The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-09-02
A. G. SPALDING SET.
 UP GREAT PITCHING
 RECORD OF 56 VICTORIES

This is the sixty-nfth anniversary of the birth in Byron, III, of Albert G. Spalding, whose name as insepara- ply associated with baseball as one of the pioneers in the great pastime Not many fans know that Spa1ding established the record for number of games pitched and won in a season It was forty years ago, in 1875, that
 AP Spa1ding, then the pitching staff of the championship Boston club of the old National Association, hung up a. slab record that is likely to en- dure for all time. Spalding pitched sixty-three full games for the Boston ians that year. and won fifty-six of them, a. percentage of .889, the 1arg- est average of contests won in the his tory of the game.
 That year was the last of the Ma tional association, and the National league took ts place the following sea- son. The association started the 1875 season with thirteen clubs, Boston, Philadelphia Athletics, Hartford, St Louis, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York Mutua1s, New Haven, St. Louis Red Stockings, Washington, PhiIa,- delphia Centennials, Brooklyn Allan tics and Keokuk Westerns. Only sew en clubs stuck to the finish and Bos- ton won the panpant with seventy one games won to only eight lost, a percentage of .S99, also a record
 Albert Goodwill Spalding was rear
  test baseball towns on the map, The Rockford club was famous all over America, and was a, charter member of the National association. Young Spalding made a, reputation ~as pitcher when he was only sixteen, and by the time he had reached his ma jority he was acclaimed the greatest hurler of his time. He started his professional career with the famous Forest City club of Rockford. When the professional league was launched he went to Boston, and for five straight years he pitched in every game played by Harry Wright's fam ous team. The Athletics won the first pennant, but Boston, thanks largely to Spa1ding's pitching prow- ess. captured the championship dur ing the next four years. In 1872 Spa1ding pitched forty-seven full games for a percentage of .83O. In 1873 he took part in sixty games for .729- In 1874 he twir1ed sixty games and .717, and in 1875 he hung up his great record for .899. In 1876, the first year of the National League Spalding helped Chicago win the pen nant, playing in sxty games for .783. Besides being the pitching staff for the Chicago club in 1876, Spalding was manager, captain and Secrtary of the team. The next year he turned the management over to Cap An son, and in 1877 he retired from the game as player, although he re- mained with the Chicago club as secretary and president until 1891 About forty years ago he embarked in the sporting goods business, out of which he made a fortune and re- tired to Point Loma, Cal, to spend shis declining years.
 Spa1ding was the greatest of the early stars of the diamond, in the pitching department. his closets rival for twirlfng honors in the National Association days being Dick McBride, of the old Athletics. When SpaIding quit the box Thomas Bond became the premier pitcher of the National league. He twirled Boston to two pennants, in 1877 and 1878, in the latter year pitching fifty-nine games with a winning percentage of .683. Jchn M. Ward got into the Hmelight in 1879, and pitched Providence to pennant. Larry Corcoran was the star of the pennant-winting Chicago club in 1880 and 1881, and Fred Goldsmith in 1882. Crash opper Jim'' Whitney, a Californian, landed the pennant for Boston in 1883, and the following year Charley .Radbourne pitched seventy-two games for a per centage of .838, and made Providence the winner. The previous year Rad bourne pitched thirty-seven consecx- tive games, winning twenty-eight of them.