Audubon County journal., 1911-06-15
CHAPTER XII.
Z Help Win the Pennant.


Help Win the Pennant.
Neither the president nor the cap
tain of tho Chicagos had worried a lit,
tie bit over my threat to break my
contract Spalding certainly knew
me well enough to recognize my big
blu6 as the final kick Of man who
wouldn't 60 back on his word no mat
ter what his personal likes and dis
likes might be. When 1t came to the
scratch there was nothing to do but
fx 1t up the best I could with the
prospective Mrs. Anson and turn my
face toward the setting sun.
So submitted meekly, put on the
Chicago uniform and started in to do
my best to help win the coveted pen
pennant for the Lake Michigan me-
tropolis. During the winter Of 1876
IS the National league was formed.
Morgan G. Bulkeley of Hartford,
Conn. afterward governor and now
United States senator from that state,
was It's frst president and filled the
position ono season, being succeeded
by Mr.. Hubert. The eight clubs that
we're members OF the new league were
the Athletics Of Philadelphia, tho Bos-
tons, the Hartfords. the Chicagos, the
st. Louis, the Louisville, the Mutuals
of New York and the Cincinnatis.
BY the constitution of the new
league no city of less than $4,000 in
habitants could become a member,
and no city could be represented by
more than one club. If that had been
the rule when / was with the Ath-
letics we would have been spared the
humiliating experience with the Phil
adelphias-beaten by our own towns
men! Another reform brought about
by the league was the adoption of a
players contract. With that in force
the Chicagos could not have taken the
big four" away from Boston. The
new rules also provided for the expul-
sion OF members guilty of breaking
| their contracts or for dishonesty, and
for penalty such men were debarred
forever from playing in league clubs
Gambling and liquor selling on club
grounds were prohibited and any play
OF interested in bet on the result OF
a game was liable to get the grand
bounce.
guess l could remember the make
up of the Chicago team in the first
season of the National league without
consulting my diary, but to make sure
see that 1t was as follows: A. g.
Spalding, pitcher, captain and man.
ager; James White, catcher; A. C. An
son, third base; Ross Barnes, second
base; Cal McVey, first base; ]. P. Pc
ters, shortstop; j. w. Glenn, left
field; Paul A. Hines, center field;
Robert Addy, right field AS l have
said already, four of these were
coaxed away from the pennant-win-
ming Bostons and fifth-who was
myself-was snatched bodily from the
Philadelphia Athletics. For FIVE men
who had been treated in such high
handed manner, want to remark,
we were tolerably cheerful bunch Of
ball merchants.
Just at first the Boston folks were
so crushed by their loss that they
hardly knew which way to turn. The
blow was tough one, but the man
agement gathered up the fragments
and went to make their organization
as formidable as possible. From that
time on Boston's sole ambition was to
beat Chicago. but 1t so happened that
we bested them In nine straight games
before they got their hearts desire
shall never forget the first game
we played on the Boston grounds that
season. 1t was Memorial day and a
record crowd turned out to witness
the event. Long before the hour
named to call the game the Enclosure
was packed too full for comfort, and a
vast crowd of disappointed fans, some
OF them from long distances, was ma
king big hullabaloo outside. On ac-
count Of the holiday no one was work
Ing and apparently everybody was
wild to see the "Stolen Big -Four" in
their new uniforms. The mob was SO
| dense that at one time 1t looked as
though there would not be room
enough in the grounds to play the
game When the gates were closed
tho crowd swarmed over the fences
and the force of special policemen
had moro than 1t could do to preserve
order
l wish you could have seen and
heard the ovation the big -Four" re-
ceived when they put in an appear
anoe. The crowd was SO tickled to
see the old favorites that the fact
that the players were now members
OF hostile team was lost sight of for
tho time being. The game that fol-
lowed was played under considerable
dinfculty. but it was one OF the most
enteyabls exsr teok part in Harry