Arthur Soden
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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 league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
who was the president/owner of the Boston Base Ball Club of the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
during the 1887–1906 seasons, president of the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
in 1882, and a
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veteran.


Early life

Soden was born on April 23, 1843, in
Framingham, Massachusetts Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston ...
. Soden served as a hospital steward with the
22nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry The 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. The 22nd Massachusetts was organized by Senator Henry Wilson (future Vice-president during the Ulysses Grant administra ...
during the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...
. 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 in a game at the
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.


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 ano ...
—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
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
(NL) following the death of
William Hulbert William Ambrose Hulbert (October 23, 1832 – April 10, 1882) was an American professional baseball executive who was one of the founders of the National League, considered by many to be baseball's first major league, and was also the president ...
. When the rival American Association was preparing to expand to eight teams for the 1883 season, Soden acted to add NL teams in New York City and
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(both cities had been kicked out of the league by Hulbert after the inaugural 1876 season), replacing the
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and Worcester Ruby Legs, 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 The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded American professional baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Pr ...
in 1890, bankrolling several teams in the league as attendance dropped; by the time the NL emerged triumphant, Soden owned a majority of the
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in addition to his control of the Boston franchise. Boston won five pennants between 1891 and 1898. After losing the pennant to
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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 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 the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...
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. In 1909, Soden was sued by Frederick L. Small, a Boston-based stockbroker, for $500,000 . Soden was accused of having "alienated the affections" of Small's wife. In 1911, Soden was ordered to pay Small a judgment of $10,000 . Soden died at his summer home in
Sunapee, New Hampshire Sunapee is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 3,342 at the 2020 census. The town is home to part of Lake Sunapee and includes the village of Georges Mills. History Like many other towns, Sunapee we ...
, 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