In his essay on Chris Von der Ahe in The National Game, Al Spinks wrote that "Mr. Von der Ahe ordered built the life-sized statue of himself which now adorns the lot he owns in Bellefontaine Cemetery. It is a magnificent statue, costs a fortune, and when Chris dies it will mark for centuries to come the resting place of one who did as much for baseball in St. Louis and the country at large as any man ever associated with the game and whose departure from it was greatly regretted by those who knew him best and who had followed the fortunes of himself and club for years."
The Deadball Era has pictures of Von der Ahe's grave and his "magnificent statue."
4 comments:
Heh. I had not seen a photograph of his grave before. That is so Von Der Ahe.
Kind of neat, isn't it. I'm thinking about making a pilgrimage to the cemetery and getting some better pictures. I think Art Croft is buried in Bellfontaine Cemetery too. Literally half of the 1875 Reds are buried at Calvary Cemetery and I'd like to get out there, pay my respect, and take pictures. It might make for a nice outing on an autumn day.
If you get a better picture, I would like a copy. I saved the one you posted for the rotation of computer wallpaper images, but the resolution isn't really good enough for this.
I'm defenitely going out to Bellfontaine and Calvary (they're located right next to each other) and I'll send you the best picture I can get of Von der Ahe's grave.
I was online yesterday trying to get directions to the place and came across a list of famous people buried at the two cemeteries. It's a pretty unbelievable list-William Sherman, Dred Scott, Tennesse Williams, Kate Chopin, Thomas Hart Benton, William Burroughs, Adolphus Busch, William Clark, Sterling Price, and others. I'm looking forward to getting out there.
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