After Spalding stepped down as president of the Chicago club in 1891, he appointed James Hart to the position, which Anson felt should have been his despite his dismal business record. Spalding, however, continued to run the club behind the scenes. In December 1892, Hart, with Spalding's blessing, reorganized the White Stockings into a stock company. Anson was required to sign a new contract, which ended in 1898 instead of 1899 as the previous one had. Anson spotted the error later but said nothing, trusting that Spalding would honor the previous terms.