View source for Albert Spalding

{{Short description|American pitcher, manager, and business executive (1850–1915)}}
{{other people}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
| name       = Albert Goodwill Spalding
| alt        = AG Spalding
| image      = AGSpalding.jpg
| caption    = Spalding in 1910
| position   = [[Pitcher]]
| bats       = Right
| throws     = Right
| birth_date = September 2, 1850|birth_place=[[Byron, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|mf=yes|1915|9|9|1850|9|2}}|death_place=[[San Diego]], California, U.S.
| debutleague = MLB
| debutdate  = May 5
| debutyear  = 1871
| debutteam  = Boston Red Stockings
| finalleague = MLB
| finaldate  = August 31
| finalyear  = 1878
| finalteam  = Chicago White Stockings
| statleague = MLB
| stat1label = [[Win–loss record (pitching)|Win–loss record]]
| stat1value = 252–65
| stat2label = [[Earned run average]]
| stat2value = 2.14
| stat3label = [[Strikeout]]s
| stat3value = 248
| stat4label = [[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
| stat4value = .313
| stat5label = [[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
| stat5value = 613
| stat6label = [[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
| stat6value = 338
| teams      = 
;&nbsp; National Association of Base Ball Players
: [[Rockford Forest Citys]] ({{baseball year|1866}}–{{baseball year|1870}})
;&nbsp; League Player
: [[Boston Braves (baseball)|Boston Red Stockings]] ({{baseball year|1871}}–{{baseball year|1875}})
: [[Chicago White Stockings (1870–89)|Chicago White Stockings]] ({{baseball year|1876}}–{{baseball year|1878}})
;&nbsp; League Manager
: [[Chicago White Stockings (1870–89)|Chicago White Stockings]] ({{baseball year|1876}}–{{baseball year|1877}})
| highlights = 
* 4× [[National Association of Professional Baseball Players|NA pennant]] (1872–1875)
* [[National League pennant winners 1876–1900|NL pennant]] (1876)
* 6× [[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders|Wins leader]] (1871–1876)
* [[Chicago Cubs#Cubs Hall of Fame|Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame]]
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
| hofdate   = [[1939 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1939]]
| hofmethod = Old-Timers Committee
}}
[[File:1871 Albert Spalding Baseball-card-Boston Red Stockings.jpg|thumb|Albert Spalding on a [[1871 in baseball|1871]] Boston Red Stockings baseball card.]]

'''Albert Goodwill Spalding''' (September 2, 1850 – September 9, 1915) was an American [[pitcher]], [[manager (baseball)|manager]], and executive in the early years of professional [[baseball]], and the co-founder of the [[Spalding (company)|Spalding]] sporting goods company. He was born and raised in [[Byron, Illinois]], yet graduated from [[Rockford Central High School]] in [[Rockford, Illinois]]. He played major league baseball between 1871 and 1878. Spalding set a trend when he started wearing a [[baseball glove]].

After his retirement as a player, Spalding remained active with the [[Chicago White Stockings (1870–89)|Chicago White Stockings]] as president and part-owner. In the 1880s, he took players on the first world tour of baseball. With [[William Hulbert]], Spalding organized the [[National League (baseball)|National League]]. He later called for the commission that investigated the origins of baseball and falsely credited [[Abner Doubleday]] with creating the game.

He was inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] in 1939.<ref name="fame">{{cite web|url=http://baseballhall.org/hof/spalding-al|title=Spalding, Al|work=National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|access-date=19 November 2013}}</ref>

==Baseball career==

===Player===
Having played baseball throughout his youth, Spalding first played competitively with the [[Rockford, Illinois|Rockford]] Pioneers, a youth team, which he joined in 1865. After pitching his team to a 26–2 victory over a local men's amateur team (the Mercantiles), he was approached at the age of 15 by the [[Rockford Forest Citys]], for whom he played for five years. Following the formation of baseball's first professional organization, the [[National Association of Professional Base Ball Players]] (which became known as the National Association, the Association, or NA) in 1871, Spalding joined the [[History of the Boston Braves#Boston years|Boston Red Stockings]] (precursor club to the modern [[Atlanta Braves]]) and was highly successful; [[win (baseball)|winning]] 206 games (and losing only 53) as a pitcher and [[batting average (baseball)|batting]] .323 as a hitter.

