1886-1900:<br > GROWING PAINS<br >Wlhen the first issue of The Sporting News eighth， the Browns rallied for three runs to tie the<br > rolled off the press in mid.March of 1886， score. A two-run triple by Arlie Latham ~nt the 8，0..~ 0<br > major league baseball， represented by the Sportsman s Park spectators into a frenzy.<br >National League and the American Association， was In the last half of the lOth， with the score still d~td-<br >suffering from acute growing pains， locked， Curt Welch ted off and was struck by a pitch.<br > Nicholas E， Young， the fifth president of the 10- When Anson protested that Welch had stood too cl ~se<br >year.old National League， issued orders that were to the plate and made no effort to avoid the pitch， the<br >blithely ignored. Franchises were moved like pawns umpire ordered the center fielder to bat again. Welch<br >on a chessboard. Umpires， frequently recruited from promptly singled to center field and advanced to third<br >neighborhood saloons for five dollars per game， freely on an error and a sacrifice. In the hope of picking off<br >favored the home team to guarantee continued em- Welch， who was taking a big lead， Chicago catcher<br >ployment. And club executives quarreled endlessly in King Kelly signaled for a pitchout， but the pitch was<br >what was commonly referred to as the "National Pas- too high. The ball glanced off Kelly s mitt as Welch<br >time." stormed across the plate with the winning run. The<br > The dominant team in the National League in the world championship belonged to the Browns.<br >nlid， lBS0s was the Chicago White Stockings， managed "Fans went crazy over the victory，" one scribe re-<br >by Adrian (Cap) Anson. Its counterpart in the Ameri- ported. "Many wept tears of joy， turned somersaults，<br >can Assodation was the St. Louis Browns， piloted by handsprings， and threw hats， umbrellas and handker-<br >Charles Cornlskey， like Arisen a first baseman， chiefs. Some made runs for the players. As each man<br > . In the faU of 1885， the two pennant-winning teams was captured in turn he would be ~arried off the field-<br > hi a seven，game series to determine the fore- Then 3，000 waited outside the dressing room and<br >most chlb ill Organized Baseball. The first .game w.as cheered each player as he reappeared."<br >pl~ed ill Chk~ago， the next three in St. Lores， one m After the game， Vonder Ahe wrote to Spalding sug-<br >Pittahurgh and two in Cincinnati. Each team won gesting an exhibition game in Cincinnati. The Chicago<br > official wanted no more of the Browns. He replied:<br > r~ $am~，~wlaile another contest ended in a tie. One<br > cage victory was a forfeit， which resulted from Co- "We must decline with our compliments. We know<br >，llliskcy，plllltng his team off the field in protest of an when we have had enough. P.S.: Anson joins me in the<br >i~ph~ s~decision， above message."<br > ~ .WIle/! tile two teams repeated as league champions Next to Anson， Michael Joseph (King) Kelly was the<br >ill t~ll~i， anothor series-this one t~r~r o~az~ and White Stockh~gs most glittering performer. In that<br >|e~J_llt01l barnstorming tour-was proposed by Chris 1886 season， the catcher-outfielder led the l~ague in<br > Von tler Abe， owner of the Browns. In a letter to AI- batting (.388) and contributed 53 stolen bases. Kelly，<br > I~rt G， $1mlding， owner of the White Stockings， Von who had a flair for the theatrical on the basepaths，<br > Abe mggttstt~l a serie6 of five， seven or nine games， prompting cries of "Slide， Kelly， slide[" from the<br > with the wfiinlng team to take all the gate receipts. The crowd， was a flee spirit with an ingenious nfind. For<br > ~hlfllon~ was accepted. The seven.game arrangement instance， King Kel is credited by some with devisin8<br > w~ ~roed upon， with the first three games to be the hit-and-run play.<br > played in Chicago and the remaining games in St. In February 1887， Kelly was sold to Boston for<br > Louis. $10，000， a shocking figure in a day when most player.~<br > The teams split the first four games before the were receiving $2，000 in annu ，d salary. Kelly agreed t~<br > Browns gained an edge in the fifth contest， 10-3. The terms with Boston quickly， not because of the $2，0~<br > sixth gmne matched John Clark.son， Chicago s 35-game figure on his contract， but because of the $3，000 that nc<br > winner against Bob Caruthers， who had won 30 deci- was offered for "the use of his picture" in team adver.<br > stons for the Browns. For seven innings， Clarkson tising，<br > hurled magnificently， allowimz no runs. but in the King Kelly s superiority on the diamond wa，<br >