in my 
 direction. Talk about special Providence! That ball 
 came for me straight as an arrow. Impulsively I sprang 
 to my feet, reached out for it with my right hand, held 
 it a moment, and then threw it home on an air-line to the 
 catcher. 
 
 When the game was over, one of the boys came to me 
 and said : 
 
 " Say, that was a great catch you made. Wouldn't 
 you like to play to-morrow .f"' 
 
 Blushing, I managed to stammer that I would; and I 
 did, and from that day, when sides were chosen, I was 
 usually among the first to have a place. And this was 
 my real introduction to the game. 
 
 As to the Chicago incident, so graphically recorded in 
 the story referred to, the facts are set forth elsewhere in 
 this narrative. I was clerking at Chicago because I had 
 already made good as a pitcher on the Forest City team 
 and was wanted by the Chicago Excelsiors. But I went 
 to Chicago after the close of one season and returned to 
 Rockford before the opening of another. Hence, it is too 
 bad for an imaginative writer to twist the poor pitcher's 
 leg in a supposititious game played in midwinter, even 
 though I appreciate his good-will in making me the hero 
 of an impossible romance. 
 
 My early experiences in a business way were not 
 
512 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 encouraging. The first salaried position I ever held was 
 in a grocery store at Rockford. About the time I left 
 that establishment it "busted." The failure was not due 
 to the size of my salary; I received only three dollars 
 a week! 
 
 My second engagement was with a Chicago wholesale 
 grocery, where I was to receive $40 a week as bill clerk, 
 with the understanding that I was to pitch for the Excel- 
 siors during the Base Ball season. I was told by the 
 proprietor not to mention the amount of my salary to 
 fellow clerks. I hadn't been at work but a few days when 
 a son of Frank Parmalee — of Chicago Transfer fame — 
 who had his desk near mine, asked the leading question, 
 " How much do you get ? " I answered, "I don't know ; 
 my first pay day hasn't arrived." He told me that he got 
 $10 a week, and I suppose he ranked me as about a " fiver." 
 I only received one salary check at Chicago, when the 
 sheriff came along and closed up the wholesale grocery 
 store. I was not so sure of my innocence of the cause of 
 this failure as I had been in the Rockford case. Forty 
 dollars a week for such service as I was at that time 
 capable of rendering seemed to me enough to "bust" 
 almost any concern. 
 
 I was now without employment in a big city in mid- 
 winter. Happily, I had an uncle in the insurance 
 business at that time, and he gave me work, soliciting 
 insurance. Among other policies that I wrote up was 
 one on a blacksmith shop on Lake Street. I had become 
 acquainted with the proprietor as I passed back and forth 
 between my boarding place and oflice, and, upon my 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 513 
 
 eloquent presentation of the desirability of protection 
 against loss by fire, he allowed me to write his risk in one 
 of my uncle's companies. One night a big fire broke out 
 on Lake Street, and the losses were so heavy that every 
 company for which my uncle had an agency went broke. 
 I heard that a large, two-fisted blacksmith, whose place of 
 business before the conflagration had been on Lake Street, 
 was looking for a tall, young insurance solicitor. During 
 the brief remainder of my sojourn in Chicago I went daily 
 a few blocks out of my way to avoid apologizing for a 
 defunct insurance company, and incidentally to escape a 
 "licking." 
 
 After the insurance failures at Chicago, I returned to 
 Rockford and obtained employment as bookkeeeper in the 
 Rockford Register office, also doing similar work for Mr. 
 A. N. Nicholds, agent for the Charter Oak Life Insur- 
 ance Co., with the understanding that I was to pitch for 
 the Forest Citys. The newspaper soon got into financial 
 troubles and the insurance company failed. 
 
 Having now been present as mourner at the obsequies 
 of one retail and one wholesale grocery establishment, 
 several insurance companies and a newspaper, I lost confi- 
 dence in the ordinary channels of business enterprise and 
 determined in the future to devote my energies profes- 
 sionally to the great American national game. 
 
 Therefore, when Harry Wright appeared at Rockford 
 one day in the fall of 1870, with an offer of $2,500 per 
 annum, one-fifth to be paid spot cash, I signed a contract 
 to pitch for the original Boston professional club. The 
 Base Ball history of the five following years is familiar to 
 
514 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 the public. It is not so well known, however, that, while 
 playing with the Bostons, the great fire of 1872 occurred, 
 paralyzing the business interests of that city and nearly 
 wrecking the Boston Base Ball Club. 
 
 Following that fire, I found myself short $800 in 
 salary, and was forced to accept the offer of an old friend 
 to take a place on the New York Graphic, an illustrated 
 weekly paper that had recently been established there. 
 The Graphic soon failed, of course, and, my back salary 
 having been made up and future payment of salary 
 secured, I returned to Boston and devoted my time strictly 
 to playing ball professionally, until I embarked in busi- 
 ness for myself, since which time I have not been connected 
 with any more commercial failures. 
 
 The first time I had to do with the selling of players 
 was in 1887. I had withdrawn from active participation 
 in the game as a player, but was President of the Chicago 
 White Stockings, at that time the finest team of ball 
 players in the world. Although the traffic in players, 
 under the National Agreement, had been in vogue for 
 some time, I had never looked with much favor upon it, 
 rather from sentiment than any other reason, I suppose, 
 for I knew that such changes usually benefited club and 
 player alike. The newspapers had made much ado about 
 the arbitrary authority given to managers along this 
 line. It had been quite generally denounced by the press ; 
 and the public, influenced, no doubt, by the changes rung 
 on such headlines as "Slave Traffic," "Another Ball Player 
 Sold," etc., had come to regard the practice as awful. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 515 
 
 The facts leading to my personal introduction to the 
 system are as follows: The White Stockings were 
 repeating in Chicago the history of Boston's first profes- 
 sional club. The players were so capable that they were 
 expected to win every game. It did seem almost impos- 
 sible for them to lose. Twice in succession they had 
 captured the championship pennant; the prowess of the 
 team was known throughout the land, and praises of the 
 individual performances of Anson, Kelly, Flint, William- 
 son, Dalrymple, Gore, Clarkson, Pfeffer, McCormick and 
 Sunday were on everybody's lips. 
 
