when that gentleman would have waived the honor, on account of other conflicting engagements, Mr. Hulbert urged his acceptance as a tribute due to the East, where Base Ball had its origin and early development—and Mr. Bulkeley accepted. The selection of Mr. N. E. Young as Secretary of the League closed the eventful meeting, at which Mr. Hulbert demonstrated his skill and power as an organizer and ruler among men.
In closing this chapter, I wish to claim for William A. Hulbert that which is due to him as one who appeared in the history of Base Ball just at a time when such a man was needed, and as one who did more than any other among magnates to save and maintain the game in its integrity.
In December, 1876, before the National League had been a year in existence, William A. Hulbert was elected President, a position he held up to the time of his death. To him came the great struggle that attended the early years of the League. Upon his shoulders were loaded most of the heavy burdens of those days of formative and creative duty. Against him were directed the assaults of enemies of the League—and of the game. He was the recipient of the abuse of gamblers and of the innuendoes of their apologists.
The struggles he encountered cheerfully, for he was a born fighter; the duties he assumed willingly, for he was an industrious worker; the planning he undertook intelligently, for he was a master of business system, and the opposition of the rabble amused, while it injured him not at all.
William A. Hulbert was not a purist. He was never
