Union Park Sold

Union Park, which has been the scene of many hard-fought ball games and athletic contests, was sold yesterday morning to satisfy a claim of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company, of $461. The ground is merely leased, and the sale yesterday was merely of the grand stand and fixtures. Samuel F. Myerson and Geo. S. Rhodes, acting for the Missouri Amateur Athletic Club, bought the entire lot for $425, and the club assumes all the responsibility of leases, etc. This is as it should be. St. Louis can easily support a first-class athletic club. A cinder track will be built down the middle of the field, so as to give 135 yards straightaway. A man will be placed in charge of the grounds, who will be at the service of members always. The membership dues of the club will probably be placed at $10 per annum. and the holders of memberships will be richly repaid for their outlay.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 24, 1887

Anheuser-Busch was one of the original investors in the Maroons. In April of 1884, Adolphus Busch, owner of the brewery, bought out Ellis Wainwright and A-B was, at that point, probably the largest investor in the club besides Henry Lucas.

I'll throw this question out there, since I don't know the answer: How significant was it that one of the major investors in the Maroons was a company? That, I assume, was a rare thing in this era. How many other companies do we know of that invested in major league clubs prior to 1884?