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.

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?

More On The Anheuser-Busch/Union Association Link

The Union Association was essentially a Western organization...Messrs. Lucas, Wainwright, and the Busch Anheiser Brewing Company, of St. Louis, are moving spirits in the Association...

A gentleman residing in St. Louis, who is intimately acquainted with Mr. Henry V. Lucas, the president and organizer of the new anti-league St. Louis team, to-day assured me that Mr. Lucas is not shouldering the costly team that has been engaged for that city. Said this gentleman: "I have reason to think-I might almost say I know positively-that the new St. Louis enterprise is secretly backed by a big brewing company. I believe that same concern is backing the Chicago Union scheme, and, in fact, is the main support of all the Union Association clubs. Beer-selling is to be a feature of all the games, and the brewing companies probably expect to make enough money out of the sale of beer to pay the cost of supporting the ball clubs."

-The Cleveland Herald, December 17, 1883

I certainly don't consider this confirmation of Anheuser-Busch's involvement with Lucas, the UA and the Maroons but I'm having fun trying to run this down. At this point, I honestly don't believe that A-B was involved in the financing of the UA but I'm keeping an open mind. The most I'm willing to say at this point is that Adolphus Busch was probably interested in Lucas' baseball venture and the two may have talked about the brewery investing in one or more clubs.

The New Club

The new club has formed (in St. Louis) with some $15,000 capital. Henry W. Lucas, a millionaire and prominent business man, is at the head, with Anheuser Busch Brewing Company as second stockholders. Mr. Lucas subscribes $6,000 to the stock. They have outside parties interested, it is rumored. They have secured very central grounds at Twenty-fifth and Biddle streets, about a mile closer to the city than the old grounds...They will enter the new Union League and the papers have been forwarded for that purpose.

-The Cleveland Herald, October 26, 1883

The reference to Anheuser-Busch's involvement in the Maroons is unconfirmed but very interesting given their later involvement in St. Louis baseball. There are other reports that Lucas' main partner in the club was Ellis Wainwright and the conventional wisdom, of course, is that Lucas ran the whole show, both club and league.