It was some time in the fall of 1875 and while the National League was still in embryo that I first made the acquaintance of William A. Hulbert, who afterwards became famous as the founder of that organization and the man whose rugged honesty and clear-headed counsels made of base-ball the National Game in the truest and broadest sense of the word.
At that time Mr. Hulbert was the President of the Chicago Base-Ball Club, and in company with A. G. Spalding he came to Philadelphia for the purpose of getting my signature to a contract to play in the Western metropolis.
It was the ambition of the Chicago management to get together a championship team, and with that object in view they had already signed the big-four who had helped so many times to win the pennant for Boston, viz.: Cal McVey, first base; James White, catcher; Ross Barnes, second base; and A. G. Spalding, pitcher, and the latter, who was to captain the Chicago team, had suggested my engagement as third baseman. I finally agreed to play with the team at a salary of $2,000, or $200 more than I was then getting with the Athletics.
I well remember Mr. Hulbert's appearance at that time. He stood in the neighborhood of six feet, and weighed close to 215 pounds. He had a stern expression of countenance and impressed one right from the start as being a self-reliant business man of great natural ability, and such he turned out to be. He was good-hearted and of a convivial nature when business hours were over, but as honest as the day was long, and would tolerate nothing that savored of crookedness in any shape or form. As an executive he had but few equals and no superiors. He was quick to grasp a situation and when once he had made up his mind to do a thing it took the very best sort of an argument to dissuade him.
During the winter of 1875-6 the National League sprang into being, the Hon. Morgan G. Bulkeley of Hartford, who was afterwards elected Governor of Connecticut, being its first President, he being succeeded by Mr. Hulbert the following year. The clubs composing the league were as follows: Athletics of Philadelphia, Bostons of Boston, Hartfords of Hartford, Chicagos of Chicago, St. Louis of St. Louis, Louisville of Louisville, Ky., Mutuals of New York, and Cincinnati of Cincinnati, Ohio.
When I came to consult with the future Mrs. Anson in regard to my proposed change of base she not unnaturally objected to my going so far from home, for I had learned to regard Philadelphia as my home by that time.
I naturally thought it would be an easy matter for me to get my release from Chicago, and being naturally anxious to please her I made two trips to Chicago that winter for the purpose, and finally did what no ball player ever did before—offered $1,000 to be released from my promise.
It was no go, however, as both Messrs. Hulbert and Spalding had made up their minds that I should play on their team, and both of them knew me well enough to know that I would keep my word at all hazards, no matter what my personal likes or dislikes in the matter might be.
The last few months of my stay in Philadelphia passed all too quickly, and a short time before the opening of the regular season found me in the Garden City ready to don a Chicago uniform and do the very best I could to help win the pennant for the latest city of my adoption.
The constitution of the new league provided for an entrance fee of $100 per club, and also provided that no city of less than 75,000 inhabitants could become a member. It also provided that each city should be represented by one club only, this prohibiting the danger of local opposition, such as the Professional Players' Association had suffered from in Philadelphia, St. Louis and other cities. Other reforms were the adoption of a player's contract, which enabled the clubs to keep their players and prevented them from being hired away by rival organizations.
This was the first step toward the reserve rule that followed later. It also provided for the expelling of players who were guilty of breaking their contracts or of dishonesty, and such players were to be debarred forever afterwards from playing on the league teams. Gambling and liquor selling on club grounds were prohibited and players interested in a bet on the result of games or purchasing a pool ticket were liable to expulsion.
The make-up of the Chicago team in full for the National League's initial season was as follows; A. G. Spalding, pitcher, captain and manager; James White, catcher; A. C. Anson, third base; Ross Barnes, second base; Cal A. McVey, first base; J. P. Peters, shortstop; J. W. Glenn, left field; Paul A. Hines, center field; Robert Addy, right field; and J. F. Cone, Oscar Bielaski, and F. H. Andrus, substitutes.
All through the season of 1876 the most intense rivalry existed between the Chicago and Boston Clubs. The management of the latter organization, smarting under the fact that the "big four" had been hired away from them by the Western Metropolis, had gotten together as strong a team as was possible under the circumstances, the list including Harry Wright, manager; J. E. Borden ("Josephs"), T. H. Murnane, F. L. Beals, H. C. Schafer, A. J. Leonard, J. H. O'Rourke, J. F. Manning, F. T. Whitney, George Wright, John F. Morrill, Lewis Brown, T. McGinley, and W. R. Parks.
Our strongest opponents, however, proved to be the Hartford Club, of which Robert Ferguson was captain and manager, and which numbered among its players Allison, Cummings, Bond, Mills, Burdock, Cary, York, Remsen, Cassidy, Higham, and Harbidge.
As I have said before, it was anything to beat Chicago, so far as the Bostons were concerned, but this feat they were unable to accomplish until the very tail end of the season, and after we had beaten them in nine straight games.
The first game that we played on the Boston grounds that season I remember well, because of the enormous crowd that turned out to witness the contest. The advent of the "Big Four" in a new uniform was of course the attraction, and long before the hour set for calling the game had arrived the people were wending their way in steady streams toward the scene of action. Every kind of a conveyance that could be used was pressed into service, from the lumbering stage coach that had been retired from active service, to the coach-and-four of the millionaire. Street cars were jammed to suffocation, and even seats in an express wagon were sold at a premium.
It was Decoration Day, and therefore a holiday, and it seemed to me as if all Boston had determined to be present on that occasion. By hundreds and thousands they kept coming, and finally it was found necessary to close the gates in order to keep room enough in the grounds to play the game on. With the gates closed the crowd began to swarm over the fences, and the special policemen employed there had their hands more than full of trouble.
