Arthur H. Soden (April 23, 1843 – August 13, 1925) was an American executive in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who was the president/owner of the Boston Base Ball Club of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

during the 1887–1906 seasons, president of the

in 1882, and a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

veteran.

Early life

Soden was born on April 23, 1843, in

Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a pop ...

. Soden served as a hospital steward with the 22nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the

. After the war, Soden was an amateur baseball player of note. In 1874, he was part of the Boston club during their tour of England. He played

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

in a game at the

Kennington Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since it ...

Baseball

In 1876, Soden bought into the Boston Base Ball Club. He and J. B. Billings later purchased controlling interest in the club and Soden became the team's president in 1877. Soden is credited with inventing the baseball

reserve clause The reserve clause, in North American professional sports, was part of a player contract which stated that the rights to players were retained by the team upon the contract's expiration. Players under these contracts were not free to enter into an ...

—in 1880, standard player contracts began including a clause stating that the club could reserve the player for the following season; teams could reserve up to five players. In 1883, the number was increased to 11, which was a typical roster size in that era, and soon teams were allowed unlimited reserves. In 1882, Soden served briefly as president of the

(NL) following the death of

William Hulbert William Ambrose Hulbert (October 23, 1832 – April 10, 1882) was one of the founders of the National League, recognized as baseball's first major league, and was also the president of the Chicago White Stockings franchise. Biography Born in Bu ...

. When the rival

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

was preparing to expand to eight teams for the 1883 season, Soden acted to add NL teams in New York City and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

(both cities had been kicked out of the league by Hulbert after the inaugural 1876 season), replacing the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. Troy Univer ...

and

Worcester Ruby Legs The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist tha ...

, the bottom two teams in the league. Although Troy and Worcester objected to their removal, their attendance problems—drawing only 6 and 18 spectators in their final two games against one another—sealed their fate. Soden played a major role in the war between the NL and the Players' League in 1890, bankrolling several teams in the league as attendance dropped; by the time the NL emerged triumphant, Soden owned a majority of the New York Giants in addition to his control of the Boston franchise. Boston won five pennants between 1891 and 1898. After losing the pennant to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

in 1894 and 1895, a struggling start in 1896 led Soden to observe that his players' on-field arguments were having a negative effect, and stated that any players fined for abusing umpires would now pay their own fines rather than have the team cover the cost secretly; Boston went on a 22–2 run over the next few weeks, and briefly took over first place, but finished behind Baltimore (for the last time) that season. Soden was known for being stingy, and catcher

Boileryard Clarke William Jones "Boileryard" Clarke (October 18, 1868 – July 29, 1959), was an American Major League Baseball player from New York City who played catcher from 1893 to 1905. Clarke also served as the long-time head baseball coach for Princeton Un ...

observed after coming to the Beaneaters from Baltimore in 1899 that the team owner was also amazingly distant. Clarke later insisted that although he played for Boston for two years, Soden never knew he was on the team. After the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

emerged as a rival in the 20th century, many players began deserting the NL for the new league, and Boston suffered the heaviest casualties.

Personal life

Outside of baseball, Soden ran a successful roofing business with his son, Charles. He resided in

West Newton, Massachusetts West Newton is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Among the oldest of the thirteen Newton villages, the West Newton Village Center is a National Register Historic District. ...

. Soden died at his summer home in Sunapee, New Hampshire, on August 13, 1925.

Notes

Sources

* Nemec, David (1997), ''The Great Encyclopedia of 19th-Century Major League Baseball'', Penguin. * John L. Parker (1887), "Henry Wilson's Regiment: History of the Twenty-Second Massachusetts Infantry".

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soden, Arthur 1843 births 1925 deaths Boston Braves owners Major League Baseball team presidents National League presidents People from Framingham, Massachusetts People from Newton, Massachusetts 19th-century baseball players People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War Union Army soldiers