Albert Spalding

Albert Goodwill Spalding competed in an obscure demonstration event at the 1900 Paris Olympics but is far better known as a pioneer in Major League Baseball, and then as a sporting goods executive and in sports administration. A pitcher, Spalding played in the major leagues from 1871-78, with both the Chicago White Stockings and the Boston Red Stockings. He was one of the first players to wear a baseball glove.

In 1876 Spalding and his brother, Walter, started a sporting goods store in Chicago, which became the eponymous company, Spalding Sporting Goods. Together with William Hulbert, he helped organize the creation of the National League in the 1880s. He served as President of the Chicago White Stockings in the 1880-90s and in 1905 helped organize a commission to determine the origins of the game of baseball. He also started the Spalding Athletic Library, which published yearly sports annuals on various sports from 1892-1941.

Spalding was President of the American Olympic Committee (later US Olympic and Paralympic Committee) from 1900-04. He was a prominent member of the Theosophical Society and had an extensive library on theosophy, art, and literature. He ran for the US Senate from California in 1911 but was defeated in the election. Spalding was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.