Albert Spalding
Encyclopedia
Albert Goodwill Spalding (Byron
, Illinois
September 2, 1850 – September 9, 1915 in Point Loma, San Diego, California
) was a professional baseball
player, manager and co-founder of A.G. Spalding
sporting goods company.
Pioneers, a youth team, which he joined in 1865. After pitching his team to a 26–2 victory over a local men's amateur team (the Mercantiles), he was approached by another, the Forest Citys, for whom he played for two years. In the autumn of 1867 he accepted a $40 per week contract, nominally as a clerk, but really to play professionally for the Chicago
Excelsiors, a not uncommon arrangement used to circumvent the rules of the time, which forbade the hiring of professional players. Following the formation of baseball's first professional organization, the National Association of Professional Baseball Players, which became known as the National Association
, the Association, or NA, in 1871, Spalding joined the Boston Red Stockings (precursor club to the modern Atlanta Braves
) and was highly successful; winning 206 games (and losing only 53) as a pitcher and batting .323 as a hitter.
William Hulbert
, principal owner of the Chicago White Stockings
, did not like the loose organization of the National Association and the gambling element that influenced it, so he decided to create a new organization, which he dubbed the National League
of Baseball Clubs. To aid him in this venture, Hulbert enlisted the help of Spalding. Playing to the pitcher's desire to return to his Midwestern roots and challenging Spalding's integrity, Hulbert convinced Spalding to sign a contract to play for the White Stockings (now known as the Chicago Cubs
) in 1876. Spalding then coaxed teammates Deacon White
, Ross Barnes
and Cal McVey
, as well as Philadelphia Athletics players Cap Anson
and Bob Addy
, to sign with Chicago. This was all done under complete secrecy during the playing season because players were all free agents in those days and they did not want their current club and especially the fans to know they were leaving to play elsewhere the next year. News of the signings by the Boston and Philadelphia players leaked to the press before the season ended, and all of them suffered verbal abuse and physical threats from the kranks, as baseball fans were called at the time, in Beantown and the City of Brotherly Love.
In the following months, Hulbert and Spalding organized the National League by enlisting the four major teams in the East and the three other top teams in what was then considered to be the West. Joining Chicago initially were the leading teams from Cincinnati, Louisville
, and Indianapolis
. The owners of these western clubs accompanied Hulbert and Spalding to New York where they secretly met with owners from New York, Philadelphia, Hartford, and Boston. Each signed the league's constitution, and the National League was officially born.
Although the National Association held on for a few more seasons, it was no longer recognized as the premier organization for professional baseball. Gradually, it faded out of existence and was replaced by myriad minor leagues and associations around the country.
Meanwhile, Spalding and his brother began a sporting goods store in Chicago
. In 1877, Spalding began to use a glove to protect his catching hand. People had used gloves previously, but never had a star like Spalding used one. Of course, Spalding had an ulterior motive for doing so. He and his brother sold baseball gloves, and wearing one himself was good for business.
In 1876, Spalding won 47 games as the prime pitchers for the Chicago White Stockings, who captured the National League's inaugural pennant by a wide margin.
Spalding published the first official rules guide for baseball. In it he stated that only Spalding balls could be used (previously, the quality of the balls used had been subpar). Spalding also founded the Baseball Guide, which at the time was the most widely-read baseball publication. Spalding retired from playing baseball in 1878, although he continued as a major force as owner of the White Stockings and major influence on the National League. Spalding's .796 career winning percentage (from an era when teams played about once or twice a week) is the highest ever achieved by a baseball pitcher.
In 1888–1889, Spalding took a group of Major League players around the world to promote baseball and Spalding sporting goods
. Playing across the western U.S., the tour made stops in Hawaii (although no game was played), New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon, Egypt, Italy, France, and England. The tour returned to grand receptions in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The tour included future Hall of Famers Adrian "Cap" Anson
and John Montgomery Ward
. While the players were on the tour, the National League instituted new rules regarding player pay that led to a revolt of players, led by Ward, who started the Players' League
the following season (1890). The league lasted one year, partially due to the anti-competitive tactics of Spalding to limit its success.