 Now, experience had shown that the keeping of the 
 same players together for too long a time is prejudicial 
 to the interests of the game. I had learned that lesson 
 in my notice of the effect of the four years of successive 
 championship victories gained by the Boston team, and 
 felt that the time had come for a change in the personnel 
 of the Chicago nine. I was well aware that patrons, 
 while appreciating good players, do tire of seeing the 
 same faces year after year, and do enj oy the introduction 
 of new blood into the team. And so I decided to let 
 some players go. But what ones? That was a question 
 not easy to decide. 
 
 I deliberated upon the matter for some days, and 
 finally persuaded myself that King Kelly was the man 
 to sell. In arriving at this conclusion, I was not led 
 to the determination entirely by the certainty that Kelly 
 would bring the most money. I knew, of course, that 
 he was as popular abroad as he was at home, and would 
 sell for a lot of cash. I also was aware that there would 
 
516 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 be a sad, sad wail when it was made public that the "King" 
 was to go. But there were imperative reasons prompting 
 his disposal. It was an open secret — else I would not 
 exploit it here — that Kelly's habits were not conducive 
 to the best interests of the club or his team-mates. He 
 was of a highly convivial nature, extremely fascinating 
 and witty, and his example was demoralizing to discipline. 
 Particularly was his influence objectionable upon the 
 younger members of the nine. Everybody in Chicago 
 liked Kelly; all the players desired to be where he was — 
 and to follow him was "to go the limit." 
 
 So one day I broached the subject of the proposed 
 change to Captain Anson, asking him if he could spare 
 Kelly. 
 
 "Spare him? Sure. Spare anybody," was the reply. 
 
 I then cautioned Anson to say nothing, as I felt that 
 this matter was one which would have to be handled with 
 gloves. So I sent for Kelly and asked him : 
 
 . " Kelly, how would you like to go to Boston to play?" 
 
 "I don't want any Boston in mine; Chicago's good 
 enough for me." 
 
 "Well, you're good enough for Chicago, too," I said. 
 "But if there should be something nice in it for you, 
 would you object? Wouldn't you like more salary?" 
 
 "Wouldn't Kelly like more salary? Well, I guess." 
 
 "What salary would you go to Boston for?" I con- 
 tinued. 
 
 He thought a moment, then said, almost as if ashamed 
 to ask it, " Four thousand dollars." He was receiving 
 $3,000 at Chicago, which was the limit in those days. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 517 
 
 "I think I can get you $5,000!" said I. 
 
 He beamed all over at the prospect. 
 
 "Now, Mike," I said, "you don't care how much we 
 get for your release." 
 
 " If you get me $5,000 I don't care a if you sell 
 
 me for a hundred thousand." 
 
 " All right. Now keep mum, and let me conduct nego- 
 tiations ; and remember, if you get a letter from Boston, 
 asking your terms, it's $5,000 — not $4,000." 
 
 I took the matter up with the manager of the Boston 
 club, telling him that King Kelly might possibly be 
 secured. He bit. In a few days I received a letter, ask- 
 ing the price. I replied that $10,000 would purchase 
 the King. He couldn't wait to write. He wired me, 
 "Terms for Kelly accepted," and the sale was made. 
 
 Meanwhile Kelly had also been receiving telegrams, 
 and got his contract for three years at $5,000. It was 
 understood between us that he was at liberty to play 
 the " poor Base Ball slave " act to the limit. He did his 
 part with such splendid effect that I soon had the whole 
 press of Chicago applying to me names that, to say the 
 least, were far from complimentary. To these attacks 
 I replied by having the check received from Boston pub- 
 hshed in fac-simile in the Chicago "papers. I had learned 
 to know the value of good newspaper advertising, and 
 it came good and plenty as long as Kelly remained to 
 weep and wail over his sad fate in being sold away from 
 the city he loved so well. 
 
 But other members of the team soon caught on, and I 
 found myself besieged by players begging to be sold into 
 
518 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 a slavery that would help them to redoubled salaries. 
 After awhile the reporters got the right of it, with the 
 result that a system which helped player and club alike 
 was shown to be not so one-sided as had been sometimes 
 supposed. 
 
 Subsequently Clarkson, the White Stockings' superb 
 pitcher, was also sold to Boston, and later Gore went to 
 New York, but we overdid the matter a trifle and lost the 
 pennant that year. 
 
 In speaking of the events which led to my separation 
 from the Boston Club, in 1875, it will be recalled that I 
 accompanied Mr. Hulbert to Philadelphia, where it was 
 stated that Anson and Sutton had already " been secured." 
 It was not quite true that both these players had been 
 secured. They had agreed to go with me to Chicago, 
 but Sutton never went, and Anson found it very difficult 
 to do so. 
 
 In what has here been written concerning the game 
 and its producers I fear I may sometimes have done injus- 
 tice to the players. If so, I wish right now to make 
 amends. I certainly desire to be just to all, and I know 
 a good deal about the temptations that assailed players 
 during the evolution of Base Ball in those early days. 
 I have known tricky players, dishonest players, drunken 
 players, but I have also met and dealt with shiftless man- 
 agers, double-faced managers and managers as corrupt 
 as Satan himself. 
 
 As soon as it became known that Barnes, McVey, 
 White and I had determined to go to Chicago, in 1876, 
 every conceivable influence to induce us to break our con- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 519 
 
 tracts and cause a change in our program was brought 
 to bear upon all alike. If there was any difference, per- 
 haps I suffered less than any others from these attempts. 
 I was generally looked upon as the ringleader of the seces- 
 sionists, and it was not supposed that my plans could be 
 altered. But the other boys got it " good and plenty." 
 They were cajoled, coaxed, offered all kinds of money, 
 and finally browbeaten and insulted, but all to no avail. 
 The " big four " had given their words, and all bribes, 
 entreaties and threats were ignored. 
 
 At Philadelphia, of course, conditions were similar, 
 and the same scenes were enacted. Sutton and Anson 
 were besieged and besought; corruptive influences were 
 brought to bear upon them right and left. Most alluring 
 offers were made to both of them- — and Sutton surren- 
 dered! Although his sacred promise had been given and 
 contract signed, he was not strong enough to resist the 
 temptation of a higher salary and advancement. He 
 capitulated, broke his contract, and remained with the 
 Philadelphia Athletics. 
 
