HISTORY IN THEATER REVIEWS

On October 6, students in the 4eme2-3 IDD class attended a performance of Newsies at the Papermill Playhouse in Milburn, NJ. The audience's enthusiastic applause gave strong indications that this Disney production could be a hit if it should come to Broadway in the spring.

The play afforded students the opportunity to discover the history of New York in the nineteenth century through the lives of newsboys who took on the powerful newspaper publisher, Joseph Pulitzer. In addition, they analyzed the elements of musical theater in an interdisciplinary assignment.

In the comments that follow, students provide their own theater reviews with attention to the historical and dramatic elements of the production.

Enjoy a clip from the 1992 film that featured the hit song "Seize the Day," which is in the musical.

Showgirl

Day 1, May 15^th, 1846

"Bianca and me"

It’s my little brother’s birthday. He’s already 11 years old. My mother, my brother and I live in Tuscany, Italy in our magnificent house that has a balcony and five bedrooms. We’re celebrating and we’re having a great time.  It’s been 2 years since my father passed away…   He died from a severe concussion… It was hard for all of us, but it was harder for Lucas. They would do everything together.       The hardest part is that Lucas needs to mature more quickly because he’s now the “man of the house”.                                                                              

My best friend is Bianca Aguilar. She is in my class and she’s practically my sister. Lucas loves her. She is “part of our family.” She has brown, black puffy/ silky hair, brown eyes and beautiful dark skin.   She’s here for Lucas’s birthday.  

I’m really going to miss Bianca and my family. I need to live and be free. New York City looks like a city that I’m going to enjoy and be able to me and make myself be REAL. I’m 18.  I’m pretty much a young woman, so I need to make my decisions and go my own way…

I’ve decided to go away from this Empire.  I want to be in a free country! I wish Bianca could come with me, but I guess I’m doing this alone…

New York here I come!

Day 2, December 3^rd 1847

     



     The most awful thing has happened to me today; my mother died. She died from an unknown sickness that the doctors call “Cancer”. The doctors had told us that she had breast cancer. She died peacefully in her bed, telling my brother and I to live our lives happily and to never separate from each other since we are two now. Our mother would always do everything until now. I kept on thinking to myself what my brother and I are going to do for a living.
       At the funeral we met many of mother’s friends, but one of them told us something really important. His name was Lorenzo, and he had been mama’s friend since they were children. He had told us that if we needed to get a job and live our lives that we should go to America. He said that he can help us to get there and that we need to meet him up at the fish market. This had made both of us a little happy even though we were at the funeral. The day ended and everyone had left the funeral home except for the both of us who had stayed there since we didn’t get a chance to have our time to talk to our dead mother. Once everyone had left, we walked to the coffin and looked at our mother, who was laying there her arms crossed and eyes closed. I went to her head and whispered, “Mama, we are going to America because of Lorenzo he is helping us out sot that we can live a rich life. Why did you have to leave? We are going to miss you so much.” I started to cry due to the fact that the most important person in our life had left us, forever.

 Day 3, July 29^th, 1848

Today I decided I was going to leave Florence, my home, my country, my love, to go to America. Since Mama died, living alone with Fabian is becoming a chore for me. People are helping us live by giving us food and a little money so we can live on alone and survive just my brother and I. I might be 19 years old but people said I had the strength of the wisest women.

I would go to America and after a year or two; I would come back to Florence to bring my brother with me. I would be rich and free from the poverty in Florence. But right now, this is just a dream because I have to work to get the money to afford the trip to New York. I was working as a cleaning maid from 6 am till 9 pm every day of the week except for Sunday to get only 2 dollars a day at this rich man’s house in the heart of the city. At this rate, I could hope to be on the boat to New York in about 2 months because the ticket was 100 dollars. Of course, I was not the only person who wanted to leave the region by the port. I was sure that I wouldn’t be alone on that boat and that made me work harder than ever. I started working as a baby-sitter for my neighbors so I could make 3 extra dollars to what I already got. The only down side to this plan was that I was getting tired and fast. But my dream of a better life to come drove me onwards.                                                                            

"line to board the boat"

I was starting to have a good amount of money and I was hoping to get my ticket in about a week. I went to the public library to get as much information as possible so I would know where to go when I got to New York City. Despite my dead father, my mom had made it possible for me and my brother to go to school and learn how to read and write. After I finished the third book on the topic of the life of Americans, I knew I had chosen the right path by going to the land of dreams, America!

The ticket! I finally had the ticket! I was staring at it the whole way home to get my luggage to leave at night. The piece of paper in my hands was the beginning of my new life. A life full of joy, money, and happiness, where I would finally have a good life! As I stood in the doorway of my home, I looked around at the familiar surroundings. The low wooden table surrounded by chairs, which constituted the living room. I looked at the staircase, leading to the room of my parents and the one my brother and me shared. Soon, all this would just be memory of my Italian life. I turned around and without looking back, walked to the pier to get on the boat.

