Manager Byrne, of the Brooklyn club, says he has about concluded negotiations for the purchase of Bushong from the St. Louis club, and that this is only one step in a general base ball deal whereby it is intended to equalize as far as possible the playing strength of all the clubs of the American Association. Byrne denied that there is any intention of transferring the franchise of the Metropolitan club to Kansas City.
-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, November 24, 1887
This is the first mention, in the Globe's coverage of the big deal, of the idea of trying to strengthen the AA clubs. As I've mentioned and as we've seen, there were a lot of reasons for the deals from the Browns end and, once I finish posting the Globe's coverage, I'll try to write something up pulling it all together.
I never really bought the idea that the Von der Ahe was trying to strengthen the AA and always believed that the deals were an attempt to fix problems inside the club. But, there might be something to this and I'll have to look at it again. The whole thing is really rather complicated and there's a lot going on that never really gets mentioned when the subject comes up.
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