the providence grays, new in the nl for 1878, hired george to lead the team in 1879. he did as well as possible, wrestling the championship for himself from older brother harry; for providence and rhode island from older and regionally dominant boston and massachusetts. however, wright & ditson sporting goods was growing, so george returned to boston for business reasons. he remains the only man to win the pennant in his lone season as manager. meanwhile, the national league introduced the reserve list system, and providence listed george, so he was not free to sign with boston. until the 1879–80 off-season, every professional baseball player was a "free agent" for every season. during the next two seasons he played only a few games. when boston changed managers for 1882, harry signed to lead providence and inherited the right to sign his brother. george played another season full-time, retiring after the 1882 season with a .301 batting average in the major leagues from 1871.