The boat was huge. The dark colored water crashed against the side of the ship, making it rock sideways, like a clock, sending the water one way and then back against the sea. The boat was made of metal that had become dark with the constant roll of salt water on its hull. The metallic color made the boat seem evil, even dangerous. I got in line and waited for my turn to go in…

I’m finally on the boat and on my way to the future! I hope the ride won’t take too long and that accidents won’t occur. People tell terrible stories of capsized boats in the middle of the sea, terrible storms drowning everybody…but this doesn’t matter to me! I will live to see America.

Day 4, October 8^th,1848



"a view of Manhattan"



     Finally!!! I arrived in New York, I’ve heard a lot about Manhattan, apparently big and just a paradise for some people. I’ve been on this ship for more than 1 and a half-month and I was getting sea sick. Almost 200 people could be on the ship. We slept in little rooms, where there is space for 4 people, but we had to sleep, 15 people in this room. I never slept in those rooms since the 1^st day because I am claustrophobic. I slept on a bench, it wasn’t really comfortable but it was better than in the room. The food wasn’t bad, it wasn’t exactly fish, meat and other expensive food that the wealthier people eat but at least we got food. They had a little variety like vegetables, corn, rice and soups and potatoes.  My days on the ship where mostly lonely but I liked it a lot because I could just listen to the waves and read a book.

I met a girl called Eva on the ship and she told me that she wanted to find her mother in New York, we became really close. The time on the Ship passed fast because I could talk with other people, And I loved to watch the ocean waves. sometimes there Were some storms but it was never dangerous. I was Looking at the ocean when suddenly I saw tall buildings Far away, I got so excited and just couldn’t wait to get Out of the ship.  The island was called Ellis Island and it was just on the other side of Manhattan. Ellis Island is a federal immigration station were the immigrants like me have to go to be controlled, if we are sick and have illegal material and food with us. They checked our medical status and our papers to. More than a half of the people had to get on a ship home because they were sick or didn’t have any papers.  When it finally ended we could board another boat and cross the river to Manhattan. I was never so happy to get somewhere. I got separated with Bianca because she went to look for her mother and I wanted to explore the city and find a job.I was standing on the sidewalk and didn"t know what to do. I think I forgot to figure that part out where should I go? I decided to ask someone, i didn"t speak english so well. I practiced a little in Italy, I had a good teacher in school.

I decided to ask a lady standing by the bus stop. She told me that i had to take the next bus if i wanted to go to the center.

Day 5, October 11^th, 1848

                       
                                                                              "streets of New York"               

     Life is the street is hard. I have no home, no job. I have a little money. The streets are dark, and scary.  I only have the streetlight that barely works. I thought New York would be a Paradise but it’s not it’s almost a living nightmare! I was wrong about New York and how I imagined it! I imagined that New York would have so much life and lights and that I would have fun, but now I’m in the streets, alone… I know no one, the only  thing I have is my music box. I love to dance. It’s the only thing that can make me happy being in this nightmare. I also win a  few dollars ($) in doing that. People enjoy my dancing, and think I have talent. I just wish my mother were here to give me advice on what to do and give me some money.  In a city of lights and wonder. I just need to find a shelter and a job and a friend…

Day 6, October 18^th, 1848

   I decided to go look for an apartment but the most of them where for sale. I finally found one in east Harlem, the neighbors where really nice to me even before I decided to rent the place. When I signed the contract and moved my few things in my neighbors invited me to diner and helped me paint the walls.

The apartment was pretty small but really nice. It was a two-room apartment with small windows, the floor was in dark wood like in my house in Florence. I installed myself.

In the morning my neighbors came over and gave me a map of New York, which would help me find the locations I needed.
 I searched for a job but I couldn’t find any. I didn"t even knew what kind of job. The next day I walked in the east village looking for a place to eat. While I walked in the streets I saw  a men. He came to me and asked me if I was still looking for a job, I had being searching for a job in weeks.  I thought New York would be different but now I see reality, it was hard to find a job. He was still waiting for me to say something, I agreed.

Day 7, October 20^th, 1848

                                                                                                     

"the typical manhattan building from the outside"

The men gave me a card with an address and he told me to go there and see where I am going to work. He said not to go in the building but just to memorize where it was and just to see what kind of people come in and out. I was a block away and I noticed men coming out very happy and sometimes with other girls. I finally I arrived to the building. Outside the building there were guards that patrolled the area to make sure that children don’t come in and peek. There were women with many costumes. Some had feathers some had masks it was amazing how they looked like. A lot of men would come in, some in suits, some in casual clothing and those who tried to sneak in were thrown out of the building and they had to go home. The building wasn’t very big and wasn’t very small, it was a 2 story building. There were many lights coming out of the building and the music was booming outside. A man came out and approached me and started to talk to me. I was shocked so as a natural reflex I pushed him away. He screamed my name and then I noticed that it was the man that gave me the card. He told me that this was where I was going to work. He told me to come the next day but not to go inside until I see him. I wanted to know why he didn't want me to go inside but that will have to stay a mystery until the next day. He also told me to bring nice clothes. Everything rests a mystery to me. Tomorrow is the first day of work! I can’t wait to know what kind of job I am going to have!

