Von Der Ahe Declares Bunkruptcy In 1908

A petition in voluntary bankruptcy was held today by Chris Von Der Ahe, for many years a principal figure in the baseball world and owner of the St. Louis American association team from its organization in 1876 until his retirement in 1898.

According to the petition he alleges he has but $200 assets to offset $27, 086.35 liabilities. Many of his largest debts are notes for money borrowed for the support of the team he owned. In his day he was one of the most prominently known baseball magnates in the country, and was reputed to have been worth a quarter of a million dollars.

His property is now reduced, according to the petition, to $50 worth of wearing apparel, a watch and chain worth $50, and a share of stock in an investment company valued at $100. It is stated he lost his wealth through amusement investments that did not prosper, loans, and the lavish habit of endorsing checks and signing bonds. He has just recovered from a serious attack of pneumonia.

-Chicago Daily Tribune, February 4, 1908