Wednesday, April 13, 2011

The 1884 Maroons: Creating Quite A Breeze

The announcement of the location of the new base ball grounds in yesterday's Globe-Democrat created quite a breeze among patrons of the game. Every one declared the site a splendid one for a diamond, and so easy of access that if the Union League Clubs are correspondingly as strong as the local member their games will certainly attract a liberal, if not a very large patronage. Now that the matter of grounds for the home club is settled, public interest is centered in the movements to organize Union League Clubs elsewhere. It is claimed that a great deal is being done quietly and effectively, but the most sanguine supporters of the new League are forced to admit that if anything has been accomplished outside of this city they know nothing about it...Mr. Lucas is expected home in a few days, and it is believed that he will have important revelations to make. At present his movements are extremely mysterious and no information concerning them can be obtained from any source.
-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, November 17, 1883

2 comments:

Cliff Blau said...

I see that a commemorative plaque was dedicated on the site of the Maroons' park on April 20. http://sabr.org/latest/st-louis-chapter-dedicates-plaque-site-union-baseball-park

Jeffrey Kittel said...

I think Joan Thomas was behind that and the other plaques that have been put up. Wanted to go but, sadly, had to work.

It's really neat that they've done what they've done and I take nothing away from it but I think that this was the final dedication they were doing. However, there are plenty of places in the city that need to be recognised for their significance in StL baseball history. I think they focused on major league sites and that's understandable but there's plenty of baseball history in StL that took place before the city had a club in any major league. I think that needs to be recognized.

But I think it's really great that the Maroons and their park got recognized.