Day 8, October 25^th, 1848

                                                                                                               

"me and my group"

     Today was my first day at work, and to be honest, I’m still in shock right now. As I was walking to my new job, I started to daydream about what it would like and if I was to be the secretary of the man who still hadn’t told me his name but who was rich enough to give away his money. I was really thankful to the man but was starting to wonder why he had given me the job, out of the people and children on the streets, he had given me a job. I had already seen the place from the outside and heard the music coming out from it but hadn’t    dared to venture inside before I was due to start working. Like I said, I was hoping just to be the secretary of the bar owner because I might not have seen the inside, but seeing the people coming out, mostly men in their 30’s, coming out of the bar looking extremely happy and sometimes even drunk, stagger out of the bar with their shirts ruffled and some even torn.

So as I got into the bar, the man who had given me the apartment, who was called Mr. Kepler, explained to me what my job was all about: we (the girls at the bar) were to dance on the elevated stage that snaked around the tables of the bar and dance with customers who would pay extra from time to time to get a “private session”. 

"a showgirl"

The second he told me we were to dance around during the day in provocative dresses, sometimes being barely dressed, I new I was to be a stripper, but Mr.          Kepler never used the term “stripper”, he always referred to us as “exotic dancers”.

After my tour around the bar, I started my job. I went into the back room to get changed into my dancing costume and was now known, until the end of the day, as Angel. As I walked onto the stage, some men started whistling and screaming as the girls and I walked onto the platform. I watched the young women start their dance routine and copied them so that I could maybe get a tip. My boss had said I didn’t have to go into a private session because it was my first day at work and I must have refused about nine propositions before the end of the day. My shift was from 11:00 am till 6:00 pm. The men came early and left late so the dancers didn’t have any time to stop. I eventually got used to the rhythm and started to make up so dance moves and mixed them up with some I had learnt in Italy.

The day finally ended and I had made 15 extra dollars. I walked home and sat on my couch to think about what I was to do with the money and what I was to do with my life.

Day 9, April 20^th 1849



"homeless boys in the streets"



Today while I was going to work I saw a young boy sleeping in the street near my job. He had a piece of cardboard and wrote on it, “I am looking for my sister, I’m hungry, I have no money, and can you please help me?” It made me so sad so I went over to give him some money. When I went over I taped his head so that he can see the amount of money I was giving him. When he looked at me I froze. It seemed as if he was my brother but I wasn’t so sure. I didn’t say anything and left but then he screamed my name. I turned around and saw that he was standing. He ran and hugged me, like if we knew each other for a long time. He whispered in my ear, “It’s me; I’ve been waiting days in the streets for you…” I started to cry and so did he; he was my brother and I didn’t notice. I took him inside of the building to clean him up and give him food. After work I took him home and then we had a big talk. I asked him how he knew where I was and he told me, “I didn’t know, I just went there because I saw a lot of people come in and out so I thought that someone might be able to help me.” We continued to talk for hours and then I asked him if he wanted to go back to Italy and he wanted to. I agreed with him and so I will start to save money to go back to Italy, my home land.

Day 10, June 15^th, 1849

                                                                                               

     I’m so happy that I found my brother, we decided to go back to Italy. I don’t really like it here I think that it’s just not what I expected. My brother  was at an orphanage he complained a lot about the small amount of food and at the beginning he didn’t understand the other boys because he couldn’t yet speak English, he then decided to run away and go look for me, we both miss our mother and I’m sure she is very preocupied about us. I didn't even know my brother was here and the last time I saw him was about 2 years ago. I work 8 hours a day but it’s not enough I have to work more and now that I have my brother with me. I have to look that he gets enough food and has a bed! That’s why we had to share because I couldn’t afford a matress and the floor is way to hard. Finally it’s time I have enough money, I have to leave my friends at the bar and I’m sad, I just came back from the bar and im going to go pick up my brother and bags before. At least my brother is very happy and we’re almost ready to go. It’s a big relief for me because I have worked from 7 pm to 4am in the morning Monday to Saturday. I’m exhausted.

Day 11,June 9^th, 1850


"a steamboat in 1850s"



           Luca and I can finally come back to our hometown, Tuscany.   I have been working at the bar too long for my liking. It has been 8 months since I got to New York and I was starting to feel homesick.  I had been working overtime and doing Sunday jobs to get the necessary amount of money for the tickets, while keeping some money on the side to pay for food. Mr. Kepler let me keep the apartment for as long as I worked for him so I couldn’t stop working at the bar. I was used to the customers and even knew the names of the men who came often to the bar. But all this was coming to end. I would finally be on the boat that had brought me here and was now taking me back.

       As my brother and I waited in line, I noticed there were less people than on the line to go to America. It must be the American dream, I thought to myself.  People wanted to come to America but didn’t want to leave. My brother and me were coming back to Italy to continue our old life, before we went our separate ways after Mama died. We were coming back to start a new life. 

