The winter of 1871 and 1872 I spent in Philadelphia, where I put in my
time practicing in the gymnasium, playing billiards and taking in the
sights of a great city.
The whirligig of time had in the meantime made a good many changes in
the membership of the Professional League, for in spite of the fact that
1871 had been the most prosperous year in the history of base-ball, up
to that time, many clubs had fallen by the wayside, their places in the
ranks being taken by new-comers, and that several of these were unable
to weather the storms of 1872 because of a lack of financial support is
now a matter of history.
Conspicuous among the absentees when the season opened was the Chicago
Club, which had been broken up by the great fire that swept over the
Queen of the Inland Seas in October of 1871, and not then reorganized;
the Forest City of Rockford, the Kekiongas of Fort Wayne, and several
others.
At the opening of the regular playing season the League numbered eleven
members, as follows: Boston, of Boston, Mass.; Baltimore, of Baltimore,
Md.; Mutuals, of New York; Athletics, of Philadelphia; Troy, of Troy, N.
Y.; Atlantic, of Brooklyn; Cleveland, of Cleveland, Ohio; Mansfield, of
Mansfield, Ohio; Eckford, of Brooklyn; and Olympic and National, both of
Washington, D. C. Of these eleven clubs but six finished the season, the
others falling out, either because of bad management or a lack of
financial support, these six being the Athletic, Baltimore, Boston,
Mutual, Atlantic and Eckford teams. The first four of these were
regularly salaried clubs, while the two last were co-operative concerns.
The make-up of the Athletics that season was as follows: Malone,
catcher; McBride, pitcher; Mack, first base; Fisler, second base; Anson,
third base; McGeary, shortstop; Cuthbert, left field; Tracey, center
field; and Meyerle, right field. Outside of the Bostons this was the
strongest team that had yet appeared on the diamond. It was even
stronger than the team that represented the Hub in some respects, though
not equal to them as a whole, the latter excelling at team work, which
then, as now, proved one of the most important factors in winning a
championship.
That the Athletics were particularly strong at the bat is shown by the
fact that six of their players that season figure among the first eleven
on the batting list, the Bostons coming next with three, and the
Baltimore third.
In some of the games that we played that season the fielders had a merry
time of it and found at least plenty of exercise in chasing the ball. In
the first games that I played with the Athletics, our opponents being
the Baltimores, the fielders did not have 'a picnic by any means, the
score standing at 34 to 19 at the end of the game, and this in spite of
the fact that the ball used was a "dead one."
During the entire season and not counting exhibition games we played
forty-six games, of which we won thirty and lost sixteen, while the
Bostons, who carried off the championship, took part in fifty-nine
games, of which they won 38 and lost 11.
Figuring in twenty-eight championship games, I finished fourth on the
list of batsmen, with forty-seven base-hits to my credit, an average of
1.67 to the game, a performance that I was at that time very proud of
and that I am not ashamed of even at this late date.
The season of 1873 saw some changes in the make-up of the Athletics, the
nine that season being made up as follows: McGeary, catcher; McBride,
pitcher; Murnane, first base; Fisler, second base; Fulton, third base;
Anson, shortstop; Cuhbert, left field; Reach, center field; Fisler,
right field; and McMullen and Sensenderfer, substitutes.
This was, if anything, a stronger all-around team than the one of the
preceding year, and if it failed to make equally as good a showing it
was because the teams that were opposed to it were also of a better
calibre. The demand for good ball players had risen, and as is usual in
such cases the supply was equal to the demand, just as it would be today
under similar circumstances.
The opening of the championship season found nine clubs ready to compete
for the championship honors, viz.: The Athletics, Atlantics, Baltimore,
Boston, Mutual, Maryland, Philadelphia, Resolute and Washington, and
five of these beside the Athletics had particularly strong teams, the
Maryland, Resolute and Washington teams being the weaklings.
During the year the Athletics took part in fifty professional games, of
which they won twenty-seven and lost twenty-three, and in fourteen
exhibition games, of which they won twelve and lost two, being defeated
in the exhibition series twice by their home rivals, the Philadelphias,
which numbered among its players several who had helped to make the
Athletics famous in former years, among them being Malone and Mack.
Between these two nines there was the strongest kind of a rivalry, and
as both were popular with the home people great crowds turned out to see
the contests between them. One of these contests resulted in a thirteen
inning game, the score then standing at 5 to 4 in favor of the
Philadelphias, greatly to our disgust, and to the intense joy of our
rivals.
For the second time since the formation of the Players' League, Boston
carried off the championship honors, while we were compelled to content
ourselves with the third position, but I still stood forth on the
batting list, and that was some consolation, at least to me.
The opening of the season of 1874 again saw nine clubs ready to do
battle for the championship, but the Maryland and Resolute Clubs were
missing from the list and in their places were the re-organized Chicagos
and the Hartford aggregation, both of which presented strong teams and
teams that, properly managed, might have made much better showing in the
pennant race.
Still more changes had been made in the make-up of the Athletic team,
which in May of that year was composed of the following players: Clapp,
catcher; McBride, second base; Sutton, third base; McGeary, shortstop;
Gedney, left field; McMullen, center field; and Anson, right field.
From the way in which I was changed around from one position to another
in those days it can be readily surmised that I was looked upon as a
sort of a general-utility man, who could play in one position about as
well as in another, which in my humble judgment was a mistake, for in
base-ball as in all other trades and professions the old adage holds
true that a jack-of-all trades is master of none.