 With Anson it was different. There would have been 
 some excuse for him. He had recently met and was 
 betrothed to the good woman who was to become his wife. 
 Her home was at Philadelphia, and she naturally wanted 
 her husband at her home. A most tempting increase of 
 salary, if he would remain, added its allurements to the 
 situation. Anson decided that he must not go to Chicago * 
 and wrote to President Hulbert for his release. Mr. 
 Hulbert showed me the letter. I told him to pay no 
 attention to it — and not to release the player. 
 
520 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 "Oh, what's the use?" said Hulbert. "He'll break 
 his contract. We've lost Sutton ; we'll lose Anson." 
 
 "It is true," I replied, "that we have lost Sutton; 
 but we haven't lost Anson." 
 
 Time passed with Anson still insisting that he wouldn't 
 come to Chicago. Mr. Hulbert was quite inclined to let 
 him go. I persisted in refusing to give my consent. 
 Anson continued to "bluff;" said that he wouldn't come 
 West; that he'd break his contract before he'd come. 
 
 In the following spring, in advance of the opening of 
 the season, the big first baseman came out to Chicago, 
 determined to secure his release. He offered to pay 
 $1,000 to be relieved from his contract, but Hulbert was, 
 now immovable. Anson then came to me. He went over 
 the whole situation. The claims of his fiancee were urged. 
 I told him she would be happier in Chicago. He referred 
 to the offer of $2,.500 a year — far more than he had ever 
 received — and said: 
 
 "I can't afford to lose the money." 
 
 " You can't afford to break your contract," I replied. 
 
 " That's about so, too," he acknowledged ; but still he 
 held out. Meanwhile, in his determination to remain at 
 Philadelphia, Anson had subjected himself to daily inter- 
 views in the Chicago papers, in which he stubbornly 
 declared his intention of remaining and playing in the 
 East. Mr. Hulbert was convinced that Anson was lost. 
 I told him not to fear. 
 
 "Sutton has broken his contract, hasn't he?" he 
 repeated. 
 
 "Yes," I answered; "but I never told you that you 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 521 
 
 could hold Sutton. I know Anson. You have his con- 
 tract; he has promised me. He'll play with Chicago." 
 
 Next day the Chicago team went out to the grounds 
 for its first field practice. Anson was there. He wore a 
 high hat and was immaculately clothed with up-to-date 
 trousers, vest and a Prince Albert coat. So far as per- 
 sonal appearance went he might have been President of 
 the National League, or of the Nation itself. He was, 
 however, apparently still obdurate in his determination 
 not to play at Chicago. He stood around, watching the 
 practice for a little while, and then he said to me: 
 
 " Toss me one, Al." 
 
 "What? With those togs on.? Not any. Take off 
 your hat and coat and get into the game." 
 
 He stood around for a few minutes longer, his face 
 alight with the spirit of the sport, and then he peeled off 
 his statesman's wardrobe and took his place. I fired him 
 a few and said: 
 
 " Now, Anse, come to-morrow in uniform." And he 
 did, and remained with the Chicago Club for twenty-one 
 years thereafter as manager, captain and player. Such 
 was Adrian C. Anson, one of the greatest ball players 
 that ever lived — and a man whose word was always as 
 good as his bond. How we won the pennant for Chicago 
 that year, the first of the National League, is part of the 
 recorded history of the game. 
 
 The disciplining of a Base Ball team presents prob- 
 lems not to be met elsewhere, I think. The manufacturer, 
 the merchant, the farmer — every employer of labor — 
 
522 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 has some experience with men who will not always "be 
 good." But the alternative in such cases is usually the 
 same, and always at hand. The refractory employe in 
 the ordinary avenues of business can be summarily dis- 
 missed and his place soon filled. Not so in the case of the 
 recalcitrant ball player. He may be the most capable 
 man on the team ; his presence may be absolutely essential 
 to the success of the nine; his absence may mean the loss 
 of confidence on the part of every other player. To dis- 
 miss such a player summarily may be followed by the 
 withdrawal of public favor and patronage. It may cause 
 much hostile newspaper criticism. It may result in all 
 kinds of demoralization, discouragement and loss. 
 
 What, then, is to be done with a team whose members 
 persist in a course which the management knows to be 
 prejudicial to the interests of the game and which is 
 extremely vexatious and annoying.'' I cannot better 
 answer this question, or illustrate the case at point, than 
 by recounting here an incident in my experience as Presi- 
 dent of the Chicago White Stockings about thirty years 
 ago. The team was composed of fine ball players — there 
 can be no doubt of that. It was pla,ying winning ball 
 right along, which made the administration of discipline 
 all the more difficult. I knew that some of the men were 
 drinking to excess; I was aware that these were keeping 
 late hours ; it was a notorious fact that their habits were 
 altogether improper ; but what reply could I make to their 
 questions, " What's the matter with our game .?" " Do you 
 want us to win everything.?" " Where's the team that can 
 down us ? " 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 523 
 
 One day I was remonstrating with Kelly, who was the 
 liveliest of the bunch, when he turned on me with: 
 
 "What are you running here? A Sunday School or 
 a Base Ball club?" 
 
 I told him that while we were not exactly in the 
 Sunday School business we would still like to have the 
 boys reasonably clean in their habits. The subject was 
 dropped for a while and then I began to get letters from 
 the public. Some were from prominent citizens and 
 patrons of the game; others were from personal enemies 
 of some of the players ; still others were anonymous ; but 
 all told stories of drunkenness and debauchery, in which, 
 members of the White Stockings were implicated. These 
 recounted scenes of revelry and carousing that were alto- 
 gether reprehensible and disgusting. Finally the news- 
 papers took it up and began to berate the management 
 for the actions of the players. 
 
 Forbearance ceasing to be a virtue, I determined that 
 something must be done; but what? As to myself, I cOuld 
 not charge the men with offenses I had not seen them 
 commit. And yet I was reasonably certain of the exist- 
 ence of fire where there was so much smoke. I again 
 interviewed Kelly and some of the others, telling them of 
 rumors I had heard ; but all denied the charges in toto — 
 there was nothing to it, they insisted. 
 