       As I got onto the boat, I remembered my trip to New York: the rocking of the boat, the sound of the waves crushing themselves on the metal hull of the ship. I had been scared of the sea but now I knew what was to happen so I wasn’t worried about the trip. I was more worried about what we would do once we got back in Florence. Would anybody remember us?  Did anyone sell the house? I hoped not. These thoughts were blown away as the steam horn blew and the boat departed the pier.

Day 12, September 12^th, 1856




"a view of Florence in the 1850s"

 

This day was one of the best in my life. I was in Italy. It felt so good going back to my country, my home. Nothing had changed, the streets looked the same, I could smell the traditional Italian cuisine and the cold cigarettes.  I could hear the sound of the river streaming in my ear. The newsagents were shouting to sell their newspaper. Just as I remembered Italy. The first thing I did when I got back to Florence was to go back to my parents’ house. It reminds me so much of them and of my childhood.  I had to start a new life now.

(6 years later)

I am now married with an Italian businessman. I met him six months after coming back to Florence, my husband speaks fluent English and Italian.  Sylvio had a very good education unlike me. He is older than me by two years. His hair is very dark so his blue eyes stand out. When I met him he was not fluent in English and he had a charming Italian accent. He works a lot so I have to take care of our three kids at home. I don’t dance as a job anymore but I still dance a lot as a hobby.  Having three kids is very stressful so when I dance I feel relieved.

My oldest children are twins, two boys of five. They just started school. The tallest one is called Massimiliano and he is not very good at paying attention at school. The other one, Giulio, loves learning but not the alphabet and the time… They both have their father’s eyes but they have my skin color. My boys are amazing: they remind me a lot of my brother. I also have a little girl; she’s very pretty and has a lot of ambition. She loves dancing and I hope this passion will stay in her heart until the end. She is only three but she is very talented. From now on I decided to forget the past and turn the page.

Baseball Player

Day 1: May 7th 1857

Illinois farm wagon

I was born on September 2, 1850, in Byron Illinois. I have two younger siblings, my brother James and my sister Harriet. Pa passed away when I was eight, which left my Ma and I to take care of the ranch and my two siblings. Our ranch is just a large block of land, with only a few horses to graze the infertile soil. Our ranch couldn’t sustain itself. Winter made the soil impossible to plow, and food became scarce for the four of us.  

Loading rye

We then moved to the neighboring town, Rockford, where we looked for a better life.  Ma worked at a sewing company and I was a busboy at a diner. I earned only a few cents per day, only enough to buy one or two loaves of bread and some penny candy for my siblings. James tried to help me in my busboy job, but he was too short to even reach the sink on the tip of his toes. My grades were dropping a lot at school; I couldn’t do my homework because I was trying so hard to support the family. On the other hand, Ma had sore fingers from sewing all day so that sometimes Harriet had to cook us some food. It was usually horrible, but she was getting better by the day. A lot of immigrants were coming from the world looking for jobs, and since my mom wasn’t the best sewer (she was better at horseback riding) so she was fired on the spot.

Loading wheat

School was daunting to me, so I tried to cut down my busboy hours. Although, Ma couldn’t find another job since they were all taken over by immigrants. From that stress, Ma got sick. That was the final straw, and I went back to my regular busboy hours. I tried hard in school though, so I improved a little and did my homework on Sundays. But this wasn’t going to work, and we didn’t have enough money, so it was then that my mother “gave up” on raising me. I was then passed from relative to relative, and ended up living with my aunt; it was then that I got separated from my siblings. Before, being on the ranch, I was always busy. There was never a time where I could do my homework in peace and quiet. I had to tend horses, help James and Harriet with their homework, plus, since Dad was gone, I didn’t have a second strong hand in the fields besides little James, who wasn’t old enough to use the plough.  I looked for something to keep me from loneliness. And there it was on a Sunday morning, while I was doing my homework.

Day 2: May 9th 1860

Illinois Bridge

Being with my aunt in Chicago without any siblings or horses to play with, I was lonely, so I started to play baseball. Baseball was a self-defense against loneliness for me. I played with the boys on the street on days where there weren’t too many cars passing. I got to spit, hit a ball and run. I ended up being really good at it, and I played it after school and on weekends. I guess I was pretty good at playing it, since I got a scholarship at a Rockford High School for it. That’s when I decided baseball was my safe haven.

I was first introduced to baseball on a Sunday morning, while I was doing my final math exercise for the day.  My teacher was very proud of me since I was getting better grades and I even got an A in English. Auntie was so proud of me, she got a picture frame and hung my test in my room. As I stared at my beaming test, I heard a kid scream: STRIKEEEEEE! 12 boys about my age were hitting balls with sticks and three by fours. I think they were newsies, they had their bags filled with newspapers piled up near the street light, they were running around triangles drawn with chalk on the ground. They seemed to have so much fun. The runners were hitting the balls and chewing on licorice and spitting while they waited to hit the ball. Auntie, on the other hand, would never let me spit or buy penny candy. She forced me to save my pocket money to buy gifts on holidays or birthdays for friends and family. I slammed my math book, threw my pencil and ran outside to join the boys. 