[[William Hulbert]], principal owner of the [[Chicago White Stockings (1870–89)|Chicago White Stockings]], did not like the loose organization of the National Association and the gambling element that influenced it, so he decided to create a new organization, which he dubbed the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] of Baseball Clubs. To aid him in this venture, Hulbert enlisted the help of Spalding. Playing to the pitcher's desire to return to his Midwestern roots and challenging Spalding's integrity, Hulbert convinced Spalding to sign a contract to play for the White Stockings (now known as the [[Chicago Cubs]]) in 1876. Spalding then coaxed teammates [[Deacon White]], [[Ross Barnes]] and [[Cal McVey]], as well as [[Philadelphia Athletics (1860–1876)|Philadelphia Athletics]] players [[Cap Anson]] and [[Bob Addy]], to sign with Chicago. This was all done under complete secrecy during the playing season because players were all free agents in those days and they did not want their current club and especially the fans to know they were leaving to play elsewhere the next year. News of the signings by the Boston and Philadelphia players leaked to the press before the season ended and all of them faced verbal abuse and physical threats from the fans of those cities.

He was "the premier pitcher of the 1870s", leading the league in victories for each of his six full seasons as a professional.<ref name = "fame" /> During each of those years he was his team's only pitcher.<ref name="PBS">{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/spalding_hi.html|title=Albert G. Spalding|work=Who Made America?|publisher=PBS|access-date=19 November 2013}}</ref> In 1876, Spalding won 47 games as the prime pitcher for the White Stockings and led them to win the first-ever National League [[Pennant (sports)#Pennants as trophies|pennant]] by a wide margin.<ref name = "fame" />

In 1877, Spalding began to use a glove to protect his catching hand. People had used gloves previously, but they were not popular, and Spalding himself was skeptical of wearing one at first. However, once he began donning gloves, he influenced other players to do so.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YOcPDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA79|title=Old Time Baseball: America's Pastime in the Gilded Age|last=Frommer|first=Harvey|publisher=[[Rowman and Littlefield]]|year=2016|isbn=9781630760076|location=[[Guilford, Connecticut]]|pages=79–80}}</ref>

Spalding retired from playing baseball in 1878 at the age of 27, although he continued as president and part owner of the White Stockings and a major influence on the National League. Spalding's .796 career winning percentage (from an era when teams played about once or twice a week) is the highest ever by a baseball pitcher, .058 ahead of [[Negro league baseball|Negro league]] star [[Dave Brown (baseball)|Dave Brown]]'s .738.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/jaws_P.shtml Major league pitcher statistics at Baseball Reference]</ref> Spalding was the first pitcher to reach 200 wins.{{fact|date=November 2024}}

===Organizer and executive===
In the months after signing for Chicago, Hulbert and Spalding organized the National League by enlisting the two major teams in the East and the four other top teams in what was then considered to be the West, also known as the jungle. Joining Chicago initially were the leading teams from [[Cincinnati]], [[Louisville, Kentucky|Louisville]], and [[St. Louis]]. The owners of these western clubs accompanied Hulbert and Spalding to New York where they secretly met with owners from New York City, [[Philadelphia]], [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], and [[Boston]]. Each signed the league's constitution, and the National League was officially born. "Spalding was thus involved in the transformation of baseball from a game of gentlemen athletes into a business and a professional sport."<ref name="Starr">{{cite journal|last=Starr|first=Raymond|date=Winter 1986|title=Book review: A. G. Spalding and the Rise of Baseball|journal=Journal of San Diego History|volume=32|issue=1|url=http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/86winter/spalding.htm}}</ref> Although the National Association held on for a few more seasons, it was no longer recognized as the premier organization for professional baseball. Gradually, it faded out of existence and was replaced by myriad minor leagues and associations around the country.