 Meeting Billy Pinkerton' one day, I mentioned my 
 
 troubles and asked him to put a man on the job, with 
 
 instructions to ascertain the facts and make a full report. 
 
 In a few weeks the report was ready, and when I got it 
 
 ' I did not know what to do with it. It was on foolscap 
 
524 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 sheets and bulked qbout an inch in thickness. It began ^ ^ j , 
 with Anson, and dropped him after two or three days as 
 all right. So with Sunday and several others. But the 
 records of seven out of the fifteen players on the team 
 were too awful for patient consideration. The detective 
 had followed them up and down Clark Street, all over 
 the tenderloin districts, through the whole roster of 
 saloons and " speak-easy " resorts, and kept track of 
 their movements, in minutest detail, for days at a time — 
 and the evidence was now in my hands ! 
 
 But what to do with it.'' That was a question not 
 easy to answer. If the full disciplinary powers of the 
 League were applied, that meant the disruption of the 
 team at the height of the season — the practical elimina- 
 tion of the White Stockings from the League, I gave 
 the subject long and careful consideration, and at length 
 decided upon a course to pursue. 
 
 One day I told Anson to have all the boys on the 
 grounds next morning, as I had something I wanted to 
 say to them. He asked me, "What's up.?" and I told 
 him to be there and learn for himself. 
 
 Next morning I met the team by appointment. I told 
 them what had been done ; how I had heard the stories of 
 their dissipation; how I had received scores of letters 
 of complaint; how newspapers had finally taken up the 
 subject; how I had then employed a detective to learn 
 the facts, and that I had his report with me. I then 
 asked : 
 
 "Now, boys, what shall I do with it.?" 
 
 "Read it," said one, and 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 525 
 
 "Read it," echoed the others. 
 
 I didn't propose to read that long grist again, and 
 so one of the players was deputized to perform the task. 
 He commenced with the report on Anson, and I heard 
 one of the players ej aculate, " Here's where the old man 
 gets off." A minute later someone whispered, "Here's 
 where Billy (Sunday) slides out," and so on until the 
 real business of the report began. 
 
 Unfeigned interest kept everyone silent until the read- 
 ing had ended. Then Kelly broke the silence with one 
 of his characteristic drolleries, saying: "I have to 
 offer only one amendment. In that place where the detec- 
 tive reports me as taking a lemonade at 3 a. m. he's 
 off. It was a straight whiskey; I never drank a lemon- 
 ade at that hour in my life." 
 
 "Now, boys," I said, "what's to be done about it .J" 
 I understand that you plead guilty to the indictment. 
 What's to be the penalty.?" 
 
 "That's up to you, sir." 
 
 "Anson, what's to be the punishment.'' Do you want, 
 to fine these men.f* " 
 
 "No," said Anson, "we don't want their money." 
 
 "I'll tell you what we will do," said I. "I appoint 
 you seven men a committee to report the punishment to 
 be inflicted upon yourselves." 
 
 " How much did you pay the detective .'' " asked one 
 of the guilty. 
 
 "One hundred and seventy-five dollars," I replied. 
 
 " Well," said he, " there's just seven of us. Suppose 
 we stand $25 apiece.?" 
 
526 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 " All right, I'm agreed," said one after the other, and 
 thus ended the administration of discipline in that case. 
 
 As a sequel to this incident, another occurred a few 
 days later. The White Stockings were about to leave 
 for a series of games at Detroit. The train was ready 
 to start. Standing on the platform was a great, green 
 gawk of a fellow, staring with wide-mouthed interest at 
 the departing players. Kelly caught sight of him and 
 whispered something to McCormick. Then the "King" 
 stepped up to the countryman and, after denouncing him 
 in most violent terms as a Pinkerton detective, hauled 
 off and smote him with all his might, while McCormick, 
 coming up behind the bewildered " Rube," kicked the poor 
 fellow's pants clear up on his shoulders. Then the bell 
 rang and the belligerent ball players sprang to the plat- 
 form of the rear car and went whirling Eastward. 
 
 As showing the importance of taking advantage of 
 opportunities presented for the gratuitous advertising 
 of the game, I recall an incident following the sale of 
 Kelly to Boston. The newspapers of Chicago did not 
 take kindly to this transaction. One paper — ^the Chicago 
 News — then owned by Melville E. Stone and Victor F. 
 Lawson, was particularly severe in its criticism. The 
 News strenuously urged, among other things, a reduction 
 in the price of admission to games, claiming that if Chi- 
 cago was to have cheap players it ought to have cheap 
 admission. 
 
 Frequent caricatures were printed, some of them occu- 
 pying a half page, illustrating the slave pen of ante- 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 527 
 
 bellum days, 'with the auction block, upon which, instead 
 of the familiar forms of the unhappy slaves, abject ball 
 players were displayed for sale to the highest bidder. 
 Being at that time President of the Chicago Club, and 
 having been instrumental in promoting the sale of Kelly, 
 I came in for much notoriety. While these daily " roasts " 
 were being served out to me I noticed that the attendance 
 kept increasing. Many friends, outraged at what they 
 deemed unfair criticism, wrote me, urging me to take some 
 action that would stop the abuse, even if I had to kill the 
 editor. 
 
 A prominent Base Ball writer of that day was " Har- 
 mony" White, who had obtained his sobriquet from an 
 article published in one of the Chicago papers to the 
 effect that the only way to gain a winning team was to 
 collect a nine whose members were so mad with one 
 another that they would not speak. I happened to meet 
 White on the street one day, early in the summer, and 
 asked . him : 
 
 "What's the matter with the News? You haven't 
 been giving me the usual amount of space of late." 
 
 He replied that he was absolutely out of ammunition. 
 I offered to furnish him fresh ammunition if he would 
 only keep up the onslaught. His incredulous look indi- 
 cated that he was not impressed with my sincerity. I 
 then explained to him that simply as a business proposi- 
 tion I could not afford to be neglected in his paper, for 
 since he had let up in his attacks our attendance was 
 dropping off. 
 