Aunt's house

At first, they kind of ignored me, they called me “shortie” and “big head”, but finally some kid let me play.  They handed me the three by four, it was pretty heavy so I kept on swaying from left to right trying to hold the club right.  Somehow while the ball was coming, I spun a twirl to get more strength and hit the ball so hard that it flew to the next block. All the boys’ jaws dropped and they stared at me with admiration. The other team started to run back and forth running after the ball while I ran from triangle to triangle-accumulating dust on my shirt and glided to the last triangle and my stomach. My shirt was tattered and dirty but all I remember was that, after the game, all the boys held me to the sky, and the passerby gave me good comments. Some even gave me money to buy penny candy! Auntie found out about my tattered shirt, and gave me a big talk about how, rambunctious baseball is, how only poor street boys played this game, and how gentlemen should only read books. That day, I didn’t even want to talk to her.

Thinking back of Rockford

The next day after school, I found the newsies again, and we played another game. We won against another team, and I still became the champion. At school, I taught some boys about baseball, and we played it after school with the newsies. Baseball became and addiction, if I didn’t play it after school, I’d go crazy from the lack of exercise. So I gave up trying hard in school and went to pursuit my dream.

Day 3: October 12th 1867

Aunt's house, home sweet home

I never told Auntie about my acquaintances and secret games, but it came to the point I had to tell her. I’m now in the 11^th grade and our school opened a baseball league thanks to me, and I was team leader. We came to the point where we were going to play in the regional championship. We were going to play in Boston, and they wanted our “legal guardians” to come with us. Auntie got the invitation letter that day, and got so mad at me. She hollered at me, saying that I lied and did things in secrecy. I tried my best to convince her, using strong words and big gestures. I told her that I was team captain and that if we won the whole game, then I maybe would get a scholarship. Auntie’s frown loosened, and she said she’d think about it. Auntie came to Boston, cheered for my team even if she didn’t want to, and for some reason, that cheering helped me, since my team won regionals. On the Boston Globe newspaper, the headline read: “Al the conqueror of Fenway Park!” The article contained every single detail of the game, such as, how I pivoted my foot, how I seat like crazy and etc… On the street, near the inn I was staying in, people asked for my autograph and stuff.  Everyone started calling me ‘Al the conqueror’ and other nicknames like that. It was then that I started gaining fame for playing baseball.  

Illinois railroad

Our team was upgraded to nationals, but we didn’t play well, we were a hundred years away from being good as the Brooklyn knights. They hit the ball like there was no tomorrow. I swear, when they got hold of the bat, the ball flew out of the stadium. My team lost deplorably, everybody kind of gave up. My team didn’t only lose because we were bad; it was also a mix of discouragement and fear that made my team give up so easily. I was the only one who didn’t get discouraged as much, so we got around 2 homeruns at the least. We came back home, dragging our bats and mitts, shocked at our defeat. Auntie made me my favorite rhubarb pie, but I refused to eat, the shock was overwhelming. I proceeded to do my homework, and I started to cry. I’ve never cried ever since I was separated from my mom. This was the first time in years, and it felt strange. Tears fell and stained my book, like the drops of rain falling from the sky dropping on the paved highway of route 47. It reminded me of my mom. I cried more, missing my mother. For so long, I tried to forget about her, but now my memories came back.

High School team from 19th century

It was a Thursday afternoon, after school while I was walking down the sidewalk to come home, when it happened. Auntie was crying, but not in sadness. She was laughing and crying while looking at 2 letters. There was a smile on her face. I barged into the house and she cradled me into her arms. She showed me one of the letters, which said:

Dear Mr. Albert Spalding,

The committee is pleased to inform you that you are accepted to the university of Rockford for a full scholarship. Please come by in two days, for you to receive your forms.

Sincerely,

The University of Rockford

The other said:

Dear Mr. Spalding, 

We would like you to be part of our team, the Boston Red Stockings. Considering your batting average as well as your many homeruns, we believe that you will be a formidable player. We will come to Rockford in 2 weeks’ time. By then you could prepare yourself to join our team. You’ll also make around 2000 dollars per day.

Best Regards,

The Boston Red Stockings

I jumped and screamed in joy!!!!! A scholarship and to be part of a team!!! An double that, I got an amazing pay, I’ll be rich and maybe support Ma and my siblings that are still living in Rockford! I took the letters to my room and reread them until midnight. I thought, ‘tomorrow will be a new day’. I’ll finally be able to pursue my dream.

Day 4: May 5th 1871

Today is the big day that I have been waiting for my entire life. In a few minutes, I will be making my baseball debut with the Boston Red Stockings. Harry Wright helped me sign with this new team in 1871 and I was able to get a salary of $2 000 which was a lot of money for a rookie player since the best players never had a salary of over $2 500. A famous businessman named Ivers Whitney Adams established the team in that same year. I am so excited to make my debut with this new baseball team and am eager to become great.

Albert Spalding in Red Stockings uniform

The second I stepped on the baseball diamond, my heart stopped beating. I saw the few hundred fans roaring with excitement and applauding every player that stepped on the grass. My first game was a game to remember: I pitched eight extraordinary innings and only gave up one run. My teammates, most of them still amateurs and very young, helped me win the game against one of the best teams in the new league and we were off to a good start for the season.