The year 1874 will ever be memorable in the history of the game by
reason of the fact that base-ball was then introduced to the notice of
our English cousins by a trip that was made to the "Tight Little Isle"
by the members of the Boston and Athletic Clubs, a trip of which I shall
have more to say later, and also by reason of the fact that the game
that season enjoyed a veritable boom, clubs of the professional,
semi-professional and amateur variety springing up in every direction.
The clubs going to make up the Professional League were admittedly
stronger than ever before, and to take the pennant from Boston was the
avowed ambition not only of the Athletics but of every team that was to
contest against the "Hub" aggregation. The effort was, however, as
futile as those of the two preceding years had been, and for the third
successive season the teams from the modern Athens carried off the
prize, not because they were the better ball players, but for the reason
that better discipline was preserved among them and they were better
managed in every way than were any of their opponents. For the second
time we were compelled to content ourselves with the third place in the
race, the second going to the Mutuals of New York, that being the first
time since the Professional League was organized that they had climbed
so high up the ladder. The Philadelphias fell from the second to the
fourth place and the Chicago "White Stockings," of whom great things had
been expected, finished on the fifth rung of the ladder.
Of the fifty-two record games that were counted as championship contests
and that were played by the Athletics, we won thirty-one and lost
twenty-one, while of the sixty games in which the Bostons figured they
won forty-three and lost but seventeen, a wonderful showing when the
playing strength of the clubs pitted against them is taken into
consideration.
Among the batsmen that season I stood eighth on the list, the lowest
position that I had occupied since I broke into the ranks of the
professional players.
When the season of 1875 opened I little realized that it was to be the
last year that I should wear an Athletic uniform, and yet such proved to
be the case. While playing with them my salary had been raised each
successive season, until I was now drawing $1,800 a year, and the limit
had not yet been reached, as I was to find out later, although at the
time I left Philadelphia for Chicago I would, for personal reasons that
will appear later, have preferred to remain with the Athletics at a
considerable less salary than I was afterward paid. This, too, was
destined to be the last year of the Professional League, the National
League taking its place, and as a result a general shifting about among
the players took place in 1876, many of the old-time ball tossers being
at that time lost in the shuffle.
The year 1875 saw no less than thirteen clubs enter the championship
arena, Philadelphia being represented by no less than three, while St.
Louis, a new-comer, furnished two aspirants for the honors, the full
list being as follows: Boston, Athletic, Hartford, St. Louis,
Philadelphia, Chicago, Mutual, New Haven, St. Louis Reds, Washington,
Centennial, Atlantic and Western, the latter organization representing
the far Western city of Keokuk.
The series consisted of ten games, six to be played as the legal quota,
and at the close of the season but seven of the thirteen original
championship seekers had fulfilled the conditions, three of the clubs
having been disbanded when the season was but about half over. Again and
for the fourth time the Boston aggregation carried off the honors, with
a record unsurpassed up to that time, as out of seventy-nine games
played they won seventy-one and lost but eight, while the Athletics, who
finished in the second place, played seventy-three games in all, losing
twenty and winning fifty-three.
That three of the clubs that started in the race should have dropped out
as they did is not to be wondered at, and why one of them at least was
ever allowed to enter is a mystery. Looked at from a purely geographical
standpoint, the Keokuk Club, known as the Western, was doomed to failure
from the very start. It was too far away from the center of the base-ball
interests and the expense of reaching it too great to warrant the
Eastern clubs in making the trip, and the city itself was too small to
turn out a paying crowd, while the other two local clubs found the field
already too well covered and succumbed to local opposition.
Small scores in 1875 were the rule and not the exception. The sharp
fielding and the restrictions placed on the batter, which had grown
closer with each passing season, made the running up of such big scores
as marked the game in the early days impossible, while the many close
contests that took place added greatly to the popularity of what was now
fully recognized as distinctively the National Game of America.
It was not all smooth sailing for the promoters of the game, even at
this time. In the many poolrooms then existing throughout the country
and especially in the larger cities great sums of money were wagered on
the result of the various contests, and as a result "crookedness" on the
part of various players was being charged, and though these charges were
vigorously denied by those interested the denials carried but little
weight in view of the in-and-out performances of the teams in which they
were engaged.
There was a lack of discipline, too, among the players, and it was the
necessity for prompt action in stamping out the evils then existing that
caused the birth of the new National League and the death of the old
organization.
There are "crooks" in all professions, but I venture the assertion right
here that the "crooks" in base-ball have indeed been few and far
between. Once detected, they have been summarily dismissed from the
ranks, and with the brand of dishonesty stamped upon them they have been
forced to earn a living in some other way.
It has long been a maxim among the followers of racing that "a crooked
jockey" is always "broke," and this same saying holds good regarding the
crooked ball players. I might mention the names of several players who
were summarily dismissed from the league ranks because of crookedness
and who have since that time managed to eke out a miserable existence by
hanging about poolrooms and bucket-shops, but what good would it do?
They have learned their lesson and the lesson has indeed been a bitter
one.
It must be remembered, however, that the charges against these men were
proven. They were not dismissed because of idle hearsay, but because of
absolute and convincing proof. The breath of scandal has assailed more
than one ball player without any good and convincing reason, and will
doubtless do so again, just as it has assailed private reputations of
men in other walks of life. The breath of truth has blown these scandals
aside, however, and to-day the professional ball player stands as high
in the estimation of his fellow men, providing that he conducts himself
as a gentleman and not as a loafer, as does the professional man in
other walks of life.