James Abner Hart (July 10, 1855 – July 18, 1919) was an American baseball manager for the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as ...

and the

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most po ...

for parts of three seasons. Hart went to the U.K. in the 1890s. The professional National League of Baseball of Great Britain was started in 1890 and a letter to

Albert Spalding Albert Goodwill Spalding (September 2, 1849 – September 9, 1915) was an American pitcher, manager, and executive in the early years of professional baseball, and the co-founder of A.G. Spalding sporting goods company. He was born and raised ...

in America requesting help in establishing a league. The British requested eight to ten players to coach and convert the existing players (whose primary game was usually

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

). Spalding sent Hart as a skilled manager and players: William J. Barr, Charles Bartlett, J. E. Prior and

Leech Maskrey Samuel Leech Maskrey (February 11, 1854 – April 1, 1922) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played five seasons in the majors, from 1882 to 1886, for the Louisville Eclipse/Colonels and Cincinnati Red Stockings. His brother ...

. The original intention had been to have eight teams but initially there were just four

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional football club in Preston, Lancashire, England, who currently play in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league syste ...

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, which competes in the . Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, it changed its name to Stoke in 1878 and then to Stoke City in 1925 after Stoke ...

and Derby Baseball Club. The first three used Jim Hart to decide the line-up of their teams, but Francis Ley at Derby made his own decisions.Baseball Fiends and Flying Machines
Jerry Kuntz, p.47, accessed May 2010 In 1891 Hart, who was secretary of the Chicago White Stockings (later the Colts and then the Cubs), succeeded Albert G. Spalding as president of the team. Hart was part-owner of the

Chicago Colts The following is a North American professional sports league organization, franchise history of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, a charter member of the National League who started play in the National Association of Base Ball Players, ...

team, and in the 1895 season, the entire Colts team was arrested for creating a disturbance on Sunday, and Hart bailed every player out.New York Times Obituaries
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References

External links

* * 1855 births 1919 deaths Boston Beaneaters managers Louisville Colonels managers Sportspeople from Pennsylvania Chicago Cubs owners Baseball in the United Kingdom {{Baseball-manager-stub