 "Well," said he, "if you feel that way about it, and 
 
528 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 will supply the ammunition, I will open up again, for I 
 certainly have instructions from the managing editor to 
 go to the limit in roasting the management of the Chi- 
 cago Base Ball Club." 
 
 As a result of this casual conversation it was then 
 and there agreed that he would send a trusted messenger 
 to my office on two certain days of each week to secure 
 the necessary ammunition. This plan was carried out 
 to the end of that season, and, as a result, the Chicago 
 Club made more money that year than it had ever made 
 during its history up to that time. 
 
 From this experience I became convinced that — so far 
 as Base Ball is concerned — good, liberal roasts in news- 
 papers of wide circulation are much more effective than 
 fulsome praise, for the latter carries with it the idea that 
 it is paid advertising, and is therefore only read as such, 
 whereas under the roast program the matter is relieved 
 from that suspicion and read by everybody with more 
 or less of sympathy for the poor fellow who has no 
 newspaper in which to defend himself, and this even 
 though the "poor fellow" is supplying ammunition to 
 his traducer. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
EDWAKD MARSHALL 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII, 
 
 CONCLUSION THE PSYCHOLOGY OJ BASE BALL MR. ED- 
 WARD Marshall's interview on the effect of the 
 
 GAME ON THE MIND AND OF THE MIND ON THE GAME. 
 
 I HAVE thought best to conclude this book with an 
 article written by Edward Marshall on " The Psy- 
 chology of Base Ball," and which appeared in the Sunday 
 issue of the New York Times, November 13th, 1910. 
 
 My reasons for giving space to this article are: 
 
 First^^Because it deals with a side of the subject (the 
 psychological) which had been heretofore overlooked, and 
 
 Second— Because it contained many thoughts that 
 had existed in my mind for years, but had never before 
 been expressed in words. 
 
 Mr. Marshall has the happy faculty of interviewing 
 one in such a searching manner that, without apparent 
 effort, he enters the recesses of his subject's mind and 
 brings to light the inmost thoughts of the one interviewed. 
 
 The circumstances leading up to the interview came 
 about in this way: Mr. Homer Davenport, the cele- 
 brated cartoonist, and a great admirer of the American 
 national game, said to me one day that Mr. Edward 
 Marshall, the well-known author, had expressed a desire 
 to "interview" me on the "Psychology of Base Ball," 
 and asked if he might bring Mr. Marshall to call at my 
 New York hotel for that purpose. I consented, and a 
 meeting was arranged for the next evening. 
 531 
 
532 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 Mr. Marshall explained the object of his visit and the 
 general lines of the information he was seeking, inciden- 
 tally remarking that he had never seen a game of Base 
 Ball. 
 
 In answer to my surprised inquiry, " Where have you 
 lived all these years ? " he replied that he had been a war 
 correspondent and had spent most of his time in Europe, 
 and more recently in Cuba. 
 
 Here was I, facing a man who had never seen a game 
 of Base Ball; yet this man wanted to write an article on 
 the "Psychology of Base Ball," which, so far as I knew, 
 although I had been connected with the sport almost 
 from its inception, was a phase of the subject that had 
 never before been brought out. 
 
 While he was arranging his shorthand notes, seated 
 in an easy chair, with a pad carelessly resting on his 
 knee, I confess that I had some misgivings as to his forth- 
 coming article, and as a precautionary measure requested 
 him to show me proof of the same before it appeared in 
 print. To this he assented. 
 
 Shortly after this first and only interview with Mr. 
 Marshall I was suddenly called to my home at Point Loma, 
 California, and never saw the article until some days 
 after it had appeared in the New York Times of Novem- 
 ber 13, 1910. Had I seen the proof I would certainly have 
 blue-penciled some of the personal references. I do not 
 claim to have the face of a "Greek Hero" ; I do not assume 
 to resemble a Bishop of any church, and I could not be the 
 father of a game whose birth antedated mine by ten years. 
 
 Following is the article in full: 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 533 
 
 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF BASE BALL DISCUSSED BY 
 A. G. SPALDING. 
 
 The Game Elevates and Fits the American Character — It Brings 
 Into Play the Emotional and Moral as Well as the Physical 
 Side of Man's Nature. 
 
 By Edward Marshall 
 
 His face is that of a Greek hero, his manner that of a Church 
 of England Bishop, when I talked with him he was a candidate for 
 United States Senator from California, and he is the father of the 
 greatest sport -the world has ever known. 
 
 You don't know him? You are unfortunate. There are in the 
 United States at least a million men who do and who will yell at 
 sight of him. I am writing now of A. G. Spalding, and he talked to 
 me, the other evening, of the game's psychology. 
 
 "The psychology of Base Ball?" he said, thoughtfully. "I 
 confess that the 'psychology of Base Ball' is a new one on me. 
 
 The Mind and the Game. 
 
 " I take it that you are trying to find out what effect the game 
 has on the mind, and what effect the mind has on the game. The 
 general impression among those who do not know, and, although 
 there are several million people in this country who do know, still 
 there remain a few who don't, is that Base Ball is simply a form 
 of physical exercise which is interesting to watch and to take part 
 in. Those who have played the game know well that it is more — 
 much more. They know that it is quite as much a mental as it is 
 a physical exercise. 
 
 "As a matter of plain fact, it is much more a mental exercise 
 than a mere physical sport. There is really no other form of out- 
 door sport which constantly demands such accurate co-ordination 
 between the mind and body as this national game of ours. And 
 that is rather fine, when you come to think about it. 
 
 "Base Ball elevates, and it fits the American character. The 
 emotional and moral as well as the physical side of a man's nature are 
 Brought into play by Base Ball. I know of no other medium which, 
 as completely as Base Ball, joins the physical, mental, emotional, 
 and moral sides of a, man's composite being into a complete and 
 homogeneous whole. And there is nothing better calculated than 
 Base Ball to give a growing boy self-poise and self-reliance, confi- 
 dence, inoffensive and entirely proper aggressiveness, general manli- 
 ness. Base Ball is a man maker. 
 
 " Of course the professional Base Ball player is the one known 
 to the non-playing public; he attracts attention through his superior 
 talent, just as a great actor or a great singer does; but a great 
 actor or great singer may start late, while a Base Ball player can- 
 
534 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 not. I do not believe there is a single player in the major leagues 
 who had not demonstrated a peculiar fitness for the game, and made 
 a reputation as a skillful player among boy associates, before he was 
 fourteen. 
 