The "Big Four" were given a great ovation when they put in an appearance, and of course the whole team shared in the honors that were showered upon them. The game that followed was, as might have been expected, played under difficulties, but thanks to the excellent pitching of Spalding and the fine support given him by the entire team we won by a score of 5 to 1, and the Hubbites were sorer than ever over the "Big Four's" defection.
Our other victories over the Boston aggregation that season were as follows: June 1st, at Boston, Chicago 9, Boston 3; June 3d, at the same place, Chicago 8, Boston 4; July 11th, at Chicago, Chicago 18, Boston 7; July 12th, at the same place, Chicago 11, Boston 3; and July 15th, again, Chicago 15, Boston 0; September 15th, at Boston, Chicago 9, Boston 3; September 16th, Chicago 7, Boston 2; and September 22d, at Chicago, Chicago 12, Boston 10. September 23d we met Boston for the last time during the season, and, anxious as we were to make our victories over them ten straight, that being the number of games called for by the schedule, we failed to do so, being beaten by a score of 10 to 9.
I think that Harry Wright was happier that day when O'Rourke crossed the home plate and scored the winning run than he would have been had somebody made him a present of a house and lot, so anxious was he to win at least one game from Chicago during the season.
Both the Athletics and Mutuals failed to play out their scheduled games in the West that fall, and as a result they were expelled at the annual meeting of the League held in Cleveland the December following, leaving but six clubs to contest for championship honors in 1877.
That first year of the League was not a success when viewed from a financial standpoint, as not a single one of the clubs that composed it made any money, even the Chicagos, who carried off the pennant, quitting loser. The men who had organized it were by no means discouraged, however, and that they finally reaped the reward of their pluck and perseverance is now a matter of history.
In the fall I again signed with Chicago, as did Spalding, McVey, Barnes, Peters, Andrus, and Glenn of the old team, while Jim White returned to his first love, the Bostons. The new-corners on the team were Bradley, who had pitched for the St. Louis Club the year before, and who was accounted as being one of the best in the business, and H. W. Smith a change catcher and outfielder.
This was a year of disaster as far as Chicago was concerned, and we brought up the tail end of the pennant race, the whip going to Boston, which won 31 games and lost 17, while Louisville stood second on the list with 28 games won and 20 lost, to its credit, Hartford being third, St. Louis fourth, and Chicago fifth, the Cincinnatis having failed to weather the financial storm, being expelled from the League because of non-payment of dues.
There would doubtless have been a different tale to tell in regard to the championship of 1877 had it not been for the crookedness of some of the Louisville players. The team on paper prior to the opening of the season was justly regarded as one of the strongest that had ever been gotten together, and going off with a rush in the early part of the year its success seemed to be almost assured. By the middle of the season the team had obtained so great a lead that the race seemed to be all over but the shouting.
In those days poolrooms were a much greater evil than they are at the present time, and the betting on baseball was hot and heavy. The Louisville having such a lead were favorites at long odds. When the club started on its last Eastern trip they had some twelve games to play, out of which they had less than half to win in order to land the pennant. On this trip enough games were thrown to give Boston the pennant, and when the directors of the Louisville Club came to sift matters down they had but little difficulty in finding out the guilty parties, who were A. C. Nichols, William H. Craver, George Hall and James A. Devlin.
How much money this quartette netted by its crooked work is not known to this day, but it has been proven that Devlin secured but a beggarly $100 as his share, as once the others had him in their power they could compel him to do just whatever they pleased under threats of exposure.
These four players were promptly expelled for selling games by the Louisville Club, whose action was later ratified by the League, and though they made application time after time in later years to be reinstated, their applications were denied and they passed out of sight and out of hearing as far as the base-ball world was concerned.
They were all of them good ball players, better than the average, and Devlin, a really great pitcher, undoubtedly had a brilliant future before him. The inability to stand temptation, however, caused his downfall and left him but little better than a wreck on the shores of time.
The year, taken as a whole, has been generally set down as being the darkest in the history of the League. As in the preceding year, all the clubs lost money and the outlook seemed indeed a dark one.
The darkest hour comes just before the dawn, however, and the following year saw a change for the better in base-ball prospects.
The year 1878 saw but six clubs in the league race, there being the Boston, Cincinnati, Providence, Chicago, Indianapolis and Milwaukee clubs, and they finished in the order named, the Hub's representatives winning by a margin of four games from their nearest competitor. The early part of the year saw the Cincinnatis in the lead, with Chicago well up toward the front, and it looked for a time as though the honors of the season might be carried off by the Western clubs. The Cincinnati Club went into the air during the summer, however, and surrendered the first place to Boston, the latter team playing finely together, and though it rallied strongly afterward it found itself unable to overtake the leaders.
The Chicago team was not a strong one that season and minor ailments and accidents made it still weaker than it would otherwise have been. A. G. Spalding having retired from active ball playing, had gone into the sporting goods business, and Robert Ferguson had been selected to take his place as manager and captain of the team, which was made up as follows:
Robert Ferguson, shortstop and captain; Anson, left field; Start, first base; Cassidy, right field; Remsen, center field; Hankinson, third base; McClellan, second base; Frank Larkin, pitcher; Harbidge, catcher; Hallman and Reis, substitutes.
There were several weak spots in this team and it was not long before the fact became evident. Ferguson himself, while a fair shortstop, was by no means a top-notcher, and neither was he a really good manager, he not having the necessary control over the men that he had under him.
Harbridge was not even a fair catcher; in fact, according to my estimate, he was a poor one. He was a left-handed thrower and made awkward work getting a ball to the bases.
