Eddie Collins had already established himself as an elite baseball player, having led the Philadelphia Athletics to a World Series win in 1910, 1911, and 1913.  In 1914, he would win the American League MVP Award.  Despite the success of the Athletics, Connie Mack unloaded some of his best players for cost-cutting purposes, and despite receiving a considerable offer to stay (as opposed to jump to the Federal League), Collins declined.  He would be sold to the Chicago White Sox for $50,000, a colossal amount for that time.

Eddie Collins was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics in 1906, and by 1909 he was the team's starting Second Baseman.  That year he would swipe 63 bases and bat .347, the perfect showcase of what was to come.  Collins was part of an excellent Philadelphia team that in 1910 would win the World Series, and that season he would lead the AL in Stolen Bases with 81, which made him the first player to ever tally the 80 plus mark.