James Abner Hart (July 10, 1855 – July 18, 1919) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

manager in the late 19th century. In the major leagues of the era, he managed the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that 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 th ...

and the

Boston Beaneaters Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

for parts of three seasons. During the 1890s, he managed baseball teams in the United Kingdom.

U.S. career

In 1885 and 1886, Hart managed the

of the major-league American Association. He then served as manager of the minor-league

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

in 1887 and 1888. In 1889, Hart managed the

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 ...

. Hart was the first Boston manager to not have played for the team. In 1891, Hart, who was secretary of the Chicago White Stockings (later the

Chicago Colts The following is a 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 in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings, before joining t ...

and then the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

), succeeded

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 the Spalding sporting goods company. He was born and raised i ...

as president of the team. Hart was part-owner of the Colts team, and in the 1895 season, the entire Colts team was arrested for creating a disturbance on a Sunday, after which Hart bailed every player out.

U.K. career

Hart went to the U.K. in the 1890s. The professional National League of Baseball of Great Britain was started in 1890. A letter was sent to Albert Spalding 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 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

. Spalding sent Hart as a skilled manager along with several players: William J. Barr, Charles Bartlett, J. E. Prior and Leech Maskrey. The original intention had been to have eight teams, but initially there were just four:

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

Preston North End Baseball Club Preston North End Baseball Club were a short lived English professional baseball club, who played their home games at Deepdale, competing for the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain. Preston North End Baseball Club Limited were for ...

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

and Derby Baseball Club. The first three used Jim Hart to decide the line-up of their teams, while Francis Ley at Derby made his own decisions.Baseball Fiends and Flying Machines
Jerry Kuntz, p.47, accessed May 2010 Hart was a director of Preston North End Baseball Club Limited.

Proposed innovation

An 1894 newspaper article reveals a proposal by Hart - the addition on numbers to the backs of player uniforms for identification by fans, with scorecards being printed with player names matching the numbers. (See also

Uniform number (Major League Baseball) In baseball, the uniform number is a number worn on the uniform of each player and coach. Numbers are used for the purpose of easily identifying each person on the field as no two people from the same team can wear the same number. Although desi ...

) This proposal would not be implemented in the Major Leagues on a permanent basis, however, until 1929. A Good Scheme. Base Ball Players to Wear Numbers So That They Will Be Known, Grand Rapids Press (published as The Evening Press.), December 29, 1894, p4

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Jim 1855 births 1919 deaths Boston Beaneaters managers Louisville Colonels managers Baseball people from Pennsylvania Chicago Cubs owners Baseball in the United Kingdom