Spalding's store grew rapidly over the next 25 years, with 14 stores by 1901, expanded from retail into manufacturing baseball equipment and is still a going concern. In 1900 Spalding was appointed by President McKinley
as the USA's Commissioner at that year's Summer Olympic Games
. In 1905, after Henry Chadwick wrote an article saying that baseball grew from the British sports of cricket
and rounders
, Spalding called for a commission to find out the real source of baseball. The commission called for citizens who knew anything about the founding of baseball to send in letters. After three years of searching, on December 30, 1907, Spalding received a letter that (erroneously) declared baseball to be the invention of Abner Doubleday
. The commission, though, was biased, as Spalding would appoint anyone to the commission if they believed the sport was somewhat related to the English sport of rounders. Just before the commission, in a letter to sportswriter Tim Murnane, Spalding noted, "Our good old American game of baseball must have an American Dad." The project, later called the Mills Commission, concluded that "Base Ball had its origins in the United States" and "the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence available to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1839."
Receiving the archives of Henry Chadwick in 1908, Spalding combined these records with his own memories (and biases) to write America's National Game
(published 1911) which, despite its flaws, was probably the first scholarly account of the history of baseball.
In 1900 he moved to San Diego and became a prominent member and supporter of the Theosophical
community Lomaland
, which was being developed on Point Loma by Katherine Tingley
. He built an estate in the Sunset Cliffs area of Point Loma where he lived for the rest of his life. He joined with George Marston
and other civic-minded businessmen to purchase the site of the original Presidio of San Diego
, which they developed as a historic park and eventually donated to the city of San Diego.
He died on September 9, 1915 in San Diego, and was cremated
.
. His nephew, also named Albert Spalding
, was a renowned violin
ist.
Byron, Illinois
Byron is a city in Ogle County, Illinois, United States, probably best known as the location of the Byron Nuclear Generating Station, one of the last nuclear power plants commissioned in the United States. Byron is located in Byron Township, along the Rock River. The population was 3,753 at the...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
September 2, 1850 – September 9, 1915 in Point Loma, San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) was a professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player, manager and co-founder of A.G. Spalding
Spalding (sports equipment)
Spalding is a sporting goods company founded by Albert Spalding in Chicago, Illinois, in 1876 and now headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The company specializes in the production of balls for many sports, but is most-known for its basketballs...
sporting goods company.
Biography
Having played baseball throughout his youth, Spalding first played competitively with the RockfordRockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
Pioneers, a youth team, which he joined in 1865. After pitching his team to a 26–2 victory over a local men's amateur team (the Mercantiles), he was approached by another, the Forest Citys, for whom he played for two years. In the autumn of 1867 he accepted a $40 per week contract, nominally as a clerk, but really to play professionally for the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Excelsiors, a not uncommon arrangement used to circumvent the rules of the time, which forbade the hiring of professional players. Following the formation of baseball's first professional organization, the National Association of Professional Baseball Players, which became known as the National Association
National Association of Professional Base Ball Players
The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , or simply the National Association , was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 season...
, the Association, or NA, in 1871, Spalding joined the Boston Red Stockings (precursor club to the modern Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
) and was highly successful; winning 206 games (and losing only 53) as a pitcher and batting .323 as a hitter.
William Hulbert
William Hulbert
William Ambrose Hulbert was one of the founders of the National League, recognized as baseball's first major league, and was also the president of the Chicago White Stockings franchise....
, principal owner of the Chicago White Stockings
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, did not like the loose organization of the National Association and the gambling element that influenced it, so he decided to create a new organization, which he dubbed the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
of Baseball Clubs. To aid him in this venture, Hulbert enlisted the help of Spalding. Playing to the pitcher's desire to return to his Midwestern roots and challenging Spalding's integrity, Hulbert convinced Spalding to sign a contract to play for the White Stockings (now known as the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
) in 1876. Spalding then coaxed teammates Deacon White
Deacon White
James Laurie "Deacon" White was an American baseball player who was one of the principal stars during the first two decades of the sport's professional era...