         During my four years with the Boston Red Stockings, I was recognized as the best pitcher in the National Association. I was the first professional pitcher to win 200 games and finished with a 207-56 record. But even though I was a pitcher, I was also a great hitter. I finished the 1875 season having the fifth most hits since 1871. That was a great accomplishment for me and I was very proud of what I had done during the first few seasons of my great career. But sadly I was forced to leave Boston and play for the Chicago White Stockings.

Baseball Stadium in New York

Day 5: November 24th 1876

Albert Spalding

            My first five seasons were a great success. I had so much fun playing great baseball with great teammates. Our team, the Boston Red Stockings, was one of the best teams in the National Association. But sadly, the owner of the Chicago White Stockings wasn’t happy with losing the National Association. He asked me to help him with organizing a new league and later was able to convince me to join his team by offering me $4 000, twice the amount that I had with the Red Stockings and letting me become the captain and manager of the team. It was a sad moment for me since I considered my old team as my family and didn’t want to leave my beloved team.

Al Spalding and Walter Badger

            The saddest thing about me leaving Boston was that the new deal that was getting done was done in secrecy since I was a big free agent and Chicago didn’t want my current team and fans to know that I was leaving them. When the fans learned about my trade, they were furious! The newspaper was talking about it 24/7 and put a lot of pressure on me and made the trade even harder for me since I was so attached to my team. Along with me, there were other new faces on the team that made the team great: Ross Barnes was also a great player at the time and in his first season in Chicago he led the N.L.’s inaugural season with a .429 batting average. My new team was also the first team to win the first ever N.L. pennant, which at that time was recognized as the top prize. During that season, I won 47, games putting my team ahead in the standings by a wide margin.

Day 6: August 14th 1877

Baseball hats from 19th century

             Before I retired from playing baseball, I founded with my brother James Walter Spalding, one of the world’s most famous sporting goods companies, Spalding Company. Since I lived in Chicago, Illinois, I started the company there. I started this company in 1876. The headquarters of my company was based in Springfield, Massachusetts. My company specialized in baseballs since I am a pitcher for the Chicago White Stockings and the Boston Red Stockings. This baseball became the main baseball used in my team. We were famous for making baseballs. Over the years we started to develop things other than baseballs, including softballs, volleyballs, soccer balls, and American footballs and also equipment for skiing and golfing.  The company became more and more famous throughout the country. I was even planning to sell arms such as authentic rifles because before this the Small Arms Company was planning to sell these arms. We thought that if we sold arms we might even get more famous. If we sold bikes we might have been more famous. The company might have been the next step to fame. We still didn’t have a slogan for the company. I was trying to write different slogans that might work and I figured it out. “QUALITY FIRST!” it was perfect. It was really catchy and made people believe that our company had the best quality sporting goods. And it worked it was a legendary store that made a lot of new equipment that made people want to shop there for sport equipment.

Baseball glove used in 19th century

Day 7: August 30th 1878

As my company became bigger and bigger, my interest in Baseball kept on dropping. Even though I was still in my prime, I felt that I had done enough with my playing career to be able to retire. I had become very famous, mostly because I had helped William Hulbert organize the National League; we first enlisted the four major teams of the East and the other top teams of the West. Chicago was part of the West so there were eight teams total that were to join the league. Joining Chicago from the West were Cincinnati, Louisville and Indianapolis. The owners of those four western teams, and accompanied be William and I, met secretly with New York, Philadelphia, Hartford and Boston, who were the four teams that were going to join from the East, in New York. All the owners signed the league’s new constitution and the National League was officially created in 1876.

Spalding's First Baseball Guide

My love for baseball was fading away. As my store became more famous by the day, I had decided to leave the game in 1878. My last game was my only game of that season. All the fans knew about me retiring so the crowd was bigger than ever. The people were very supportive and they understood my decision. Only Mr. Hulbert, the owner of my team, wasn’t happy with my decision, since the fans loved to watch me play and that helped Mr. Hulbert financially. After the game was done, the fans applauded for 10 minutes and my eyes became teary. I remembered my career and the success I had. I bowed to the fans and left the stadium crying. I finished my career with a 253-65 record.

Chicago White Stockings

A few years later, in 1882, William Hulbert died. I decided to take the job of being the owner and president of the Chicago White Stockings. I enjoyed the job and it didn’t take a lot of time off the time I needed to organize my stores. I also enjoyed watching the team. I stepped down from the job, again to focus more on the sporting goods business, in 1891 with my team never finishing under .500 and finishing first five times. 

