The Road to Professional Base Ball
August 26, 1860
The National Association of Base Ball Players and their new investment partners met to begin the process of professionalizing the sport. Some teams and players withdrew their NABBP credentials as they refused the move away from a completely amateur system. However, other teams were new to the fold, and excited about the move.
The most difficult topic dealt with was the voting structure. How could amateur teams maintain a place in baseball alongside professional teams? Ultimately, votes were separated into primary & secondary votes. Amateur teams would receive secondary votes, allowing them to only vote on game rules and grounds rules. Primary votes would be given to professional team owners and a player representative from each professional organization. Those with primary votes could vote on any matter.
The next major matter would be the location of the first professional clubs. It was decided that eight cities would host the inaugural campaign. New York, Brooklyn, Hoboken, & Newark are all base ball hot beds and were easy selections. After some debate, Lowell, Hartford, Philadelphia, & Washington were selected to round out the inaugural eight. In addition to the professional eight teams, each city will host a second team for development and reserve purposes. These clubs would be known as 2nd IX clubs. The players on the 2nd IX clubs will have the right to vote for the organization's player representative.
Finally, populating the new teams was a matter that needed attending. A dispersal draft has been scheduled for January 2nd. Leading up to the dispersal draft would be a series of camps where the teams could have a look at the players who were making themselves available for the draft. The camps will begin at the end September giving clubs time to put a coaching staff into place.
The next full convention will be February 9th. At that time the new voting structure will be in effect. It will be at that time that professional baseball takes the final steps to existence.