"Fly Game" Voted Down.
At the convention in 1863 the committee on rules again reported in favor of the fly game, and it was again voted down. An important move, however, was made in regard to the pitcher. This compelled him to stand perfectly still while delivering the ball, without taking a step forward, in a space twelve by three feet. For the first time, call balls were introduced to punish the pitcher for wildness, just as the striker had been penalized, previously, for not striking at good balls. Base runners, heretofore permitted to go around or near bases in a circuit, had to touch them.
In the convention of 1864 the catch of a fair ball on the ground no longer put a man out, as the fly game was adopted by a vote of 32 to 19. In 1865 the rule dividing professionals from amateurs was adopted by a nearly unanimous vote of the representatives of almost two hundred clubs.
In 1867 the batter was prevented from taking a forward or backward step in striking at the ball upon the penalty of "no strike." This was a very confusing feature of the play of the previous season, it being attempted to help base running. The pitcher now stood in a space six feet square. The batter could take two steps forward, provided he had one foot back of the line of his position when he struck at the ball.
The rule relating to compensation described as professionals all who were paid for their services either by "money, place, or emolument."
Arthur Pue Gorman, afterward United States Senator from Maryland, was elected president of the National Association at a meeting held in Clinton Hall, New York, December 12, 1866, when there were more than two hundred clubs represented.