 " Yes ; certainly the game has its psychology — a part of the fine, 
 healthy, undegenerate psychology of the whole Nation. The profes- 
 sional Base Ball player is no thug trained to brutality like the prize- 
 fighter, no half-developed little creature like the jockey, no cruel 
 coward like the bull fighter. He is the natural development of the 
 American boy's inborn love of manly, skillful, outdoor sport — sport 
 busying brain and body and not harming any one or .anything. The 
 average boy who loves Base Ball is not the sort of boy who loves 
 to go off with a gun intent on killing some poor bird. Base Ball 
 has done a lot to keep the Yankee lad from being brutal. 
 
 " And he revels in Base Ball, does this American boy — good 
 luck to him! No one ever has to urge the normal Yankee lad to 
 participate in this clean game. He takes to it as a duck to water. 
 He knows its rudiments before he learns to read and write. His 
 father played Base Ball before him, and, of this generation, most 
 of his forefathers. And it is a sport which parents may encour- 
 age, for it is neither dangerous nor demoralizing. 
 
 " The professional Base Ball player is doing more for his native 
 country than any one engaged in any form of sport has ever done 
 for any country in the past. They say horse racing has resulted 
 in improvement in horse breeding; well. Base Ball has done some- 
 thing better, it has resulted in improvement in man breeding. Aside 
 from giving outdoor recreation to the public, the professional Base 
 Ball player is, by his example, encouraging the boy to healthy sport 
 with which not one unpleasant feature is connected. Little gambling 
 is associated with Base Ball. When the game first started as a 
 professional sport there was an eifort made to saddle it with all 
 the gambling features which beset the race tracks — pool-selling and 
 all — and from 1870 to, say, 1875, the gamblers practically had con- 
 trol of our professional Base Ball. Every Base Ball park had its 
 betting ring. This made decent people stay away, and interest in 
 the game fell to a low ebb. Every error made was charged to 
 crookedness upon the player's part, and not always, probably, un- 
 justly. William A. Hulbert, of Chicago, had become interested in 
 the game, and I explained this all to him. I was actually afraid 
 the game would have to go. He wanted me to take my winning 
 club on from Boston to Chicago, and I told him that I would if he'd 
 clean out the gamblers, and not otherwise. He said he'd try, and 
 he did try, to mighty good effect. That saved the game, undoubtedly, 
 and in the winter of the following year the National League was 
 organized, and has been getting more and more important to the 
 life of all America with the passage of each day since then. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 535 
 
 Gambling Dkiven Out. 
 
 "The elimination of the betting evil was the cornerstone of the 
 success of Base Ball as an exhibition game. The fight against it was 
 a fierce one, lasting four or five years. Then we triumphed, and 
 the cleanest game on earth had been established. No betting, no 
 Sunday playing, no liquor sold upon tlie grounds! It was a revo- 
 lution in the world of professional sport. Base Ball is the only 
 game which suits the mighty populace and yet is wholly free from 
 ties to bind it to the gambling and the liquor-selling element, whose 
 aim it is to victimize that populace. 
 
 " That's part of its psychology — it is elean-souled. Another and 
 important part of it is that it is a leveler. That makes it, in the 
 truest sense, American. It is almost, if not exactly, the same game 
 in all parts of the United States, and nowhere is it cursed by caste. 
 Caste may not wreck a sport in countries where caste dominates 
 the social life, but it would surely wreck Base Ball in this country. 
 Tnat's the finest thing about Base Ball. Its spectators, once they 
 settle in their seats and glue their eyes upon the diamond, are 
 absolutely equalized by their delight in what they see. The hod 
 carrier, if his seat so placed him as to make it possible, would be 
 pretty apt, in case of a good play, to beat the President upon the 
 back in his enthusiasm with a cushion or his hat, and the President 
 would almost surely turn and grin at him. I don't know that that 
 has ever actually happened, but I have known a workingman in 
 jumpers to so lose his memory of social and financial and political 
 rank as to biff thus a grave Senator. It was a fine and significant 
 spectacle, because — note this — ^the Senator was not offended. He 
 couldn't clear his mind of frantic joy in time to be offended, and, 
 better yet, he would not have been offended if he could have 
 cleared it." 
 
 Right here I ought to explain something. This interview was 
 quite a family affair. Across the room from me sat Mr. Spalding's 
 nephew — a young scientist — and at my right, upon a couch, was 
 Mrs. Spalding. She is a fit mate for her classically featured husband. 
 She is really very handsome, has a notably delightful voice — soft, 
 cultured, vibrant — and she does what the " advice to wives " depart- 
 ments in the women's magazines always urge young wives to do; 
 she takes an interest in her husband's soul-enthusiasms. Interest? 
 
 Well, some. ,t, ^ -n 
 
 Two Cranks in a Familt. 
 
 "Men at Base Ball games, all men at Base Ball games, are 
 brethren, equal sharers in whatever joy or woe or protest the great 
 game may bring," said she. "And utterly irreverent. Ban John- 
 son, the president of the league, was sitting near us in the stand, 
 and' a man wanted to make a photograph of him. Did the crowd sit 
 awed and reverent? Not notably. That crowd admired Ban John- 
 
536 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 son and, in a way, revered him, but the camera man was an obstruc- 
 tion. What a cry went up ! ' Too much Johnson ! Too much John- 
 son ! ' roared instantly unto the vaulted heavens." 
 
 Mr. Spalding smiled at her. "Two cranks in a family means 
 domestic bliss, if they are both Base Ball cranks," he commented, 
 thereby adding to his exposition of the game's psychology. 
 
 "Any one who blocked a crank's view of the game would meet 
 with instant criticism," he said proudly. "And if Teddy himself 
 were playing and made an error he'd be roasted by the best friends 
 he possessed upon the bleachers. 
 