In 1886, with Spalding as president of the franchise, the Chicago White Stockings (today's [[Chicago Cubs]]), began holding [[spring training]] in [[Hot Springs, Arkansas]],<ref>{{cite web |title=arlington hotel, oaklawn, gangster museum, hot springs baseball trail, historical landmarks |url=http://www.hotsprings.org/pages/history-buffs/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216151214/http://www.hotsprings.org/pages/history-buffs/ |archive-date=2018-02-16 |access-date= |website=Hot Springs, Arkansas}}</ref><ref name="encyclopediaofarkansas.net">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=6221|title=Major League Spring Training in Hot Springs |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}</ref> which subsequently has been called the "birthplace" of spring training baseball. The location and the training concept was the brainchild of Spalding and his player/manager [[Cap Anson]], who saw that the city and the natural springs created positives for their players. They first played in an area called the '''Hot Springs Baseball Grounds'''. Many other teams followed the concept and began training in Hot Springs and other locations.<ref name="encyclopediaofarkansas.net" />

In 1905, after [[Henry Chadwick (writer)|Henry Chadwick]] wrote an article saying that baseball grew from the British sports of [[cricket]] and [[rounders]], Spalding called for a [[Abraham G. Mills#The Mills Commission|commission]] to find out the real source of baseball. The commission called for citizens who knew anything about the founding of baseball to send in letters. After three years of searching, on December 30, 1907, Spalding received a letter that (erroneously) declared baseball to be the invention of [[Abner Doubleday]]. The commission was biased, as Spalding would not appoint anyone to the commission if they believed the sport was somewhat related to rounders or cricket. Just before the commission issued its findings, in a letter to sportswriter [[Tim Murnane]], Spalding noted, "Our good old American game of baseball must have an American Dad." The project, later called the Mills Commission, concluded that "Base Ball had its origins in the United States" and "the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence available to date, was devised by Abner Doubleday at [[Cooperstown, New York|Cooperstown, N.Y.]], in 1839."

Receiving the archives of Henry Chadwick in 1908, Spalding combined these records with his own memories (and biases) to write ''[[America's National Game]]'' (published 1911) which, despite its flaws, was probably the first scholarly account of the [[history of baseball]].<ref name="PBS" />

In 1912, Spalding wrote "Neither our wives, our sisters, our daughters, our sweethearts, may play Base Ball on the field... they may play Basket Ball, and achieve laurels; they may play Golf, and receive trophies, but Base Ball is too strenuous for womankind, except as she may take part in grandstands, with applause for the brilliant play, with waiving kerchief to the hero of the three-bagger."<ref name="auto">Playing America's Game, by Adrian Burgos Jr.</ref>

===Businessman===
In 1876 while Spalding was playing and organizing the league, Spalding and his brother Walter began a sporting goods store in Chicago, which grew rapidly (14 stores by 1901) and expanded into a manufacturer and distributor of all kinds of sporting equipment. [[Spalding (company)|The company]] became "synonymous with sporting goods"<ref name = "Starr" /> and is still a going concern.

===Spalding Athletic Library===

[[Spalding (company)|Spalding]], from 1892<ref>Library of Congress. [http://www.memory.loc.gov/service/gdc/scd0001/2013/20130904007ho/20130904007ho.pdf//] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727040739/http://www.memory.loc.gov/service/gdc/scd0001/2013/20130904007ho/20130904007ho.pdf |date=2022-07-27 }} Retrieved Oct. 23, 2020</ref> to 1941,<ref>{{Cite news |date=1942-05-22 |title=Doyle, Sports Guides Publisher, Dies in N.Y. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-and-sun-bulletin-doyle-sports-gui/156951786/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |work=Press and Sun-Bulletin |pages=26 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> sold books under the name [[Spalding Athletic Library]] on many different sports.

===World Tour===
{{main|Spalding World Tour}}
In 1888–1889, Spalding took a group of major league players around the world to promote baseball and [[Spalding (company)|Spalding sporting goods]]. This was the first-ever [[Spalding World Tour|world baseball tour]].<ref name="fame" /> Playing across the western U.S., the tour made stops in Hawaii (although no game was played), New Zealand, Australia, [[Ceylon]], Egypt, Italy, France, and England. The tour returned to grand receptions in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The tour included future [[National Baseball Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]]rs Cap Anson and [[John Montgomery Ward]].

The tour was also touted by Spalding as a launching point for baseball to reach the global stage. At a celebratory dinner in Manhattan, he celebrated the tour – perhaps prematurely – for establishing “our national game throughout the world.” Following Spalding's statements, [[Mark Twain]] proclaimed that the tour “carried the American name to the outermost parts of the earth, and covered it with glory every time.”

