made the acquaintance of William A.
Hulbert, who afterwards became famous as the founder of that
organization and the man whose rugged honesty and clear-headed counsels
made of base-ball the National Game in the truest and broadest sense of
the word.

At that time Mr. Hulbert was the President of the Chicago Base-Ball
Club, and in company with A. G. Spalding he came to Philadelphia for the
purpose of getting my signature to a contract to play in the Western
metropolis.

It was the ambition of the Chicago management to get together a
championship team, and with that object in view they had already signed
the big-four who had helped so many times to win the pennant for Boston,
viz.: Cal McVey, first base; James White, catcher; Ross Barnes, second
base; and A. G. Spalding, pitcher, and the latter, who was to captain
the Chicago team, had suggested my engagement as third baseman. I
finally agreed to play with the team at a salary of $2,000, or $200 more
than I was then getting with the Athletics.

I well remember Mr. Hulbert's appearance at that time. He stood in the
neighborhood of six feet, and weighed close to 215 pounds. He had a
stern expression of countenance and impressed one right from the start
as being a self-reliant business man of great natural ability, and such
he turned out to be. He was good-hearted and of a convivial nature when
business hours were over, but as honest as the day was long, and would
tolerate nothing that savored of crookedness in any shape or form. As an
executive he had but few equals and no superiors. He was quick to grasp
a situation and when once he had made up his mind to do a thing it took
the very best sort of an argument to dissuade him.

During the winter of 1875-6 the National League sprang into being, the
Hon. Morgan G. Bulkeley of Hartford, who was afterwards elected Governor
of Connecticut, being its first President, he being succeeded by Mr.
Hulbert the following year. The clubs composing the league were as
follows: Athletics of Philadelphia, Bostons of Boston, Hartfords of
Hartford, Chicagos of Chicago, St. Louis of St. Louis, Louisville of
Louisville, Ky., Mutuals of New York, and Cincinnati of Cincinnati,
Ohio.

When I came to consult with the future Mrs. Anson in regard to my
proposed change of base she not unnaturally objected to my going so far
from home, for I had learned to regard Philadelphia as my home by that
time.

I naturally thought it would be an easy mat