, Ross Barnes
Ross Barnes
Charles Roscoe Barnes was one of the stars of baseball's National Association and the early National League , playing second base and shortstop. He played for the dominant Boston Red Stockings teams of the early 1870s, along with Albert Spalding, Cal McVey, George Wright, Harry Wright, Jim...
and Cal McVey
Cal McVey
Calvin Alexander McVey was a professional baseball player during the 1860s and 1870s. McVey's importance to the game stems from his play on two of the earliest professional baseball teams, the original Cincinnati Red Stockings and the National Association Boston Red Stockings...
, as well as Philadelphia Athletics players Cap Anson
Cap Anson
Adrian Constantine Anson , nicknamed "Cap" and "Pop", was a National Association and Major League Baseball first baseman...
and Bob Addy
Bob Addy
Robert Edward "Bob" Addy , nicknamed "The Magnet", was an American right fielder and second baseman in Major League Baseball, whose professional career spanned from in the National Association to in the National League...
, to sign with Chicago. This was all done under complete secrecy during the playing season because players were all free agents in those days and they did not want their current club and especially the fans to know they were leaving to play elsewhere the next year. News of the signings by the Boston and Philadelphia players leaked to the press before the season ended, and all of them suffered verbal abuse and physical threats from the kranks, as baseball fans were called at the time, in Beantown and the City of Brotherly Love.
In the following months, Hulbert and Spalding organized the National League by enlisting the four major teams in the East and the three other top teams in what was then considered to be the West. Joining Chicago initially were the leading teams from Cincinnati, Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, and Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. The owners of these western clubs accompanied Hulbert and Spalding to New York where they secretly met with owners from New York, Philadelphia, Hartford, and Boston. Each signed the league's constitution, and the National League was officially born.
Although the National Association held on for a few more seasons, it was no longer recognized as the premier organization for professional baseball. Gradually, it faded out of existence and was replaced by myriad minor leagues and associations around the country.
Meanwhile, Spalding and his brother began a sporting goods store in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. In 1877, Spalding began to use a glove to protect his catching hand. People had used gloves previously, but never had a star like Spalding used one. Of course, Spalding had an ulterior motive for doing so. He and his brother sold baseball gloves, and wearing one himself was good for business.
In 1876, Spalding won 47 games as the prime pitchers for the Chicago White Stockings, who captured the National League's inaugural pennant by a wide margin.
Spalding published the first official rules guide for baseball. In it he stated that only Spalding balls could be used (previously, the quality of the balls used had been subpar). Spalding also founded the Baseball Guide, which at the time was the most widely-read baseball publication. Spalding retired from playing baseball in 1878, although he continued as a major force as owner of the White Stockings and major influence on the National League. Spalding's .796 career winning percentage (from an era when teams played about once or twice a week) is the highest ever achieved by a baseball pitcher.
In 1888–1889, Spalding took a group of Major League players around the world to promote baseball and Spalding sporting goods
Spalding (sports equipment)
Spalding is a sporting goods company founded by Albert Spalding in Chicago, Illinois, in 1876 and now headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The company specializes in the production of balls for many sports, but is most-known for its basketballs...
. Playing across the western U.S., the tour made stops in Hawaii (although no game was played), New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon, Egypt, Italy, France, and England. The tour returned to grand receptions in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The tour included future Hall of Famers Adrian "Cap" Anson
Cap Anson
Adrian Constantine Anson , nicknamed "Cap" and "Pop", was a National Association and Major League Baseball first baseman...
and John Montgomery Ward
John Montgomery Ward
John Montgomery Ward , known as Monte Ward, was an American Major League Baseball pitcher, shortstop and manager. Ward was born in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Renovo, Pennsylvania...
. While the players were on the tour, the National League instituted new rules regarding player pay that led to a revolt of players, led by Ward, who started the Players' League
Players League
The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League , was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century...
the following season (1890). The league lasted one year, partially due to the anti-competitive tactics of Spalding to limit its success.
Spalding's store grew rapidly over the next 25 years, with 14 stores by 1901, expanded from retail into manufacturing baseball equipment and is still a going concern. In 1900 Spalding was appointed by President McKinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
as the USA's Commissioner at that year's Summer Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...