Joe Start was a good ball player, indeed, a first-class man. He was always to be depended upon, worked hard, was a sure catch, a good fielder and a first-class wielder of the ash. He was known far and wide as "Old Reliable" and his reputation was in every way above reproach, both on and off the field.
McClellan, who played the second base, I first saw play at St. Paul in 1876. He was a nice fielder, but only a moderate batsman. Taking him all around, however, he was better than the average, but not to be compared with some of the men who afterwards played in that position.
Cassidy, the right fielder, was only an average player, and Hankinson, who played third base and change pitcher, was never in the first class.
Larkin, who had pitched the year before for the Hartford Club, was a rattling good man and a really first-class pitcher, who would have won more games than he did had he met with the support that he should have had.
Remsen was a fine fielder and a fast base-runner, but his weak point was in hitting. He was a good thrower, too, though I beat him in a match at Hartford by covering 127 yards and 4 inches, a performance that surprised some people who had wagered their money on his success.
During the greater part of that year I was troubled with a frog felon on my right hand that nearly incapacitated me from playing altogether. It was absolute torture to me to catch, but I managed to worry along with it in some sort of fashion, though unable to do myself justice, and for that reason I stood lower on the list of averages than I might otherwise have done.
A felon is a mighty unpleasant thing to have at the best, and a man deserves some credit for playing ball at all that is afflicted in that way.
When the season ended none of the clubs had made any money, but the game was growing steadily in public favor, and it was evident to even the most superficial observer that there was "a good time coming."
The following year, 1879, saw a great many changes both in League memberships and in the personnel of its players. At the annual meeting held in Cleveland December 4, 1878, the Indianapolis Club resigned its membership and the circuit was filled by the admission of clubs from Cleveland, Buffalo and Syracuse. The Milwaukee Club afterward failing to come to time the Troy, N. Y., Club was taken in to fill the vacancy.
George Wright, one of the greatest players of the day, and the man to whom Boston owed much of its success in winning the pennant, deserted Boston for Providence, taking O'Rourke with him, and after the hardest sort of a fight with Boston, Chicago and Buffalo he succeeded in winning the pennant with that organization, he having the services of John M. Ward and "Bobby" Matthews as pitchers, Lewis J. Brown as catcher; Joe Start, M. H. McGeary and W. L. Hague on the bases; with "Tommy" Stark, Paul Hines and James O'Rourke in the field. Emil Grace and John Farrell replaced Brown and Hague toward the close of the season.
It was a great year of changes all around and the League teams taken as a whole were stronger than they had ever been before.
Among the pitchers outside of these I have already mentioned were such stars as McCormick, "Jimmy" Galyin, Bradley and Will White, all of whom are famous as twirlers in base-ball history.
The Chicago team was that season the strongest that the "Windy City" had yet put in the field. To succeed Ferguson, who had gone elsewhere, I was selected as captain and manager, a position that I have always had reason to believe came to me through the influence of Mr. Hulbert, and that I retained for many a year, through both good and evil report, finding it but a thankless job at best. The make-up of the team in full was as follows: Larkin, pitcher; Flint, catcher; Anson, first base; Quest, second base; Hankinson, pitcher and third base; Peters, stortstop; Dalrymple, Gore, Remsen and George Schaffer in the field, with Williamson alternating with Hankinson at third base.
Quest, Flint, Williamson and George Schaffer all came from the Indianapolis team of the year before, and Dalrymple, who afterward became a great favorite with Chicago "fans," from the Milwaukees.
Geo. C. Gore was a newcomer in the League ranks, he hailing from New Bedford, but he soon made for himself a name, being a first-class fielder and a batsman that was away above the average, as is shown by his record made in after years.
It was my first season as a first baseman, though T had played the position at odd times before, and that it suited me is shown by the fact that I led the League with a fielding average of .974 and stood first among the batsmen with .407, which was the largest percentage ever made up to that time. Flint that season stood first in the list of catchers, and Quest led the second basemen. It was some time during the close of the season that an unfortunate accident happened to Larkin, and one that caused his retirement from the diamond for some time afterward. A line ball from my bat struck him on the head, and as a result, it was at least so stated, he had to be sent to an asylum, where he remained for some time, though I believe that he afterwards fully recovered from the effects of the injury.
It was during this year also that the first reserve rule was adopted, it being in the shape of a signed agreement by the terms of which each League club was permitted to reserve five men for the following season, an agreement that I have always looked upon as being one of the best things that could have happened, for the reason that it enabled all of the clubs interested to reserve at least the nucleus of a strong team as a foundation upon which to build.
The season of 1880 I have always looked upon as a red letter one in my history, and for good reasons, as that year the Chicago team under my management brought the pennant to Chicago, and this in spite of the fact that the teams it had to, encounter were made up of first-class material in nearly every case.
The Chicago team of that season outclassed all of its competitors, it being made up as follows: Corcoran and Goldsmith, pitchers; Flint, catcher; Anson, first base; Quest, second base; Williamson, third base; Burns, shortstop; Dalrymple, Gore and Kelly in the field, and L. T. Beals, substitute.
Unlike the majority of the clubs the Chicago Club did not have to depend upon the services of one first-class pitcher, but had two, both of whom were "cracker-jacks," and were therefore able to play them on alternate days instead of breaking them down or laming them by continued and arduous services.
In catchers, too, the club was especially fortunate, as Flint, who ranked as one of the best of his day, had an efficient ally in Mike Kelly, who could fill the breach when necessary.
This was an especially strong team, too, at the bat, as is shown by the records, Gore leading the League with an average of .365, with myself second with .338, Dalrymple third with .332, Burns fifth with .309. In fielding Williamson led the third basemen with an average of .893, while the fewest hits of the year were made off Corcoran's pitching. Among the first basemen I held second place with a percentage of .977. Sullivan of the Worcester team being first with .982 to his credit.
