The Anheuser-Busch Nine

The Anheuser-Busch nine were defeated by the Consolidated Express nine yesterday morning, at the Union Grounds, the score standing 28 to 7.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 7, 1884


This is a nice, little reference to an A-B baseball club from 1884.  Adolphus Busch was one of the original investors in the Maroons and was probably the largest investor in the club besides Henry Lucas.  And that's why the club was playing at the Union Grounds in July of 1884.

The 1884 Maroons: Busch Buys Out Wainwright

Mr. Adolphus Busch, of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company, has bought the interest originally held by Mr. Ellis Wainwright in the St. Louis Athletic Association.  Mr. Wainwright is therefore no longer in any way connected with the Union Club.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 11, 1884


Wainwright was one of the original investors in Lucas' plan and the entire enterprise, in its earliest days, was often referred to as the Lucas/Wainwright combination.  Much was made in the press of Wainwright and Busch's beer money backing the league and it's a bit of a surprise to see that Wainwright, as an investor in the club, didn't even make it to opening day.  

The Lucas-Wainwright-Busch Club

[From the Cincinnati Enquirer, December 2.]

...Henry V. Lucas, the moving spirit in the well-known Lucas-Wainwright Club, of St. Louis, and A.H. Henderson, prominently connected with the clubs at Chicago and Baltimore included in the new [Union Association,] spent the most of yesterday in the Queen City...They left early last evening, but before their departure were seen by an Enquirer reporter, who had received a "quiet tip" that they were in the city...

"Is the outlook good for your association?" was the first question propounded by the scribe.

"It is far better than we expected," was Mr. Lucas' reply. "Every day it is becoming more flattering."

"More than that," broke in Mr. Henderson, "every club that has joined forces with us has a strong financial backing, and numbers among its stockholders some of the most influential citizens in the places they represent. This enterprise is of no mushroom growth," he continued, "but has been organized carefully, and has come to stay."

"You have ignored the reserve rule held so sacred by the three older organizations. Are you not afraid you will get yourself into trouble?" suggested the reporter.

"That," said Mr. Lucas, "is the most arbitrary and unjust rule ever suggested, and ought to be broken. I can not see how a body of men has the right to dictate what another man shall do. It is all right when a player signs a contract. Then I have nothing to say but as long as the reserve clause is the only thing hanging over him it will not deter me from hiring a player if I want him. The players seem to appreciate this fact, and if I dared show you all the letters I have received, you would be surprised to see the names of some League players who want to go with me."

"What cities will be represented in the Union Association?"

"Well," said Mr. Lucas, "St. Louis, Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Washington will be sure. Boston and Hartford probably, with a possibility of a club in [Cincinnati.] This talk about the men at the back of the club being irresponsible is all bosh. Mr. Wainwright is worth over $2,000,000 and Mr. Adolph Busch, of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company, who is also associated with us, is one of the wealthiest men in the West. When I started out to sign players the latter said: 'Don't stop until you have secured the strongest nine that ever represented St. Louis, no matter what it costs.' I pride myself that I have already secured that, and I am not through by any means..."

"What play will you adopt as to the division of receipts?"

"The same as now used by the National League. This will give clubs in the smaller cities something to depend on beside their home patronage."

"Who are your officers?"

"We have not elected any yet, but at the annual meeting, which takes place at the Bingham House, in Philadelphia, on the 18th of this month, we will organize."

"Have all the clubs grounds?"

"Yes, and in nearly every instance they are more centrally and desirably located than the parks used by the clubs in the older associations."

"Who will compose your nine, Mr. Lucas?"

"So far I have secured Bill Taylor, Lou Dickerson and Mike Mansell, of the Alleghenies; Mullane, of Von der Ahe's team; Tom Brennan and Woulffe, of New Orleans; Dunlap, of the Clevelands; Jack Gleason, of the Louisvilles; George Schaeffer, of the Buffalos; Dave Rowe, of the Baltimores, and Gallagher, an amateur, of St. Louis. I am now negotiating with a prominent league catcher, and I think I will get him."

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 3, 1883

This is the first real mention of Lucas' partners that I've seen in the papers. There was talk of the Lucas-Wainwright club (as you see at the beginning of this article) but I hadn't come across anything specific prior to this. Obviously, Lucas, Wainwright and Busch had reached some kind of partnership or investment agreement prior to this and that most likely took place sometime in early November. I really should go back and see if I can find anything about when, specifically, Wainwright and Busch joined up with Lucas.

The 1884 Maroons: A New Athletic Club

Articles of incorporation of the St. Louis Athletic Association were filed in the office of the Recorder of Deeds yesterday. The capital stock of the Association is $15,000, divided in 600 shares of $25 each, held by the following parties: H.V. Lucas, 200, Theodore Benoist, 50, and Fred F. Epenschied, 350. The object of the association is stated to be to develop athletic sports. It is said the association proposes to start a base ball park.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, November 3, 1883

I think we've seen some rather interesting stuff so far as we begin our look at the 1884 Maroons and at some point, when the plans for the club and the UA solidify, I'll stop and go over all of that. But this is interesting for a few reasons. First, there's the matter of that photograph in the Spalding Collection of the 1886 Maroons. It just happens to be labeled as being a photo of the St. Louis Athletic Association and this article in the Globe tells us why that is. The St. Louis Athletic Association was Lucas' answer to the Sportsmans' Park and Club Association.

The other interesting thing here is that Lucas didn't own the majority of shares in the St. Louis Athletic Association, at least at the time it was incorporated. We'll see if that changes in the future. At the time of incorporation, the majority shareholder was Fred Epenschied, who I believe was Lucas' brother-in-law. After Lucas resigned as president of the Maroons in August of 1886, Epenschied took over his interest in the club. I also know of other investors, such as Ellis Wainwright and Adolphus Busch, but that's getting ahead of the story and we'll just see how this all works out.

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?

Two Birds, One Post

I found this completely by accident:

Mr. Adolphus Busch, of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company, has bought the interest originally held by Mr. Ellis Wainwright in the St. Louis Athletic Association. Mr. Wainwright is therefore no longer in any way connected with the Union Club.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 11, 1884

There I was, minding my own business and researching something totally unrelated, when my eyes caught the words "Adolphus Busch" and I stopped to read. Lo and behold, I found something that killed two birds with one stone. We can now say that Wainwright, while an original investor in the Maroons, was bought out in April of 1884. We can also say that Adolphus Busch (pictured above) was an investor in the Maroons and that the brewing family has a history in St. Louis baseball that began eighty years before August Busch, Jr. bought the Cardinals in 1953.