. In 1905, after Henry Chadwick wrote an article saying that baseball grew from the British sports of cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
and rounders
Rounders
Rounders is a game played between two teams of either gender. The game originated in England where it was played in Tudor times. Rounders is a striking and fielding team game that involves hitting a small, hard, leather-cased ball with a round wooden, plastic or metal bat. The players score by...
, Spalding called for a commission to find out the real source of baseball. The commission called for citizens who knew anything about the founding of baseball to send in letters. After three years of searching, on December 30, 1907, Spalding received a letter that (erroneously) declared baseball to be the invention of Abner Doubleday
Abner Doubleday
Abner Doubleday was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a pivotal role in the early fighting at the Battle of Gettysburg. Gettysburg was his finest hour, but his...
. The commission, though, was biased, as Spalding would appoint anyone to the commission if they believed the sport was somewhat related to the English sport of rounders. Just before the commission, in a letter to sportswriter Tim Murnane, Spalding noted, "Our good old American game of baseball must have an American Dad." The project, later called the Mills Commission, concluded that "Base Ball had its origins in the United States" and "the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence available to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, N.Y., in 1839."
Receiving the archives of Henry Chadwick in 1908, Spalding combined these records with his own memories (and biases) to write America's National Game
America's National Game
America's National Game is a book by Albert Spalding, published in 1911 detailing the early history of the sport of baseball. Much of the story is told first-hand, since Spalding had been involved in the game, first as a player and later an administrator, since the 1850s...
(published 1911) which, despite its flaws, was probably the first scholarly account of the history of baseball.
In 1900 he moved to San Diego and became a prominent member and supporter of the Theosophical
Theosophical Society Pasadena
The Theosophical Society is a successor organization to the original Theosophical Society founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875....
community Lomaland
Lomaland
Lomaland was a Theosophical commune located in Point Loma in San Diego), California from 1900 to 1942. Theosophical Society leader Katherine Tingley founded it in 1900 as a school, cultural center, and residential facility for her followers. The American headquarters of the Theosophical Society...
, which was being developed on Point Loma by Katherine Tingley
Katherine Tingley
Katherine Augusta Westcott Tingley was a social worker and prominent Theosophist. She was the founder of the Theosophical Society Pasadena. She founded and led the Theosophical community Lomaland in San Diego, California.Tingley grew up in Newbury, Massachusetts. She married Philo B. Tingley in...
. He built an estate in the Sunset Cliffs area of Point Loma where he lived for the rest of his life. He joined with George Marston
George Marston
George White Marston was an American politician, department store owner, and philanthropist. Marston was involved with establishing Balboa Park, the San Diego Public Library System, and the Serra Museum...
and other civic-minded businessmen to purchase the site of the original Presidio of San Diego
Presidio of San Diego
El Presidio Reál de San Diego is an historical fort established on May 14, 1769, by Commandant Pedro Fages for Spain. It was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the United States. As the first of the presidios and Spanish missions in California, it was the base of...
, which they developed as a historic park and eventually donated to the city of San Diego.
He died on September 9, 1915 in San Diego, and was cremated
Cremation
Cremation is the process of reducing bodies to basic chemical compounds such as gasses and bone fragments. This is accomplished through high-temperature burning, vaporization and oxidation....
.
Legacy
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the veterans Committee in 1939Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 1939
The 1939 elections to select inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame were the last ones conducted prior to the Hall's opening that year. Needing just one addition to complete the initial goal of 10 inductees from the 20th century, members of the Baseball Writers Association of America were once...
. His nephew, also named Albert Spalding
Albert Spalding (violinist)
Albert Spalding was an American violinist and composer.-Biography:Spalding was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1888. His mother, Marie Boardman, was a contralto and pianist. His father, James Walter Spalding, and uncle, Hall-of-Fame baseball pitcher Albert Spalding, created the A.G...
, was a renowned violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
- List of Major League Baseball wins champions
- List of Major League Baseball ERA champions
- Major League Baseball titles leadersMajor League Baseball titles leadersAt the end of each Major League Baseball season, the league leaders of various statistical categories are announced. Leading the league in a particular category is referred to as a title....