That Was Chris

In 1882 Chris (Von der Ahe) was just beginning his spectacular career of the diamond. He had taken over the old St. Louis Browns, and I was among the first batch of youngsters he engaged, coming on from the Dubuque club, with whom I had played during the summers, while spending my winters covering the central western territory for Ted Sullivan's news agency. Chris engaged me at seventy-five dollars a month, but when the first pay day rolled around he handed me my envelope with one hundred and twenty-five dollars. That was Chris.

-Charles Comiskey, Thirty-Seven Years Of Baseball (Pearson's Magazine, Volume 31)

It appears that Comiskey had a great deal of admiration and respect for Von der Ahe. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything really negative that he ever said about Von der Ahe and his version of "Von der Ahe stories" always tended to portray Von der Ahe in a positive light or highlight a positive aspect of his character. It's possible that Comiskey's time as a club owner helped him to develop a deeper respect for the man and an understanding of the difficulties that Von der Ahe faced while running the Browns.

I know that Comiskey has a somewhat negative image in baseball history, largely due (I guess) to Eight Men Out. But I never think of him in those terms. I always think of Comiskey as the young field manager of the Four Time Champion Browns and as the man who visited Von der Ahe on his deathbed. I see him as a man of strength, principle and character. When Von der Ahe was down and out and others were turning him into an object of ridicule, Comiskey refrained from doing so and continued to treat his old boss with respect. I admire Comiskey for that.