While Spalding and company gushed about their schlep around the world, waxing lyrical about baseball's future as a global sport, in reality, the tour had very little impact on the sport's hold overseas. Sports like [[soccer]], [[Rugby union|rugby]], and [[cricket]] had already been established in many other countries due to the presence of European imperialism so baseball had a difficult time gaining popularity in these regions. While baseball did reach a wider global audience, it was due to a larger scale diffusion of the sport rather than the efforts of one magnate, like Spalding envisioned.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ruck |first1=Rob |title=The Oxford Handbook of Sports History |last2=Edelman |first2=Robert |last3=Wilson |first3=Wayne |date=2020 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780197520956 |location=New York, NY |pages=197–198 |access-date=}}</ref>

While the players were on the tour, the National League instituted new rules regarding player pay that led to a revolt of players, led by Ward, who started the [[Players' League]] the following season (1890). The league lasted one year, partially due to the anti-competitive tactics of Spalding to limit its success. The tour and formation of the Player's League is depicted in the 2015 movie ''Deadball''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4531902/|title=Deadball|date=15 March 2015|publisher=Internet Movie Database}}</ref>

===1900 Olympics===
In 1900 Spalding was appointed by [[William McKinley|President McKinley]] as the USA's Commissioner at that year's [[1900 Olympic Games|Summer Olympic Games]].<ref name = "PBS" />

==Other activities==
Spalding had been a prominent member of the Theosophical Society under [[William Quan Judge]]. In 1900, Spalding moved to [[San Diego]] having recently married his second wife, Elizabeth<ref name="Starr" /> and became a prominent member and supporter of the [[Theosophy (Boehmian)|Theosophical]] community [[Lomaland]], which was being developed on [[Point Loma, California|Point Loma]] by [[Katherine Tingley]]. He built an estate in the [[Sunset Cliffs, San Diego|Sunset Cliffs]] area of Point Loma where he lived with Elizabeth for the rest of his life. The Spaldings raised race horses and collected Chinese fine furniture and art.

The Spaldings had an extensive library which included many volumes on Theosophy, art, and literature. In 1907–1909 he was the driving force behind the development of a paved road, known as the "Point Loma boulevard," from downtown San Diego to Point Loma and [[Ocean Beach, San Diego|Ocean Beach]]; the road also provided good access to Lomaland. It later provided the basis for [[California State Route 209]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Street Work Pay is Puzzle |work=The San Diego Union and Daily Bee |date=April 23, 1909 |author=Staff |page=8}}</ref> He proposed the project, supervised it on behalf of the city, and paid a portion of the cost out of his own pocket. He joined with [[George Marston (California politician)|George Marston]] and other civic-minded businessmen to purchase the site of the original [[Presidio of San Diego]], which they developed as a historic park and eventually donated to the city of San Diego.<ref name="Marston">{{cite journal|last=Epstein |first=Michael J.|date=Summer–Fall 2004|title=George White Marston: Baseball Player|journal=Journal of San Diego History|volume=50|issue=3–4|page=93 |url=http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/v50-3/baseball.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/v50-3/baseball.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live}}</ref> He ran unsuccessfully for the [[United States Senate]] in [[1911 United States Senate election in California|1911]] as a Republican, but lost to eventual winner [[John D. Works]] by a vote of 92–21 in the California legislature.<ref name="Marston" /> He helped to organize the 1915 [[Panama–California Exposition]], serving as second vice-president.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiegohistory.org/pancal/sdexpo30.htm|title=Panama-California Exposition, San Diego, 1915–1916|work=San Diego History Center|access-date=19 November 2013|archive-date=3 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160403135711/https://www.sandiegohistory.org/pancal/sdexpo30.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Managerial record==
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Games!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-! style="background:#fdd;"
![[1876 Chicago White Stockings season|CHI]]||[[1876 MLB season|1876]]
||66||52||14||{{Winning percentage|52|14}}|| '''1st in NL''' ||&nbsp;||&nbsp;||&nbsp;||&nbsp;
|-
![[1877 Chicago White Stockings season|CHI]]||[[1877 MLB season|1877]]
||59||26||33||{{Winning percentage|26|33}}|| 5th in NL ||&nbsp;||&nbsp;||&nbsp;||&nbsp;
|-
! colspan="2"|Total||125||76||47||{{Winning percentage|76|47}}|| || || || || 
|-
|}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/spaldal01.shtml|title=Al Spalding Managerial Record|publisher=Baseball Reference.com|access-date=July 27, 2025}}</ref>

