King Kelly Sold to Boston for a Record $10,000

On February 14, 1887, the Chicago White Stockings sold catcher and outfielder Mike "King" Kelly to the Boston Beaneaters for $10,000. The price was unprecedented. No player had ever commanded that kind of money in a transfer, and the sale made national headlines. Kelly became known as the "$10,000 Beauty," a nickname that followed him for the rest of his career.

The sale was not entirely about baseball economics. Kelly and White Stockings owner Albert Spalding had clashed over Kelly's drinking habits throughout the 1886 season. During preseason meetings at Hot Springs, Arkansas, Spalding demanded that his players pledge total abstinence. Kelly refused, and Spalding fined him $225 and withheld a $375 good-behavior bonus. The relationship was damaged beyond repair.

Kelly was 29 and at the peak of his fame. He had won the National League batting title in 1884 and 1886, stolen 53 bases in his final Chicago season, and drawn crowds wherever he played. He was baseball's first genuine celebrity, a player whose personality and style attracted fans as much as his performance. The popular song "Slide, Kelly, Slide" had made him a figure in American popular culture beyond the ballpark.

In Boston, Kelly continued to perform and entertain. He hit .322 in his first season with the Beaneaters and remained one of the highest-paid players in the game. Chicago fans were furious about the trade, and many boycotted the White Stockings' home opener that year.

Kelly died in 1894 at age 36 from pneumonia. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945, recognized as one of the most important figures in 19th-century baseball.