The Chicago Club that year made a little money, but it was the only one of the lot that did, the others losing, that is, some of them, more because of bad management than for any other reason.
In consequence of an agreement in regard to the sale of liquors in club grounds the Cincinnati Club that season forfeited its membership, and at the annual meeting of the League held in New York December 8th, 1880, the Detroit Club was elected to the vacant place.
The team that had represented Chicago in 1880 was good enough for me, and also good enough for the club directors, and that we were able to hold the players was a matter for self-congratulation.
The only new man on the list in 1881 was Andrew Pearcy, who took T. L. Beal's place as substitute, and who cut but little figure, as he was called upon to play but seldom.
That the Chicago Club again won the pennant in 1881 was due to two reasons. First, its strength as a batting organization, and in this respect it was undoubtedly the superior of all its rivals, and, secondly, the superb team work, the entire team playing together as one man and having but one object in view, and that the landing of the championship. Record playing was entirely lost sight of by the members of the club, and sacrifice hitting was indulged in whenever a point could be made by so doing.
The race throughout the season for everything except the last place was a close and exciting one, and up to the very last week the result was in doubt, so close together were the four leaders.
When the season finally closed, however, we had 56 games won and 28 games lost to our credit, against 47 games won and 37 games lost by the Providence Club, which finished in the second place.
Buffalo came third with 45 games won and 38 games lost, and Detroit fourth with 41 games won and 43 lost; Troy being fifth, Boston sixth, Cleveland seventh and Worcester eighth on the list.
In batting that season I again led the list with an average of .399 and stood at the head of the first basemen with .975 to my credit.
When the season came to a close the majority of the League clubs had made money and base-ball was more popular than ever with the public, who had learned to look upon it as a square sport, and one over which the gamblers had no control whatever.
The grounds occupied by the Chicago Club at that time were the most accessible of any in the country, being situated on the lake front near the foot of Randolph street, and within five minutes' walk from any part of the business district. The only fault that could be found with them were that they were too small, both for the crowds that thronged them when an important game was being played, and because of the fact that the fences interfered too often with the performance of the League's star batsmen.
With such a team as the champions then boasted of what was the use of making any changes? No use whatever, and so the season of 1882 found the same old "White-Stocking" team in the field, the only new player that had been signed being Hugh Nichols, who came from Rockford, and who was signed as an outfielder.
There was no change either in the clubs that went to make up the League, each and every one of which was bent on wresting the championship from the Garden City, and with that object in view every other club in the league had been strengthened as far as was possible.
The attempt was a vain one, however, although the race from the start to the finish was a hot one, and one that kept the lovers of base-ball on tenter hooks until the season was over, while the betting in the poolrooms throughout the country was hot and heavy, and be it said right here, to the credit of the ball players, there was not the slightest suspicion or whisper of crookedness in connection with the games. The rivalry was most intense, and as a result the crowds that greeted the players everywhere were both large and enthusiastic, this being especially the case on the home grounds, where, owing to our long-continued success, we were naturally great favorites. The majority of the clubs in the League that season made money and to all appearances an era of prosperity, so far as the National Game was concerned, had begun.
The close of the season again saw the Chicago Club in the lead, they having won 55 games and lost 29, while Providence stood second on the list with 52 games won and 32 games lost to its credit.
Buffalo stood third, Boston fourth, Cleveland fifth, Detroit sixth, Troy seventh, while Worcester, as in the preceding year, brought up the tail end of the procession.
Brouthers of the Buffalo Club headed the batting list with a percentage of .369, while I came next with .367, and that I had had my eye on the ball throughout the season is a fact that the opposing pitchers could bear witness to.
Prior to the beginning of the season, the exact date being April 10, 1882, President Hulbert, the founder of the League, and one of the best friends that I had ever had either inside or outside of the profession, passed away, leaving a void in base-ball circles that was indeed hard to fill. It has often been a matter of sincere regret, both to myself and others, that he could not have lived to witness the fruition of all his hopes. Arbitrary and severe though he may have been at times, yet the fact remains that he was the best friend that the ball players had ever had.
Appreciating the possibilities of the game as a moneymaker, when rightly conducted, he bent his energy toward rescuing it from the hands of gamblers, into which it seemed about to fall, and place it where it belonged, at the head of all of American outdoor sports.
Many and many a time since than have I missed his cool-headed judgment, his cheering words and his sound advice, and I have no hesitation in saying to-day that to him the ball players owe even now a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.
The team that brought the pennant back to Chicago in the early '80s was a rattling good organization of ball players, as the "fans" who remember them can testify, and while they were the cracks of that time, and perhaps as strong a team as the League had seen up to that date, yet they were not as strong either as a team or as individual ball players as the team that represented Chicago several years afterward. The secret of the club's success in those days lay in its team work, and in the fact that a goodly portion of the time was spent in studying and developing the fine points of the game, which long practice made them fairly perfect in. There were one or two weak spots in its make-up, but so well did it perform as a whole that these weak spots were quite apt to be lost sight of when the time for summing up the result of the season's play had arrived.
In its pitching department the team was particularly strong at that time as compared with some other of the League clubs.
Larry Corcoran, upon whose skill great reliance was placed, was at that time in the zenith of his glory as a twirler. He came, if my memory serves me rightly, from somewhere in the neighborhood of Buffalo. He was a very little fellow, with an unusual amount of speed, and the endurance of an Indian pony. As a batter he was only fair, but as a fielder in his position he was remarkable, being as quick as a cat and as plucky as they made them.
