Barrow then bought the Paterson Silk Weavers of the Class @-@ A Atlantic League , managing them for the rest of the 1896 season . Barrow discovered Honus Wagner throwing lumps of coal at a railroad station in Pennsylvania , and signed him to his first professional contract . Barrow sold Wagner to the Louisville Colonels of the National League ( NL ) for $ 2 @,@ 100 the next year ( $ 59 @,@ 732 in current dollar terms ) . With poor attendance , Barrow brought in professional boxers as a draw : he had James J. Corbett play first base while John L. Sullivan and James J. Jeffries umpired . He also hired Lizzie Arlington , the first woman in professional baseball , to pitch a few innings a game .