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 assumption of non-professionalism would not deceive anybody. It was not possible that any could be found so simple as to believe that George and Harry Wright, Cal McVey and the rest were in the game merely for healthful or philanthropic reasons. Then why engage in duplicity?

We went over the whole subject, threshed it out in all its bearings, and finally agreed to come out openly and above-board as a professional organization. The result was even more gratifying than we had hoped. Opposition in the East faded rapidly away. Soon after the organization, in 1871, of the National Association of Professional Ball Players, professionalism was firmly rooted and established.