A sort of an all-around sport was Larry, and a boxer of no mean ability. I remember a set-to that he had one night in the old club house with Hugh Nichols, in which he all but knocked Hughy out, greatly to that gentleman's surprise, as he had fancied up to that time that he was Corcoran's master in the art of self-defense.
After his release by the Chicago Club he drifted back East, where he pitched for a time in some of the minor leagues. Later on he was given another trial by the Chicagos, but his work proved unsatisfactory, he having outlived the days of his usefulness in the pitching line. After that he again went East, where he died several years ago.
Fred Goldsmith, the other pitcher, was a great big, over-grown, good-natured boy, who was always just a-going to do things that he never did. He, too, came from the East, and was, I believe, pitching for the Tecumseh, Canada, Club when he signed with us.
He was the possessor of a great slow ball and was always cool and good-natured. As a batsman he was only fair, and as a fielder decidedly careless. When it came to backing up a player "Goldy" was never to be relied upon, and after the play was over and he was asked why he had not done so, he would reply: "Oh, I'd a-bin thar ef I'd bin needed." But in spite of this the fact remains that he was rarely on hand when he was needed, and many an overthrown ball found its way into the field that would have been stopped had he been backing up the basemen in the way that he should have done.
I remember seeing him in a game at Troy, N. Y., once when pitching for Chicago, when he was a sight to behold. He was playing and the rain was coming down in torrents while the grounds were deep in mud and water. Hatless, without shoes and stockings and with his breeches roiled clear up to his thigh, as if he were preparing to ford the Hudson river, "Goldy" was working like a Trojan, and I am not over sure but that he was one at that time.
His arm was gone when he left us, and if he played ball any afterward, it was only in desultory fashion. He tended bar in different places for a time, but finally settled down to the business of market gardening near Detroit, where, from all that I can learn, he is making a good living.
Frank S. Flint, "Old Silver," originally hailed from St. Louis, where he first came into notice as the back stop of an amateur team.
He came to us direct from the Indianapolis Club, where he had been engaged in catching the delivery of "the only Nolan," who was at that time one of the most celebrated of the League pitchers. He was a fine ballplayer, a good, hard worker, but a weak batter, batting being his weakest point. He was generally reliable, and that in spite of the fact that he was a hard drinker, the love of liquor being his besetting weakness. A pluckier man never stood behind a bat, there never coming a ball his way that was too hard for him to handle, or at least to attempt to. In "Old Silver's" day the catcher's glove had not come into use, and all of his work was done with hands that were unprotected. Those hands of his were a sight to behold, and if there is a worse pair to-day in the United States, or a pair that are as bad, I should certainly like to have a look at them. His fingers were bent and twisted out of all shape and looked more like the knotted and gnarled branches of a scrub oak than anything else that I can think of.
Long before the gloves now used by catchers were invented I had a buckskin mitt made at Spalding's that I thought would fill a long-felt want, and this I finally persuaded "Old Silver" to try.
He tried it for about half of an inning, then threw it down, declaring it was no good, and went on in the old way. After his playing days in Chicago were over he went into the saloon business and died a short time afterwards of consumption. His wife died in California a little time after him with the same disease, which she had contracted while nursing him. Prior to her departure from Chicago and when she had been informed by a physician that her days were numbered, she sent for me, and after telling me that she had "roasted" me in the papers all her life, begged my forgiveness, saying that she had found out her mistake. This, of course, was granted.
Mrs. Keene and my wife saw that she had every comfort, and Mr. Keene, Mr. Spalding and myself furnished the money that took her to the Golden State, where she lived but a short time after her arrival.
Joe Quest, who played the second base, was another player who came to us from the Indianapolis team, but prior to that time he had been playing around New Castle, Pa. Joe was a good, reliable, steady fellow, but a weak batsman. He was a conscientious player, however, and one that could always be depended upon to play the best ball that he was capable of. His strongest point was trapping an infield fly, and in this particular line he was something of a wonder.
Joe played on several teams after leaving Chicago, and with varying success. Of late years he has been employed in the City Hall at Chicago, where he holds a good position.
Ed Wiliamson was another player who came to us from Indianapolis, where he had already made for himself quite a reputation. He, too, hailed originally from some-where around New Castle, and was playing in Pittsburg the first time that I ever saw him. My wife knew him long before I knew him, however. He was then a member of an amateur club in Philadelphia, for which she acted as a sort of treasurer, taking care of the money that they raised to buy balls with, etc.
Ed was, in my opinion, the greatest all-around ballplayer the country ever saw. He was better than an average batsman and one of the few that knew how to wait for a ball and get the one that he wanted before striking. He was a good third baseman, a good catcher and a man who could pitch more than fairly well, too, when the necessity for his doing so arose. Taking him all in all, I question if we shall ever see his like on a ball field again. He was injured some years later while the Chicago Club was making a trip around the world, and was never the same fellow afterward. After his retirement from the diamond he ran a saloon in company with Jimmy Woods, another ball-player, on Dearborn street, Chicago, which was a popular resort for the lovers of sports. He died of dropsy at Hot Springs, Arkansas, leaving a wife, but no children.
Williamson was one of the most popular of the many players that the Chicago Club has had. A big, good-natured and good-hearted fellow, he numbered his friends by the hundreds, and his early death was regretted by all who knew him.
Thomas E. Burns was playing with the Albany, N. Y., Club, who were then the champions of the New York State League when I signed him to play with Chicago. He was a fair average batter, but was hardly fast enough to be considered a really good shortstop.
He was a fair base-runner, using excellent judgment in that respect, and a first-class slider, going into the bases head first when compelled to make a slide for them, instead of feet first, like the majority of the players of that day and generation; in fact, he was more of a diver than a slider, and he generally managed to get there.
