ed as far as was possible.

The attempt was a vain one, however, although the race from the start to
the finish was a hot one, and one that kept the lovers of base-ball on
tenter hooks until the season was over, while the betting in the
poolrooms throughout the country was hot and heavy, and be it said right
here, to the credit of the ball players, there was not the slightest
suspicion or whisper of crookedness in connection with the games. The
rivalry was most intense, and as a result the crowds that greeted
the players everywhere were both large and enthusiastic, this
being especially the case on the home grounds, where, owing to our
long-continued success, we were naturally great favorites. The majority
of the clubs in the League that season made money and to all appearances
an era of prosperity, so far as the National Game was concerned, had
begun.

The close of the season again saw the Chicago Club in the lead, they
having won 55 games and lost 29, while Providence stood second on the
list with 52 games won and 32 games lost to its credit.

Buffalo stood third, Boston fourth, Cleveland fifth, Detroit sixth, Troy
seventh, while Worcester, as in the preceding year, brought up the tail
end of the procession.

Brouthers of the Buffalo Club headed the batting list with a percentage
of .369, while I came next with .367, and that I had had my eye on the
ball throughout the season is a fact that the opposing pitchers could
bear witness to.

Prior to the beginning of the season, the exact date being April 10,
1882, President Hulbert, the founder of the League, and one of the best
friends that I had ever had either inside or outside of the profession,
passed away, leaving a void in base-ball circles that was indeed hard to
fill. It has often been a matter of sincere regret, both to myself and
others, that he could not have lived to witness the fruition of all his
hopes. Arbitrary and severe though he may have been at times, yet the
fact remains that he was the best friend that the ball players had ever
had.

Appreciating the possibilities of the game as a moneymaker, when rightly
conducted, he bent his energy toward rescuing it from the hands of
gamblers, into which it seemed about to fall, and place it where it
belonged, at the head of all of American outdoor sports.

Many and many a time since than have I missed his cool-headed judgment,
his cheering words and his sound advice, and I have no hesitation in
saying t