Alexander Cartwright: The Life behind the Baseball Legend

9. Spalding Comes to Hawaii

NINE Spalding Comes to Hawaii From the beginning, baseball has always functioned as a delightful distraction from the problems and conflicts of everyday life, and this was certainly true in Honolulu in November 1888. For a day, Hawaii residents could put aside politics and give themselves over to the excitement of professional baseball. Albert Spalding ’s 1888–89 world tour, which included the Chicago White Stockings and an All-American team, was coming to Honolulu to host an exhibition. It was this world tour—in which Spalding and his players visited Hawaii, Australia, Ceylon, Egypt, Italy , France, and England—that ended with a celebratory homecoming dinner at Delmonico’s restaurant in New York in 1889, and at which Mark Twain gave his famous speech. As fate, perhaps, would have it, the visit didn’t go according to plan. Spalding and his players were due to arrive on Saturday , November 24, and they were scheduled to play an exhibition game at one o’clock in the afternoon the same day. 125 SPALDING COMES TO HAWAII Unfortunately, their ship was delayed, and it didn’t arrive until 5:30 on Sunday morning, November 25.1 However, unaware of the delay, the great majority of Honolulu residents—anxiously anticipating the arrival of Spalding and his ball players—began to assemble at the wharf as early as four o’clock in the morning on Saturday, and they waited there until one o’clock, which was the time that the game was to commence . Even the royal band played tunes from six o’clock in the morning until noon. As the afternoon wore on, however, the crowd gave up waiting and went home. Then, at daybreak on Sunday morning, the ship Alameda was sighted off Diamond Head. Word spread quickly, and soon thousands were again gathered at the wharf. The musicians scrambled out of bed and returned to play their welcoming melodies. A large number of Americans were in the crowd, but some were as eager to learn the result of the recent U.S. presidential election as they were to welcome the baseball players. As the Hawaiian Gazette reported the following day: baseball tourists! The Royal Mail steamer Alameda after disappointing everyone on Saturday by her non-arrival, was signaled off Diamond Head at half-past five o’clock Sunday morning. . . . As the steamer lay off the bell buoy waiting for the pilot, telescopes and opera glasses were brought into requisition for the purpose of interpretation of the various signals displayed by the steamer as to the result of the Presidential election. The Hawaiian flag was noticed flying from the foremast and as it had 126 A LEGENDARY LIFE been arranged by Mr. G. E. Boardman before leaving San Francisco with the Honorable H. A. Widemann, that it should be hoisted there in case of the election of Harrison, shouts of “It’s Cleveland” were soon turned into those of “It’s Harrison.” . . . The deck of the steamer as she drew near the dock was lined with passengers, among them several well known island people and the Spalding baseball tourists . The Hawaiian band was on the wharf and played several appropriate selections as a welcome to the tourists . Mr. George W. Smith had previously boarded the steamer and presented a number of our residents to Mr. A. G. Spalding, (who by the way, is a cousin of Mr. Smith’s), the manager of the ball teams and an enthusiastic baseball man himself. Carriages decorated with flags were in readiness and conveyed the baseball party to the Hawaiian Hotel, where shortly afterwards they partook of breakfast. At 10:30 o’clock the baseball party and their friends, accompanied by His Excellency George W. Merrill, U.S. Minister Resident, formed a line of twos in front of the Hotel, and marched to the Palace, led by the band, and preceded by a number of ladies in carriages. At the Palace Mr. J. W. Robertson, Vice-Chamberlain, presented Mr. Merrill to His Majesty. Mr. Merrill presented Mr. Spalding, and Mr. Spalding presented the following ladies and gentlemen . . .2 It’s interesting to note that, as will be described in chapter 11, George W. Smith, whom the article mentions as making 127 SPALDING COMES TO HAWAII the introductions of Honolulu residents to his cousin, Albert Spalding, would some twenty years later write to Spalding asking what “facts” he had concerning Alexander Cartwright and baseball’s...