After his release by Chicago he went to Pittsburg, where I had secured him a five-year contract as manager at a handsome salary, and where he had some trouble that resulted in the club's breaking the agreement and in the bringing of a lawsuit, which he won.
He then took charge of the Springfield, Mass., Club, a member of the New England League, Springfield being not far from his old home at New Britain. Two years ago he took my place as manager of the Chicago Club, and that he has not made a success of it is due to certain causes that will be explained later on.
Abner Dalrymple was brought into the Chicago fold from Milwaukee, where he had been playing. He was only an ordinary fielder, and a fair base runner, but excelled as a batsman. I have said that he was a fair fielder, and in that respect perhaps I am rating him too high, as his poor fielding cost us several games that in my estimation we should have won. Dalrymple was a queer proposition, and for years a very steady player. He was never known to spend a cent in those days, and was so close that he would wait for somebody else to buy a newspaper and then borrow it in order to see what was going on. Later on he broke loose, however, and when he did he became one of the sportiest of sports, blowing his money as if he had found it and setting a hot pace for his followers.
He finally settled down again, however, and now holds a good railroad position in the Northwest, where he is living with his family. His was about the quickest case of "loosening up from extreme tightness" that I have ever run across.
George F. Gore, who played the center field, came here from New Bedford, Mass., being brought out by Mr. Hulbert, who was in charge of the club at the time he came to us. He was an all-around ball player of the first class, a hard hitter and a fine thrower and fielder, and had it not been for his bad habits he might have still been playing ball to-day. Women and wine brought about his downfall, however, and the last time that I saw him in New York he was broken down, both in heart and pocket, and willing to work at anything that would yield him the bare necessities of life.
Mike Kelly, who afterwards became famous in baseball annals as the $10,000 beauty, came to Chicago from Cincinnati, and soon became a general favorite. He was a whole-souled, genial fellow, with a host of friends, and but one enemy, that one being himself.
Time and time again I have heard him say that he would never be broke, and he died at just the right time to prevent such a contretemps from occurring. Money slipped through Mike's fingers as water slips through the meshes of a fisherman's net, and he was as fond of whisky as any representative of the Emerald Isle, but just the same he was a great ball player and one that became greater than he then was before ceasing to wear a Chicago uniform. He was as good a batter as anybody, and a great thrower, both from the catcher's position and from the field, more men being thrown out by him than by any other man that could be named. He was a good fielder when not bowled up, but when he was he sometimes failed to judge a fly ball correctly, though he would generally manage to get pretty close in under it. In such cases he would remark with a comical leer: "By Gad, I made it hit me gloves, anyhow."
After his return to Boston he played good ball for a time, but his bad habits soon caused his downfall, just as they had caused the downfall of many good players before him, for it may be set down as an axiom that baseball and booze will not mix any better than will oil and water. The last time that I ever saw him was at an Eastern hotel barroom, and during the brief space of time that we conversed together he threw in enough whisky to put an ordinary man under the table. After leaving Boston the "only Mike" had charge of Al Johnson's team at Altoona, Pa., but whisky had become at this time his master, and he made a failure of the managerial business. Not being able to control himself it is hardly to be wondered at that he failed when it came to the business of controlling others. He died some years ago in New Jersey, a victim to fast living, and a warning to all ball players. Had he been possessed of good habits instead of bad there is no telling to what heights Kelly might have climbed, for a better fellow in some respects never wore a base-ball uniform.
Tommy Beale was a nice, gentlemanly little chap, who had played at one time with the Boston Club. He was never a howling success as a ball player and after being released by Chicago he umpired for a while and then drifted down to Florida, where he had an orange grove and was doing well until, one night, "there came a frost, a killing frost," that not only destroyed his orange grove but that burst him up in business as well. Since that unfortunate event happened, I have lost sight of him, and where he is now, or what he is doing, I know not.
Hugh Nichols was a little fellow who came from Rockford, Illinois. He was never a star player, but was a fair and showy player, lacking in stamina. He was only a fair batsman, and after his release by Chicago he played for a time in some of the other League teams, principally Cincinnati. He then managed the Rockford team in the Illinois State League, after which he settled down as a billiard-room keeper, in which business he is still engaged.
At the annual meeting of the League held in Providence R. I., December 6th, 1882, the Worcester and Troy Clubs resigned their membership, neither of them being cities of sufficient size to support a team as expensive as one good enough to have a chance for championship honors in such company must of necessity be, and New York and Philadelphia were elected to fill the vacancies. At the same time A. G. Mills was elected to fill the vacancy in the League Presidency caused by the death of Mr. Hulbert.
The League Circuit in 1883 again consisted of eight cities, while the number of games necessary to constitute a series had been increased from twelve to fourteen. The only change in the personnel of the Chicagos was the substitution of Fred Pfeffer for Joe Quest at second base. The fight between Chicago and Boston, Providence and Cleveland was veritably a battle of the giants, and as a result excitement throughout the country ran high and big crowds everywhere were the rule.
The Boston team, with M. Hines and Hackett as catchers, Buffington and Whitney, pitchers; Morrill, first base; Burdock, second base; Sutton, third base; Wise, shortstop; Horning, left field; Smith, center field; Radford, right field; and Brown, substitute, proved to be a trifle the strongest, they carrying off the pennant with a total of 63 games won and 35 lost, while Chicago came next on the list with 59 games won and 39 lost. Providence, which stood third, won 58 games and lost 40, while Cleveland, which came fourth, had 55 games won and 42 games lost to its credit.
Buffalo, New York, Detroit and Philadelphia followed in the order named.
