Post-career
Lange became successful in both real estate and insurance in his hometown of San Francisco after he retired from baseball. Lange is also credited in several sources, as being the person who discovered future Chicago Cubs first baseman, manager, and Hall of Famer, Frank Chance, after having watched him play for the local Fresno, California team during the off-season of 1897. Lange had recommended Chance to the team owner, Jim Hart, but Hart disputed this claim, saying that Henry Harris had recommended Chance to him while Harris was an owner of a San Francisco team in the fall of 1897.
In 1907, the California State League, a minor league, was declared by organized baseball to be an "outlaw" league. Organized baseball accused the league of harboring players from the Majors Leagues who had violated the reserve clause to join a number of their teams. The league had become a rival to the already established Pacific Coast League (PCL), who, after being an "outlaw" league themselves, had signed the National Agreement with organized baseball, agreeing that they would not harbor blacklisted or banned players from the Major Leagues. A national commission decided that the best way to deal with this situation was to dissolve this outlaw league. They did this by lifting the blacklist on any player already in the State League, which would create competition among all known leagues, for these players. This commission enlisted Lange, who used his influence with the sports editors in the local area to speed up the process. The attempt worked as the PCL successfully lured the Sacramento, California team into joining their league, with many of the players soon to follow.
Later, John McGraw of the New York Giants enlisted Lange as his chief European baseball scout, hoping to discover any hidden talent in that untapped market. In 1919, Ban Johnson, the American League president enlisted Lange as his chief organizer of baseball teams in Europe, mainly in England, France, Belgium, and Italy. Johnson's plan was for Lange to evaluate talent and establish an International Baseball League that could compete against the American League pennant winning team in an effort to generate greater interest in the game. Lange became part of the board of directors at the YMCA, which helped fund the expedition. Additionally, Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith donated $40,000 worth of equipment to assist in supplying the new league.
Lange died at the age of 79 in his hometown of San Francisco, and is interred at the Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California. Two of his nephews played Major League ball as well, Ren, and George "Highpockets" Kelly. George later gained induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973.
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