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.