After professionalism began spreading, he left the Eckford club before sponsoring an unsuccessful resolution opposing player pay in 1870.

[3] According to Pidgeon's account, the demands of the players' professions led to a lack of practice time: they were limited to one session of play a week, at most.

The members were open to a competitive game against another club, but Pidgeon wrote that "no such invitation came, and we began seriously to doubt if we were worth taking notice of.

"[4] Regardless, he and his teammates enjoyed playing recreationally; Pidgeon's opinion was that "Such sport as this brightens a man up, and improves him, both in mind and body.

After issuing a challenge, they were scheduled to face either Union of Morrisania or the Baltics, depending on who won a match game between those sides.

[10] That year, Pidgeon was chosen as part of a team of players from Brooklyn-based clubs to compete in a series of three all-star games against a group representing New York City sides.

Pidgeon attempted to offer encouragement during game two, in which Eckford trailed early, by advising his teammates to pretend they were "playing a common club, and forget that these fellows are the Atlantics.

[15] Although Pidgeon joined the rest of the team in offseason social gatherings,[16] he did not make any game appearances in 1861, but supported them as a spectator.

[18] In 1863, Pidgeon stopped playing baseball; author William J. Ryczek attributes this to a leg injury that occurred as the result of an accident.

[20] In one game against Atlantic, Pidgeon reportedly ripped off pieces of his clothing as the contest progressed, in an attempt "to put an extra twist on the ball"; despite his efforts, Eckford was defeated.

[22] However, secret payments were sometimes made in spite of the regulation, as the NABBP proved unable to enforce it; one example came when Excelsior of Brooklyn obtained the services of Jim Creighton.

[22] The newspaper Spirit of the Times criticized the NABBP's rules on the subject in March 1859, arguing that relaxing them might place rich and poor players on a more level playing field.

Pidgeon wrote a letter to the paper one week after its initial column on the subject, in which he defended the association's amateurism regulations.

[24] In addition, he expressed distaste at the idea of a person's teammates being "bought up like cattle", and claimed that payments to players had been made, leading to the rule.

[17] Author George B. Kirsch states that Pidgeon's opposition stemmed in part from his concern that teams composed of skilled workers would have difficulty competing with wealthy clubs under professionalism.

[26] After Eckford completed an undefeated season in 1863 and won a second straight NABBP title, the team experienced numerous defections to Atlantic and the New York Mutuals.

Pidgeon's own business, however, was negatively affected by a Brooklyn investigation into budget overruns, which slowed a job he had invested in and delayed payment from the government.

Pidgeon regularly submitted low bids for municipal work, which depleted his savings and led him to file for bankruptcy in 1881.