 " But, in spite of this. Base Ball is the most good-natured pas- 
 time in the world.. Partisans will rave and tear their hair, but how 
 often do you hear that one' of them has torn another's hair on Base 
 Ball grounds? In the history of the world no such great crowds 
 have gathered to watch anything the world has ever known — sport 
 or anything else — with so few fights. Base Ball, you see, arouses 
 no brutal instincts. It is a turmoil rather than a battle. It is 
 more a war of skill than a war of strength. Foot ball often breeds 
 fierce fights. That game calls for heavy muscles, don't you see? as 
 well as skill, and I shall dare some critics when I say that foot ball 
 science is less delicate than Base Ball science. Brute strength in 
 one foot ball player can, and often does, overmaster the pure science 
 of another. In Base Ball this could not possibly occur. 
 
 The One Game in the Open. 
 
 "The game is in the open, too. Twenty thousand people can 
 cluster round a diamond and see every move the Base Ball players 
 on it make. There is no chance for secret cheating, therefore there 
 is no tendency in that direction. It is not alone the umpire who 
 can see what happens on the field, but every newsboy, every million- 
 aire, among the spectators. In foot ball there is often chance for 
 hidden fouls. 
 
 " Professionalism has not wrecked Base Ball — it has merely 
 brought about a higher degree of skill in players by offering them 
 an income which permits them to keep up, after they have become 
 men, the sport in which they have excelled as boys. The profes- 
 sional is merely a grown boy, and, in the minds of a large number 
 of his fellows, a very lucky boy at that. His profession is his sport a 
 little glorified. He is the natural oiitcome of the boy's love for the 
 game — ah, how that same boy loves it! 
 
 " And it is the only professional sport I know of which it does 
 not hurt a boy to revel in. He worships the professional who wins, 
 and, doing this, he never worships a plug-ugly or a thug. Drunk- 
 ards and all other moral undesirables are barred from real success 
 upon the Base Ball field by the very nature of the sport. The men 
 whom the boy ' roots ' for are a very decent lot of fellows — such a, 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 537 
 
 decent lot of fellows as no other professional sport the world has 
 ever known could show. The professional Base Ball player, by his 
 example, does not encourage his young devotees to anything 
 unworthy. That's a fine detail of our national sport. Parents need 
 not be alarmed if their young sons announce at breakfast some fine 
 morning that they plan to be professional ball players when they 
 reach maturity. In the first place, out of 500 boys who may express 
 that firm determination, only one, upon an average, will ever make 
 good in a major league, or minor league for that matter, and, in 
 the second place, that one of the 500 will not, by making good, 
 prove himself to be anything at all unworthy. Success as a Base 
 Ball player does not plunge a youth into a vicious or a dissipated 
 life, but, on the other hand, insures him from that sort of a career. 
 
 PROFESSioifAts Lucky Chaps. 
 
 " Indeed, lucky is the boy who can develop sufficient skill to get 
 a place on a league team. That means a mighty good salary and 
 a pleasant, clean and healthful life. The professional Base Ball 
 player is no mollycoddle — there are no mollycoddles in the game; 
 but neither is there any room for thugs in it. No training could 
 be more severe than that of the league player. Under the present 
 system of organized Base Ball, he must conform to the strictest 
 mental, moral and physical discipline, and must develop wonder- 
 fully in patience, self-reliance and fair-mindedness. He must keep 
 at the top notch in all these details of fine character if he would 
 keep position in the game. Ability to take criticism cheerfully is 
 one of the great requisites of real success in any line. I know of 
 no profession which requires of those who win in it the disposition 
 and ability to do this which Base Ball requires. 
 
 Base Ball and the Mind. 
 
 " Now, as to the effect of Base Ball on the mind of the boy 
 player. If a boy is naturally selfish, peevish or crab-minded the 
 members of the team he plays with will soon knock that out of 
 him, or drive him from the team. He won't want to leave the team, 
 for Base Ball, you must remember, is ingrained in his blood. If he 
 is inclined to be hot-tempered, the loss of a few games and the 
 respect of his associates as the result will help mightily toward 
 correcting it. If he is prone to be a cad, to put on airs, to assume 
 a superiority over his fellow-players as a result of the social or 
 financial standing of his family, a little joshing from his fellows on 
 the errors he made upon the field will soon bring him down to earth 
 again. If he is unduly timid and shows cowardice in a pinch, his 
 mates will quickly cure him or eject him. If he is apprehensive, 
 pessimistic— and no trait is more entirely un-American— he will soon 
 lose his place upon the team. The lad who is continually predicting 
 
538 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 a defeat will not last long in Base Ball. And the beauty of the 
 thing is, that rarely will he let his faults go far enough to bar him 
 from the game — his love of it is tod instinctive and too real. Rather 
 Vill he let the game correct the faults. And there you are. It's a 
 man as well as a soul builder. 
 
 " The psychology of Base Ball? It is the psychology of success. 
 
 " I know of nothing which more fitly trains the body, mind and 
 soul. The game plays havoc with a boy's or man's emotions. In a 
 day the player may well rise to the fine heights of victory and sink 
 to the dark depths of black despair in a defeat. And it must be 
 the one or the other. There is no midway station. The score is 
 S to 3. You win or lose, and quickly learn that nothing is accom- 
 plished by trying to lay the blame, if defeat comes, upon the umpire 
 or upon your fellow-players. Pleading a sore finger or strained 
 muscle or tendon wins nothing for the vanquished player in his own 
 mind or the minds of his associates. That is a good thing. After 
 many victories, and the defeats which are quite certain to go with 
 them, a player must, of sheer necessity, achieve self-poise, learn to 
 take winning calmly, and lose philosophically. He may well reach 
 that super-point where he looks grave in victory and smiles with 
 hope when he is vanquished. 
 
 Important in Education. 
 
 " Base Ball has for a long time been important in the education 
 of our youth — far more important than most people think — and it is 
 destined to become still more important. The day will come, I 
 think, when all American school authorities will supply the necessary 
 grounds to play the game on as an essential adjunct to every public 
 school. The game means countless benefits, and not a single danger 
 to the bay who plays it. You may have gathered from what 1 have 
 already said that I consider it the greatest game on earth. I do, 
 and, doing so, am proud of my good judgment. There should be 
 Base Ball grounds adjacent to or ver^ near each public school 
 building in the United States. 
 
