He didn't get wealthy during the Gold Rush

After hearing about the gold finds in California, Cartwright, along with countless other Americans, had a severe case of gold fever by early 1949. He left New York on March 1 and would never come back. He transported the game of baseball around the nation on foot, in a wagon, and by rail. Similar to the fabled Johnny Appleseed, Cartwright planted seeds for the sport that had taken up in a few eastern cities. One of his stops was Cincinnati, which would later become an important part of the National League after its founding in 1876. He traveled across the Great Plains, passing through several communities where he instructed locals in baseball. He landed in San Francisco in August, but the major gold rush had already passed.

Cartwright stayed in San Francisco for six weeks in the hopes that he might still find some gold. He contributed to the development of baseball in that city at that time. He ultimately decided to go across the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans aboard a ship to return to New York. But he became unwell and was forced to land in Hawaii, which was then called the Sandwich Islands. An intriguing detail about Alexander Cartwright is that he did not get wealthy during the Gold Rush and carried on to Hawaii, which is one of the interesting facts about Alexander Cartwright.