  

                                                                                                                                                                     Day 8: May 16th 1888 to October 21th 1889

 

Player from Red Stockings

           From 1888 to 1889, I had an overseas trip with my team, The Major League. My team could have been considered as “stars” gong on an “international tour”. We went in the eastern hemisphere and parts of America including California, Nevada, and many more. We went to paly games but also to advertise my company. The major league and I were very exited. We went to Hawaii. When we got there, we mainly just went for tourism and advertising. We also went as far as Australia and New Zealand. We also went to Ceylon, which is off the coast of India. We also went to Egypt. Then we went to Europe we went to France, Italy, and England. We stayed in Europe for a while and enjoyed the local cultures. This “tour” was tiring and difficult (in the good way) but also fun and interesting. I got a lot of fame because of my company and also the games that my team played. The tour then returned the New York, Philadelphia, and my hometown Chicago. We were glad to come back home but we also missed the amazing landscapes and new forms of playing the newly invented games of baseball. There were new rules in baseball that the eventually to a revolute. One problem of this trip was that somehow I lost my baseball skills, which led to fewer victories but I will not forget my victorious years of my past.

Day 9: October 2nd 1894

Player from White Stockings

I was a Pitcher for many different teams with very good or great batting average of .313 (for a pitcher that average is really good). I played in many different teams. First I started in 1865 to play with the Rockford Pioneers which we won two games on twenty six and I got $40. Then I went to a different team called the Forrest cities that I played for two years. I simply joined this team because of the contract that I agreed to be paid per week.

Huge Crowd at a Baseball game

My first professional team was the Chicago Excelsiors that I started in 1867. I then joined the National Association of Professional Baseball Players in 1871. After this fun year I joined the Boston Red Stockings. On this team I won two hundred and six games and only lost fifty-three. When the owner of the Chicago White Stockings had enough of always losing he asked me to join his team as the pitcher. I then joined a lot of the regional teams that accepted me. This made my career a real hit. After these new teams I joined the national league. I then became the manager of the Chicago White Stockings, also known as the Chicago Cubs, for one year from 1876 to 1877. Being the manager I had to get the colors of the outfits perfect to make our team recognizable and unique. I also had to be to great coach to encourage my team to play harder.

Day 10: September 22nd 1901

I didn’t really know my uncle, Albert Spalding. There was one funny coincidence; we had exactly the same name. During my childhood I only met him once. I was ten and he was just about to enter College when I went to his house in Connecticut. In his big yard he showed me his running skills and baseball skills, but sports wasn’t really my thing. My real passion was to play the violin.

After a long tour in Europe with the Dresden Philharmonic, I took a small break. I decided to go to New York for one week to visit Albert during his fantastic baseball season. I only discovered that Albert was an amazing baseball player and that he was in the finals of his league in the newspapers. I was shocked to learn that Albert was a baseball superstar. I immediately sent one letter to Albert telling him that I’m coming to visit him for one week to see how he’s doing and to see his amazing baseball skills.

When I first arrived to New York from Paris, I was impressed; the people were so nice and welcoming at the airport. I first took a taxi to my hotel. The taxis at that time were very bad. They mad a lot of noise and had a terrible smell when you passed by one. When I arrived at my hotel, the man at the reception asked for my name: I told him “Albert Spalding”. He suddenly replied, “Are you related to the great baseball player Albert Spalding?” “Yes, I am his nephew and I’m coming to visit him. He also gave me free tickets.” I said. The man asked, “Albert Spalding is my favorite baseball player ever. I sometimes even consider him my idol for life. Do you think you can get me a few autographs of your famous uncle?” I replied, “Sure, but I can’t guarantee it. But nevertheless I’ll do my best!” After I went into my room, I took a shower and headed for the baseball stadium at 10am.

Albert Spalding

At first, I couldn’t recognize him, but then I did. His face was so different since the last time I saw him, which was twenty years ago or more. We hugged each other and went into the doghouse and talked to each other for a while.

He told me he had a very happy life; that he was a worldwide baseball superstar, which was his lifetime dream. He also said that this was an exceptional season because his team were breaking records and were on top of the baseball charts. I told him that my life was happy too. I was a violinist, which also was my lifetime dream. I told him that I tour with groups of musicians around the world. I also told him I was engaged with this beautiful lady named Mary Vanderhoef Pyle and that we were to get married in July of 1882. He reached in his pocket to give the famous doghouse ticket for his championship match. Doghouse tickets meant that you could sit on top of where the baseball players rest when they are not on the baseball field. At the time you were a very lucky person if you had doghouse tickets to a baseball game. Not only I have a doghouse ticket but for the championship match, the last match of the season, the one that everybody wants to see.  I looked at him with surprise. I asked him if he was sure that he wanted to give the famous doghouse ticket to me. He said I bought it, it’s mine, I do whatever I want with it and I want to give it to my special nephew Albert. I immediately gave him a hug and thanked him. I said, “I want to see you win tonight”. I was so happy and excited for the championship match. From then on, I always was grateful to him.

The championship match was incredible. It featured Albert’s team the Red Stokings versus the White Stockings.  It was a high-scoring affair and went on overtime. It was eleven apiece when suddenly, Albert, out of nowhere hits a winning homerun for the championship. The crowd, which was the biggest crowd ever in a baseball stadium, went wild when Albert hit the homerun for the win. When Albert lifted the championship winner trophy, I felt some kind of pride in my uncle.

