In 1889 the wealthy Albert Goodwill Spalding used his position as a former star player and as a leading sporting goods supplier to arrange yet another tour of the United Kingdom by American baseball stars including the Chicago White Stockings, building on the earlier tours in the past decades. As with previous tours the cricket establishment of England was used to promote baseball, with the Prince of Wales one of the "very large number of spectators" to witness the game at the Oval, and over 8,000 attended a game at Lords. On arriving at Bristol, Spalding paid tribute to the English cricket star W G Grace, "the best known Englishman in the world".