==Death==
He died of a stroke on September 9, 1915, in San Diego, one week after his 66th birthday.<ref>{{cite web |last=McMahon |first=Bill |title=Al Spalding |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Al-Spalding/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |website=Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref> [[Scattering of ashes|His ashes were scattered]] at his request.<ref name="retrospalding">{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/S/Pspala101.htm|title=Al Spalding's career statistics|work=retrosheet.org|publisher=Retrosheet, Inc|access-date=25 November 2009}}</ref><ref name="referspalding">{{cite web |title=Al Spalding's career statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spaldal01.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105004125/http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spaldal01.shtml |archive-date=5 January 2010 |access-date=2024-10-11 |work=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>

==Legacy==
He was elected to the [[Baseball Hall of Fame]] by the [[Veterans Committee]] in [[1939 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1939]], as one of the first inductees from the 19th century at that summer's opening ceremonies. His plaque in the Hall of Fame reads "Albert Goodwill Spalding. Organizational genius of baseball's pioneer days. Star pitcher of Forest City Club in late 1860s, 4-year champion Bostons 1871–75 and manager-pitcher of champion Chicagos in National League's first year. Chicago president for 10 years. Organizer of baseball's first round-the-world tour in 1888."<ref name="fame"/>

His nephew, also named [[Albert Spalding (violinist)|Albert Spalding]], was a renowned [[violin]]ist.

{{Commons category|Albert Spalding}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Baseball}}
*[[List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders]]
*[[List of Major League Baseball player-managers]]
*[[Major League Baseball titles leaders]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book
  | last =Lamster
  | first =Mark
  | title =Spalding's World Tour
  | publisher =Public Affairs
  | year =2006
  | location =New York
  | isbn = 1-58648-311-0 }}
*{{cite book
  | last =Levine
  | first =Peter
  | title =A.G. Spalding and the Rise of Baseball
  | publisher =Oxford University Press
  | year =1985
  | location =New York
  | isbn =0-19-503552-6
  | url-access =registration
  | url =https://archive.org/details/agspaldingriseof0000levi
  }}
*Bales, Jack (2019). [https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/Before-They-Were-the-Cubs/ ''Before They Were the Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Baseball Team''.]  Jefferson, NC: McFarland.

==External links==
* {{Baseballhof|spalding-al}}
* {{Baseballstats | br=s/spaldal01 }}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Albert Goodwill Spalding |sopt=t}}
* [http://www.spalding.com Official webpage of Spalding's company]

{{S-start}}
{{Succession box
| before=[[William Hulbert]]
| title=Owner of the [[Chicago Cubs]]
| years=1882 &mdash; 1902
| after=[[Jim Hart (manager)|Jim Hart]]}}
{{S-end}}
{{1872 Boston Red Stockings}}
{{1873 Boston Red Stockings}}
{{1874 Boston Red Stockings}}
{{1875 Boston Red Stockings}}
{{1876 Chicago White Stockings}}
{{Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame}}
{{Chicago Cubs HOF}}
{{Chicago Cubs Opening Day starting pitchers}}
{{Chicago Cubs managers|width=100%}}
{{Chicago Cubs owners}}
{{Chicago Cubs Presidents}}
{{NL wins champions}}
{{Presidents of the United States Olympic Committee}}
{{1939 Baseball HOF}}
{{Baseball Hall of Fame members}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spalding, Albert}}
[[Category:Baseball executives]]
[[Category:Sports equipment makers]]
[[Category:1850 births]]
[[Category:1915 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century baseball players]]
[[Category:19th-century American sportsmen]]
[[Category:American Theosophists]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Rockford, Illinois]]
[[Category:Boston Red Stockings players]]
[[Category:Chicago White Stockings (original) managers]]
[[Category:Chicago White Stockings players]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball pitchers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball player-managers]]
[[Category:National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:National League (baseball) wins champions]]
[[Category:Point Loma, San Diego]]
[[Category:People from Byron, Illinois]]
[[Category:Rockford Forest Citys (NABBP) players]]
[[Category:Chicago Cubs owners]]
[[Category:American company founders]]
[[Category:Presidents of the United States Olympic Committee]]
[[Category:Baseball players from San Diego]]