This article is about the baseball executive. See also: Nicholas Young (actor) and Nicholas Young (sailor)

Nicholas Young (sailor)

Nicholas Young was a sailor on Captain James Cook's ship in his first voyage. He was eleven years old when the ship left England on 26 August 1768. However, before he earned the rank of able-bodied seaman, he was a stowaway on the Endeavour. Nicholas Young sighted New Zealand on 7 October 1769...

Nicholas Ephraim Young (September 12, 1840 - October 31, 1916) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 executive, manager

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 and umpire

Umpire (baseball)

In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...

 in professional baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 who served as president of the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 from 1885 to 1902. Born in Amsterdam, New York

Amsterdam (town), New York

Amsterdam is a town in Montgomery County, New York, United States. The population was 5,566 at the 2010 census. The town is named after Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands.The town is adjacent to and borders the city of Amsterdam on three sides...

 at Johnson Hall, the estate of Sir William Johnson

Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet

Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet was an Anglo-Irish official of the British Empire. As a young man, Johnson came to the Province of New York to manage an estate purchased by his uncle, Admiral Peter Warren, which was located amidst the Mohawk, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois League...

, he served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 during the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, and later was employed in the U.S. Treasury Department

United States Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...

. Young, an excellent cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 player as a young man, became a right fielder

Right fielder

A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...

 and official with a Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 amateur baseball club. In 1871

1871 in baseball

-Champions:*National Association : Philadelphia Athletics*National Association of Amateur Base Ball Players: Star of Brooklyn, 30–13*National Association of Junior Base Ball Players: Fly Aways-National Association final standings:...

, he organized the meeting which resulted in the formation of the sport's first professional league, the National Association of Professional Baseball Players; he was named league secretary, managed the Washington team from 1871–1873, and also served as a league umpire.

When the National League, baseball's first major league

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

, was formed in 1876

1876 in baseball

After a tumultuous six-year existence, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , folded following the season. The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was formed in Chicago, Illinois by businessman, and owner of the Chicago White Stockings, William Hulbert, for the...

, Young was named secretary and treasurer, posts he continued to hold until leaving office as president in 1902. Although well-liked, his tenure was marked by a tendency to acquiesce to the desires of the most powerful NL owners; league play in the 1890s increasingly tended toward rowdyism and violence on the field, and labor disputes resulted in the single year of the Players League

Players League

The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League , was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century...

. Young also oversaw the NL's merger with the American Association

American Association (19th century)

The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...

 after the 1891 season. When the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 claimed major league status in 1901

1901 in baseball

-Major League Baseball:* American League: Chicago White Stockings* National League: Pittsburgh PiratesWorld Series: Not played due to AL-NL war over player contracts.-Other champions:* Minor leagues** California League: San Francisco Wasps...

, many star players and top umpires jumped to the new league after tiring of the NL's style. Resulting disputes between NL owners necessitated a change at the league level, and both Young and rival candidate Albert Spalding

Albert Spalding

Albert Goodwill Spalding was a professional baseball player, manager and co-founder of A.G. Spalding sporting goods company.-Biography:...

had to withdraw their names from consideration in the contest for the presidency. Young returned to his post with the Treasury Department; he died at age 76 in Washington.

External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - National Association managing record