I well remember Mr. Hulbert's appearance at that time. He stood in the neighborhood of six feet, and weighed close to 215 pounds. He had a stern expression of countenance and impressed one right from the start as being a self-reliant business man of great natural ability, and such he turned out to be. He was good-hearted and of a convivial nature when business hours were over, but as honest as the day was long, and would tolerate nothing that savored of crookedness in any shape or form. As an executive he had but few equals and no superiors. He was quick to grasp a situation and when once he had made up his mind to do a thing it took the very best sort of an argument to dissuade him. During the winter of 1875-6 the National League sprang into being, the Hon. Morgan G. Bulkeley of Hartford, who was afterwards elected Governor of Connecticut, being its first President, he being succeeded by Mr. Hulbert the following year. The clubs composing the league were as follows: Athletics of Philadelphia, Bostons of Boston, Hartfords of Hartford, Chicagos of Chicago, St. Louis of St. Louis, Louisville of Louisville, Ky., Mutuals of New York, and Cincinnati of Cincinnati, Ohio. When I came to consult with the future Mrs. Anson in regard to my proposed change of base she not unnaturally objected to my going so far from home, for I had learned to regard Philadelphia as my home by that time. I naturally thought it would be an easy matter for me to get my release from Chicago, and being naturally anxious to please her I made two trips to Chicago that winter for the purpose, and finally did what no ball player ever did before--offered $1,000 to be released from my promise. It was no go, however, as both Messrs. Hulbert and Spalding had made up their minds that I should play on their team, and both of them knew me well enough to know that I would keep my word at all hazards, no matter what my personal likes or dislikes in the matter might be. The last few months of my stay in Philadelphia passed all too quickly, and a short time before the opening of the regular season found me in the Garden City ready to don a Chicago uniform and do the very best I could to help win the pennant for the latest city of my adoption. The constitution of the new league provided for an entrance fee of $100 per club, and also provided that no city of less than 75,000 inhabitants could become a member. It also provided that each city should be represented by one club only, this prohibiting the danger of local opposition, such as the Professional Players' Association had suffered from in Philadelphia, St. Louis and other cities. Other reforms were the adoption of a player's contract, which enabled the clubs to keep their players and prevented them from being hired away by rival organizations.