Brouthers of the Buffalo team again stood first on the list of batsmen with a percentage of .371, while your humble servant had fallen down to the twelfth place on the list, my percentage being .307.
The event of the season, or of the year perhaps, I should say, was the adoption of a document then known as the tripartite agreement, now known as the National Agreement, which was formulated by A. G. Mills, John B. Day and A. H. Soden, representing the League; O. P. Caylor, William Barnier and Lewis Simmons, representing the American Association, and Elias Mather of the Grand Rapids, Michigan, Club, acting for the Northwestern League.
This document, among other things, provided that no contract should be made for the services of any player for a longer period than seven months, beginning April 1st and terminating October 31st, and that no contract for their services should be made prior to October 20th of the year on which such services terminated.
It also provided that on the 10th day of October of each year the Secretary of each Association should transmit to the Secretary of each other Association a reserve list of players, not exceeding fourteen in number, then under contract with each of its several club members, and of such players reserved on any prior annual reserve list, who had refused to contract with said club's members, and of all other eligible players, and such players, together with all other thereafter to be regularly contracted with by such club members, are and shall be eligible to contract with any other club members of either association party hereto.
The object of this was to prevent what was then at that time a growing evil, the stealing of players by one club from another, and that it was successful in that respect there can be no denying.
The reserve clause was not popular with many of the players, however, and it was this that later on led to the Brotherhood revolt and a general shaking up in base-ball circles.
Such had been the boom in base-ball in 1883, and so promising did the outlook seem from a monetary standpoint for a similar boom in 1884 that Henry V. Lucas, of St. Louis, evidently believing that there was millions in it, organized and took hold of the short-lived Union Association, the failure of which wrecked him in both purse and spirit.
This Association was organized at Pittsburg in September, 1883, and was launched with a great flourish of trumpets, the cities agreed upon for the circuit being Washington, St. Louis, Altoona, Pa., Boston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Chicago.
Of the fifty League players, who, it had been given out, would break their contracts and join them, not a baker's dozen showed up when the time came. Only five of the original clubs played out their schedules, these being the St. Louis, Cincinnati, Boston, Baltimore and Nationals of Washington, they finishing in the order named, Boston and Baltimore being tied for the third place.
The Union Association season opened on April 17th. Within six weeks of that time the Altoona Club gave up the fight, being succeeded by Kansas City. The Keystone Club of Philadelphia lasted until August, and was then succeeded by the Wilmington, Del., Club, which had been persuaded to desert the Eastern League by Mr. Lucas. In September they, too, passed it up and Milwaukee took the vacant place, they lasting but a short time.
The Chicago Union Association Club, a weak sister at the best, played along to almost empty benches until August, when it gave up the fight and transferred its team to Pittsburg, but that city refused to support it and it finally gave up the ghost about the middle of September.
In the meantime the League, which had expelled the deserting players, was having a most exciting and prosperous season, though the majority of clubs had signed many more players than they had any use for, the object being to keep them away from the Union Association. For the Chicago Club that season no less than nineteen players were signed, some of whom were seldom called upon to play.
The regulars, that is, the men who were depended upon to do the playing, were Corcoran, Goldsmith and Clarkson, pitchers; Flint and Kelly, catchers; Anson, first base; Pfeffer, second base; Williamson, third base; Burns, shortstop; Dalrymple, Gore, Kelly and Sunday in the outfield.
In some way or other we got started off with the wrong foot first, as the horsemen would, say, and the end of May found us in the fifth place, Boston and Providence being the leaders, and at the end of June we had not improved our position.
From that time on the Providence Club played great ball, the wonderful endurance of Pitcher Radbourne being one of the features of the season, and though we rallied in September and October, winning every game that we played in the last-named month, the best that we could do was to beat New York for the fourth place, each club winning 62 games and losing 50.
The championship record showed 84 games won and 28 lost for the Providence Club, 73 games won and 38 lost for Boston, and 64 games won and 47 lost for Buffalo, while Philadelphia, Cleveland and Detroit brought up the rear.
In the matter of averages James O'Rourke again led the list, with a percentage of .350 to his credit.
The position that the club occupied at the close of that season was not satisfactory to me, as I felt that it should have been better, but there was no use crying over spilt milk, the only thing to do being to try it again.
At the close of the season Corcoran, whose pitching days were about over, was released, as was also Goldsmith, whose work had not been of the first class, and Clarkson and McCormick, the latter having played with the Cleveland team the year before, were relied upon to puzzle the opposing batsmen, the other members of the team being Flint, Kelly, Anson, Pfeffer, Williamson, Burns, Dalrymple, Gore and Sunday. O. P. Beard, C. Marr, E. E. Sutcliffe and. Joe Brown were all given a trial, but released early in the season.
The St. Louis Club, of which Mr. Lucas was the President, was taken in in order to fill the vacancy caused by the withdrawal of Cleveland, and this act on the part of the League so incensed President Mills that he resigned, the three offices of President, Secretary and Treasurer being combined in Nicholas E. Young, who is still at the head of the League affairs, with headquarters at the National Capital.
The records of 1885 show that there were really but two clubs in the race from start to finish, these representing the rival clubs of New York and Chicago, and as between them it was nip and tuck almost to the last minute.
At the end of the month of May the New York team was in the lead, they having won 17 out of the 21 games they had played that month, while Chicago, which stood second, had only won 14 out of the 20 games that it played. The month of June saw a change in the program, however, Chicago winning 21 games out of the 23 played that month, while New York only won 15 out of the 20 that it took part in.