 " Base Ball is the only sport which is severe enough to benefit 
 and not severe enough to overstrain. Base Ball players live to good 
 old ages, almost always. I wish I had the list at hand. The lon- 
 gevity of ex-professionals would surprise you. I myself began to 
 play on the advice of my physician, and I made a business of it in 
 the end. 
 
 "Prizefighters, jockeys, foot ball players, oarsmen, even college 
 athletes, are not long-lived." 
 
 I had not asked so very many questions. They had not been 
 needed. Mr. Spalding puts his words across the plate as accurately 
 and as logically as, in the old days, he pitched his balls. But now 
 I asked one. 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 539 
 
 "Even if the game had not resulted In wealth and fame for 
 you, would you still be glad you took it up ? " 
 
 He laughed. The Greek countenance, framed with white hair, 
 broke into a particularly winning set of wrinkles; the Bishop's face 
 became that of the jolly monk in the world famous picture. 
 
 " I'm a candidate for Senator," he said, " and ought nOt to use 
 slang, but^ — I — sure — would. Glad.' Why, I tell you it meant health 
 to me — the biggest thing of all. It has taken me around the world 
 again, and yet again; it has thrown me into contact with the finest 
 set of men this country ever has produced. It has taught me that 
 humanity is, at the bottom, clean of mind and soul. It has made 
 me a rank optimist — and it has kept me one. It is the only sport 
 on earth. The prizefighter is brutalized and his heart bothers him; 
 the rowing man is almost certain to be most unequally developed 
 physically,' and his heart, also, generally goes wrong; foot ball maims 
 and brutalizes; horse racing sends its devotees to pieces morally and 
 gives them little of the compensation coming from good exercise and 
 honest rivalry. It is and always has been founded upon gambling. 
 
 Old Platers Now Impohtant. 
 
 " Find fifty men from all these sports who have outgrown them 
 and reached real importance in the world! You can't. I could 
 name a hundred Base Ball players — ^yes, two hundred, and then 
 more — who have become important, worthy, and respected men in 
 later years. There's John M. Ward, for instance. Senator Gorman 
 was a Base Ball player once. John K. Tener, who, as we talk, is a 
 candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, was a professional and 
 went around the world with us in 1888. Senator Bulkeley, of Con- 
 necticut, was a player first and then first President of the National 
 League. Base Ball for a few years is one of the best character 
 builders I can think of. An able boy's blood always runs high and 
 the first thing he must learn, if he is to win success, is to control 
 it. Base Ball teaches that, first, last and all the time. 
 
 " The game was fortunate from the beginning. It was spread 
 throughout the country by the soldiers returning to their homes 
 after the Civil War. Now it is in its third generation. I hesitate 
 to guess what it will be when it has reached its fourth. The crowds 
 to-day are big; the crowds of future days wiU be much bigger. 
 Every boy, you see, plays Base Ball, and the players of to-day are 
 the spectators of to-morrow. The human being who has ever got 
 the germ of Base Ball in his blood, whether the infection comes 
 when he is young or after he has reached maturity, never gets 
 it out." 
 
 "What effect has your Base Ball record and enthusiasm had 
 upon your candidacy for the United States Senate?" I inquired, 
 really wondering. 
 
HOMER C. DAVENPORT 
 
AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 541 
 
 "How do I know, yet?" he asked. But then he added: "Give 
 me the Base Ball votes of California and my opponents may have 
 the rest." 
 
 Across the room from me sat Homer Davenport, most famous 
 of the world's cartoonists, and himself a Base Ball crank of advanced 
 mania. 
 
 "Any man," said Davenport, not looking up from his sketch 
 pad (which Mrs. Spalding, also, was intent upon), "who can pitch 
 every game, every season, for the Boston team, for five long years, 
 and win the pennant every time, and then go to Chicago and take 
 the pennant with him in his trunk, as Mr. Spalding did, can capture 
 a seat in the United States Senate on wet grounds, with a glass 
 arm in the box and the rooters all against him. The political game 
 is easy when you stack it up against Base Ball. You're talking to 
 a Senator-to-be, all right." 
 
 He went back to absorption in his work and Mrs. Spalding 
 flushed with pleasure. 
 
 Base Ball and Business. 
 
 "Has your Base Ball training helped you in your business?" 
 I inquired. 
 
 " I never struck anything in business that did not seem a simple 
 matter when compared to complications I have faced on the Base 
 Ball field," said Mr. Spalding. " A young man playing Base Ball 
 gets into the habit of quick thinking in most adverse circumstances 
 and under the most merciless criticism in the world — the criticism 
 from the bleachers. If that doesn't train him, nothing can. Base 
 Ball in youth has the effect, in later years, of making him think and 
 act a little quicker than the other fellow. 
 
 "They have now, in colleges, a course in which they call experi- 
 mental psychology. The relation between thought and action is 
 recorded by delicate instruments. These instruments, in the psycho- 
 logical laboratories of the colleges, show that the mental reactions 
 of the athletes are quicker than those of any other students. And 
 that of the Base Ball player is quicker than that of any other of 
 the athletes. The sprinter, don't you see, has but to go from place 
 to place. His thought is intent on the one thing — on getting there. 
 The thought of the Base Ball player must take many other things — 
 a thousand things — into consideration. He must think while he is 
 going. 
 
 " Folks marvel at the great throngs which attend important Base 
 Ball matches. They really need not be wondered at. The public 
 likes the game, and, more than that, it knows that this one game, 
 of all sports, is certain to be absolutely on the square. The spec- 
 tators have been players, most of them, and understand not only the 
 first principles but the fine points of the sport. 
 
 "Here, again, is the effect of the evolution of the game up 
 
542 AMERICA'S NATIONAL GAME 
 
 through the boy into the man. The boys of the past generation are 
 the spectators of this; the boys of this one will be the spectators 
 of the next. So, like an endless chain, Base Ball will last and grow 
 as long as these United States shall last and grow. Each generation 
 will produce a little higher type of citizenship than that which went 
 before it, and Base Ball and the principles which underlie it will 
 help to bring this about." 
 
 The old Base Ball player, the successful business man, the 
 candidate for Senator, stopped talking. I looked at him inquiringly. 
 
 He said: 
 
 "PLAY BALL."