Hulbert and Spalding had made up their minds that I should play on their team, and both of them knew me well enough to know that I would keep my word at all hazards, no matter what my personal likes or dislikes in the matter might be.
The last few months of my stay in Philadelphia passed all too quickly, and a short time before the opening of the regular season found me in the Garden City ready to don a Chicago uniform and do the very best I could to help win the pennant for the latest city of my adoption.
The constitution of the new league provided for an entrance fee of $100 per club, and also provided that no city of less than 75,000 inhabitants could become a member.

It also provided that each city should be represented by one club only, this prohibiting the danger of local opposition, such as the Professional Players' Association had suffered from in Philadelphia, St.Louis and other cities.

Other reforms were the adoption of a player's contract, which enabled the clubs to keep their players and prevented them from being hired away by rival organizations.
This was the first step toward the reserve rule that followed later.

It also provided for the expelling of players who were guilty of breaking their contracts or of dishonesty, and such players were to be debarred forever afterwards from playing on the league teams.

Gambling and liquor selling on club grounds were prohibited and players interested in a bet on the result of games or purchasing a pool ticket were liable to expulsion.
The make-up of the Chicago team in full for the National League's initial season was as follows; A.G.Spalding, pitcher, captain and manager; James White, catcher; A.C.Anson, third base; Ross Barnes, second base; Cal A.McVey, first base; J.P.Peters, shortstop; J.W.
Glenn, left field; Paul A.Hines, center field; Robert Addy, right field; and J.F.Cone, Oscar Bielaski, and F.H.Andrus, substitutes.
All through the season of 1876 the most intense rivalry existed between the Chicago and Boston Clubs.