Of the St. Louis Browns: Clapp and McGeary receive $2,500 each; Bradley, $2,200; Cuthbert and Pike, $1,800 each; Battin, Pearce and Dehlman, $1,500 each, and Mack, Blong and McGinley, $1,000 each.
-Chicago Daily Tribune, July 16, 1876
The numbers come from an article that appeared in the Brooklyn Argus and has salary figures for every player and club in the League. The Trib, however, goes on to state that "every salary paid by the Chicago Club is wrongly stated, except one. The sums named may be more accurately guessed at as regards other clubs." So take the numbers with a grain of salt.
Just looking at the numbers given for the Brown Stockings, they don't seem right. I would have thought that Pike and Pearce would have made more. However, the total amount paid of $18,500 appears to be in line with what other clubs were paying.
2 comments:
If you remember, Jeff, Joe Blong's contract status with the Browns had become an issue when he was accused of game throwing in Covington, Kentucky, late in the 1875 season. At that time, the Cincinnati Enquirer's Covington correspondent reported that Blong had shown him a signed St. Louis contract for $1,500. The Enquirer man was hostile to the Covington Stars management and partial to Blong, but there's no reason to think he would have falsified the salary.
Good catch. The Globe (quoting the Enquirer) on Sept. 23, 1875 states that Blong signed for $1,500. I ran that post in July and didn't remember it. Of course, I can barely remember what I did yesterday let alone six months ago. Thanks for reminding me.
It's a shame that we don't have better financial information about these clubs. I'd love to get my hands on the accounts, contracts and records of the 1875-77 Brown Stockings. Going through something like that would be a nice way to spend a few days.
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