Morgan Bulkeley Morgan Gardner Bulkeley ( December 26 , 1837 – November 6 , 1922 ) was an American politician as well as business and sports executive . Bulkeley , a Republican , served in the American Civil War , was a Hartford city councilman and bank president , was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as the first president of the National League , and became a four - term mayor of Hartford , the 54th Governor of Connecticut for two terms and a United States Senator while serving as the third president of the Aetna Life Insurance Company for 43 years . Early life , career and war . Bulkeley was born in East Haddam , Connecticut to an old local family . His father State Senator Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley was a descendant of the Rev . Peter Bulkeley , 8 generations removed . Peter Bulkeley was the founder of Concord Massachusetts and sailed to this country from England on the ship Susan & Ellen in May of 1635 . Morgan Bulkeley ' s mother Lydia - Smith Morgan descended from passengers of the Mayflower more than 200 years prior . The Bulkeleys had called nearby Colchester , Connecticut their home and until Morgan ' s death always believed it as such . He was also related to the well known Morgan family through his mother . He was educated at Bacon Academy in Colchester just like his father and his cousins on both sides . In 1846 , the Bulkeley family moved to Hartford , Connecticut . Morgan ' s father , Eliphalet Adams Bulkeley , was prominent in the Connecticut Republican Party and helped found the Aetna Life Insurance Company , becoming its first president in 1853 . He was also a descendant of the third President of Harvard University , Charles Chauncy . Morgan Bulkeley attended Hartford Public High School and , at age 14 , started working at the Aetna sweeping floors for a dollar a day along with his brother , Charles . Bulkeley left Hartford to work for his uncle ' s company , H . P . Morgan & Company , in Brooklyn , New York . He was an errand boy in Brooklyn in 1852 and later worked as a salesman . At the outbreak of the Civil War , Bulkeley enlisted with the Thirteenth New York Volunteers as a private for the Union Army . He served under General George B . McClellan in the Peninsula Campaign and later under General Joseph K . Mansfield . His brother , Charles , was killed during the war . After the Civil War , Bulkeley returned to Morgan & Company . When his father died in 1872 , Bulkeley returned to Hartford and helped form the United States Bank of Hartford , becoming its first president . He later served on Aetna ' s board of directors . Baseball . After returning to Hartford in the early days of professional baseball , Bulkeley formed the Hartford Dark Blues of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in 1874 . In 1875 , the team featured Hall of Fame pitcher Candy Cummings and player - manager Bob " Death to Flying Things " Ferguson . In 1876 , the NAPBBP was replaced by the National League . Hartford was one of the charter members and Bulkeley was named the league ' s first president . In his only season as president , he targeted illegal gambling , drinking and fan rowdiness . After the season , he was replaced as president by William Hulbert . Bulkeley was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in 1937 , 15 years after his death . He was also one of the seven members of the Mills Commission formed by Albert Spalding , the group that gave credence to the myth that Abner Doubleday invented baseball . Politics . Bulkeley ' s short career as a baseball executive coincided with the beginning of his political career . From 1874 to 1876 , he served on the Hartford Common Council and the Board of Aldermen . When Thomas O . Enders resigned Aetna ' s presidency due to ill health in 1879 , Bulkeley became the company ' s third president . In 1880 , Bulkeley ran for both Mayor of Hartford and Governor of Connecticut . He lost the gubernatorial race but won the mayoral race and was Hartford ' s mayor from 1880 to 1888 . As mayor he became known for his flamboyant generosity ; for instance , arranging steamboat trips on the Connecticut River for underprivileged children , using his own money . While mayor of Hartford , on February 11 , 1885 , Bulkeley married Fannie Briggs Houghton in San Francisco , California . They had two sons and a daughter . In 1888 , Bulkeley again ran for governor . In the election , Luzon B . Morris accumulated more votes than Bulkeley but neither had the required 50 % . In accordance with the rules of the time , the General Assembly decided the winner and the largely Republican body chose Bulkeley . Although he did not run in 1890 , the vote was so close and fell into such disarray due to ballot irregularities in Bridgeport that officials did not certify the results , and the Connecticut House of Representatives and Senate , each led by opposing parties , could not agree on a legal successor . When Bulkeley refused to recognize the Democratic candidate as the victor , the Democratic state comptroller changed the lock on an anteroom that led from the governor ' s office to the Statehouse . When Bulkeley found the door locked the next morning , he broke in with a crowbar , earning the nickname the " Crow - Bar Governor " . Bulkeley remained in office two more years , and the state Supreme Court unanimously held that he had been the lawful governor for the disputed period of time . Bulkeley later served one term in the U . S . Senate from 1905 to 1911 , as part of the " Millionaires ' Senate " of 1906 , so named for the wealth of its members . Death and legacy . Morgan Bulkeley died in Hartford at age 84 . At the time of his death , Bulkeley had been the president of Aetna for 43 years and had increased its assets from $ 25 . 7 million to $ 207 million and from 29 to 1 , 500 employees . Under his guidance , Aetna had been transformed from a life insurance company into a company that offered accident , health , automobile , workers compensation , and group insurance . He was succeeded by his nephew , Morgan Brainard , who led Aetna for the following 35 years . The Hartford Bridge over the Connecticut River was renamed the Bulkeley Bridge in his honor after his death . Bulkeley ' s widow , Fannie , died on June 22 , 1938 .