During the month of July it looked like anybody's race as between the two leaders, each winning 18 games, though Chicago sustained but six defeats as against seven for the representatives of the Eastern metropolis. In the succeeding month New York had a shade the better of it, they winning 18 out of 21 games played, while Chicago won only 15 out of 19. In September it was again our turn, however, and we won 17 games out of 20, New York having to be content with 13 out of 19.
The last of September and the first of October saw the pennant "cinched," so far as we were concerned. The New Yorks finished the season with four games at Chicago and three of these they needed in order to win the championship. They had already won nine out of the twelve games that they had played with us during the season, and looked upon the result here as a foregone conclusion. They reckoned without their host, however, on this occasion, as we won three straight games from them, the scores being 7 to 4, 2 to 1, and 8 to 3 respectively.
Our totals for the season showed 87 games won and 25 lost, as against 85 games won and 27 lost for the Giants. Philadelphia came third with 56 games won and 54 lost, while Providence occupied the fourth place with 53 games won and 57 lost. Boston, Detroit, Buffalo and St. Louis finished as named.
There were a good many funny stories told about those closing games between New York and Chicago. The admirers of the Giants came on to witness the games in force, and so certain were they that their pets would win that they wagered their money on the result in the most reckless fashion.
Even the newspaper men who accompanied them on the trip caught the contagion. P. J. Donohue, of the New York "World," since deceased, was one of the most reckless of these. He could see nothing in the race but New York, and no sooner had he struck the town than he began to hunt for someone who would take the Chicago end of the deal.
About nine o'clock the night before the playing of the first game he appeared in the "Inter Ocean" office and announced that he was looking for somebody who thought Chicago could win, as he wished to wager $100 on the result. He was accommodated by the sporting editor of that paper. The next night after the Giants had lost P. J. again appeared on the scene and announced his readiness to double up on the result of the second game. He was accommodated again, and again. New York was the loser.
Still a third time did P. J. appear with an offer to double up the whole thing on the result of the next game. This looked like a bad bet for the local man, but local pride induced him to make the wager. For the third time the Giants went down before the White Stockings, and that night P. J. was missing, but a day or two afterwards he turned up quite crestfallen, and had a draft on New York cashed in order that he might get back home again.
Mr. Donohue was not the only man who went broke on the result, however. There was not a man on the delegation that accompanied the Giants that did not lose, and lose heavily on the games, which went a long ways toward illustrating the glorious uncertainties of base-ball.
The season of 1886 saw another change in the National League circuit, Buffalo and Providence dropping out of the fight. The vacant places were taken by Kansas City and Washington. The Detroit Club, thanks to a deal engineered by Fred Stearns, was greatly strengthened by securing the quartette of players from the Buffalo Club known as the "Big Four," these being White, Rowe, Richardson and Brouthers, which made them a most formidable candidate for championship honors, and which, indeed, they might have won had it not been for the Philadelphia Club, of which Harry Wright was the manager.
Commenting on the League season for that year Spalding's Official Guide for 1887 says: "The past season of 1886 proved to be a very profitable one to a majority of the eight League clubs, those of Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Boston and Detroit all finding it a successful season financially, while Chicago profited by bearing off the honors of the League championship for the sixth time during the eleven years' existence of the National League.
"The clubs of St. Louis, Kansas City and Washington, however, failed to realize expectations, all three being on the wrong side of the column in profit and loss, As hitherto, good and bad management of the club teams had a great deal to do with the results of the season's campaign, financially and otherwise.
"A feature of the season's championship contest was the telling work done by the Philadelphia Club. This club closed their first season in the League as the tail end of the eight clubs which entered the list that year, the eight including Cleveland, Providence and Buffalo. In 1884 Philadelphia closed the season as sixth. In 1885 they finished third and in October of 1886 they held third place, but finally had to close a close fourth, after giving Detroit and Chicago a terrible shaking up. In fact, the championship games in Philadelphia, the latter part of September and first week in October, were among the most noteworthy of the season, for from the 22d of September to the close of the season in October the club in games with Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City and Washington won 13, lost 3 and had two draws.
"The struggle for the pennant after the May contest lay entirely between the Chicago, Detroit, New York and Philadelphia Clubs, the other four having no show from the very outset.
"A notable incident of the campaign was the fact that in the closing month it lay entirely in the hands of the Philadelphia Club to decide whether' the pennant was to go to Detroit or Chicago.
"When Chicago left Philadelphia for Boston the last of September all Detroit was in a fever of excitement at the prospect of their club's success. The only question of interest was, 'Would they go through Philadelphia safely?' It was only when Harry Wright's pony League team captured the Detroits twice out of four games, one being drawn, that Chicago felt relief from anxiety as to the ultimate outcome of the pennant race. It was a gallant struggle by Philadelphia, and it made the close of the campaign season one of the most exciting on record.
"The League schedule had been raised that season from sixteen to eighteen games, nine to be played on the grounds of each club, and of these only twenty-four remained unplayed at the close of the season, fifteen of which were drawn with the score a tie."
This was one of the hardest seasons that I had ever gone through, and when it was over I felt that we were lucky, indeed, to have captured the pennant for the third successive time.
The champion team of that year showed but little change in make-up from that of the preceding year, Clarkson, McCormick and John Flynn being the pitchers; Kelly, Flint and Moolie, catchers; Anson, first base; Pfeffer, second base; Burns, third base; Williamson, shortstop; Dalrymple, left field; Ryan and Gore, center field; and Sunday, right field.
It was a close race that season between, Mike Kelly and myself for the batting honors of the League, and Michael beat me out by a narrow margin at the finish, his percentage being .388 as against .371, while Brouthers came third on the list with .370.
That was the last season that the championship pennant was flown in Chicago up to the present writing, and looking back at it now it seems to me an awful long time ago.