At the end of the match, my uncle and I talked for about an hour nonstop like it was the last time we would see each other. I thanked him especially for the doghouse ticket and for everything else and how he treated me during my stay. We wandered if we would ever see each other ever again.

I stayed for the rest of the week and visited New York, the city that never sleeps. Everyday single day I was thinking about my uncle, how good of an uncle he was and the pride that my uncle was a worldwide baseball superstar. When I left New York, I tried to follow baseball, Albert and his team everyday in the newspapers, but European newspapers weren’t interested in baseball, they were interested in soccer and rugby.

Day 11: May 16th 1939

When I retired from my baseball career, I had some regrets about some decisions I made in my career, but overall I was happy with my career. I heard some rumors that I would be elected in the Baseball Hall of Fame. A few years passed and I started to forget about getting selected in the Baseball Hall Fame.

I was watching TV when the mail person knocked on my door. I knew the mail person pretty well because it was always him that delivered my mail for the past three years and when I’m not in town he knows what to do with the mail. That day, he gave me a bigger pile of mail then usual. I also asked if we could have coffee together on Monday afternoon. He accepted my invitation and left. I started to look through the pile of mail; most of the letters were payments that I still haven’t paid, I was already late by two months. I was still at the top of the pile of mail when something caught my attention. There was this beautiful golden letter at the bottom of the pile. The letter looked as it was waiting for me to open it. Due to my lateness on my payments, I went back to looking through all of my payments and started to pay them.

Albert Spalding

An hour later, when I was done looking through the mail and paid all my payments, the golden letter sat by itself on the table waiting for me to open it. As I got closer to the letter, I realized that the stamp on the letter was a picture of me batting against the Cleveland Red Stockings, in the epic ninth inning in 1880, I scored in the last inning of the game, and the score finally was 9-8. At that time I was with the White Stockings. I was surprised but felt some kind of pride that people recognized me as a good baseball player. I opened the letter in a very excited way. It was a long written letter. I sat on my couch and read the letter for about five minutes. I then realized that I was elected to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame. At that moment I felt even more pride then the last minute and was very happy. Not only, would I be recognized as a worldwide baseball superstar but a baseball legend, people will recognize me as one the best baseball players ever, even a hundred years from now. It was the only thing I wished of since I retired from baseball. The letter said it that the ceremony would be held in three weeks in Cooperstown, New York which was a small town not far from New York where I lived.

During these three weeks, everyday I did some fitness to get fit because during my retirement years I spent most of my time in front of TV or at home. I went to buy brand new pair of clothes for the ceremony. Like this was last wish I asked, I wanted to make my ceremony a special one, a one that everybody remembers. I didn’t want to make myself a foul during the ceremony.

The three weeks passed and the day of the ceremony finally came. The past nights for me were very hard. I hardly slept because the whole night I was dreaming about the ceremony, how things could go really well and how things could go in the worse possible matter. Especially the night before the ceremony I barely slept, I was so nervous just like I was during my baseball career when it was my turn to go on the baseball field and bat when so many people expected so much from me.

At ten in the morning, a specialized car for the baseball players entering the Baseball Hall Fame with ribbons covering the car like a Christmas present arrived in front of my house. At ten thirty I arrived at the Baseball Hall of Fame. The crowd was huge. They were more people in the crowd then the crowd when you’re in a baseball stadium. I was brought up and I gave a speech. I said what I felt, how happy I was and how this is the best reward for my baseball career. After my speech, the Baseball Hall of Fame offered an autograph session where everybody from adults to babies could get my autograph. Soon after, they presented a big plate on a wall with my name; my information, my records and the same picture which on the stamp of that famous golden letter. They then gave me in a huge package the same big plat for me. I thanked the manager for the ceremony and told him how the special the ceremony was for me and how much it meant for me. That day I went as the happiest man on earth.

Day 12: November 26th 2009

Albert Spalding is one of the most recognized baseball legends in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was by far the most popular baseball player in the 19^th century.

Spalding's autograph

For baseball players, he is considered as history. Current baseball superstars think of Albert Spalding as one of the people that created baseball and its rules. He’s the one that brought baseball to where it is now, a national pastime. Without him maybe baseball wouldn’t be an international sport but one, where the sport is only known in one small village. Albert Spalding could be considered as the one that created baseball because from then he retired form baseball is a national sport.

At Albert Spalding’s time, he was the biggest baseball superstar. He was as popular as Alex Rodriguez now. He dominated baseball at the time. He was on top of the charts and broke a lot of records. The little kids were crazy about. Every single wanted to be like Albert Spalding. The kids admired how Albert Spalding batted, pitched, in general everything in baseball. Albert Spalding was one of the biggest names in history in the 18^th century.

During baseball games, some people fought in the stands of the baseball stadium to get a seat and to see the legendary Albert Spalding. For the baseball fans he was by those people came to watch during a baseball match.

After his retirement, Albert Spalding created the Spalding Company. It was an enormous success. It became a company that national leagues used for the ball supplies. That success was also due to his popularity and his old fans that supported him when he was playing and was a superstar.