Times Change

But Few of the "Old Guard" in Base Ball Left

Anson and Connor are the only two men who were playing ball in 1876 that were found in the major League this year, while Glasscock and Hines, who were playing from 1876, were with minor league teams during the past season. Of all the other players of the leading teams of 1886 only Nash, Brouthers, Thompson, Pfeffer, Ryan, Donnelly, Ewing, Ganzel, Clements, McGuire, Quinn, C.F. Dailey, Miller, W. Robinson, Bierbauer, Lyons, McGarr, Terry, George Smith, McPhee and Latham were found with the major League teams of 1896. Of these Dailey, Brouthers and Latham remained only a short time, the last two finishing the season with minor league teams.

-From Sporting Life, January 16, 1897

I like the use of the phrase "major League" in this piece as compared to the modern usage of "Major League(s)." When we talk about Major League Baseball or the Major Leagues, we tend to forget about the "major" part and that the NL and AL are the major baseball Leagues. It's something we take for granted and this older usage is a good reminder.

The 1890 Boston Beaneaters?

Perusing Bill Burgess' collection of 19th century photographs over at Baseball Fever, I noticed a team picture of the 1890 Boston Beaneaters and realized that I knew most of the guys on the team. While that may speak to an over-familiarity with 19th century baseball, I thought it was more interesting that several of the Beaneaters had St. Louis connections.

Looking at the team photo, Chippy McGarr, who played with the Browns in 1888, is in the back row at the far left. Patsy Donovan, who lived in St. Louis, played with the St. Louis Nationals from 1900-1903, and was technically the first manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, is in the back row, third from the left. Bill identifies the player third from the right as Scrappy Bill Joyce, a St. Louis native-although Joyce isn't listed on the team roster. Tommy Tucker, back row, far right, played with the Browns in 1898. Kid Nichols, middle row, far left, played with the Cardinals in 1904 and 1905. Steve Brodie, middle row, far right, played for the Browns in 1892 and 1893. Another Beaneater not in the picture but who played for the Browns in 1892 was Charlie Getzien.

I realize that this is apropos of nothing and it's certainly not unique but I was fascinated by the randomness of it.

Bill Gleason

According to Baseball Reference, Bill Gleason was traded with Curt Welch to the Philadelphia Athletics on November 21, 1887 for Fred Mann, Chippy McGarr, Jocko Milligan, and $3,000. This, of course, was part of the Browns' big fire sale. The image above is Gleason's Old Judge Card from 1888, the only season he played with Philadelphia.

What I Actually Meant To Say

I've had a long week that involved too much work, too little sleep, and probably one too many trips to the local pub. When I sat down to post yesterday, I had no clue what I was going to write about and ended up posting what seems in retrospect a relatively incoherent piece on Chippy McGarr. Oh well, not every post can be a Light In August. So let's see if I can pull it together long enough to make some sense out of all of this.

The Browns juggernaut had another successful season on the field in 1887, cruising to their third straight pennant. They were led by the outstanding pitching of Bob Caruthers, Dave Foutz, and Silver King. At the plate, Tip O'Neil had his best season, winning the triple crown and leading the AA in just about every major offensive category. Caruthers and Foutz, who played 61 and 65 games in the field respectively, were the second and third best hitters on the team.

While the Browns cruised to the pennant, their on-field success did not translate into financial success for Chris Von der Ahe. With the loss of the Pittsburgh club to the National League after the 1886 season, attendance (and revenue) was down across the AA in 1887. The lack of a competitive pennant race also had a depressing effect on attendance in St. Louis. The profitable Sunday games were threatened due to the activities of Sabbatarians who controlled the State Legislature in Missouri. The World Series versus Detroit did not generate the revenues anticipated. And as revenue was declining, Von der Ahe's expenses, in the form of player salaries, were increasing. While the Browns were certainly still a profitable operation, Von der Ahe, who relied on his baseball profits to fund his other business interests, was feeling the squeeze.

As a result of this downturn in his economic situation, Von der Ahe explored numerous options. Speculation was ripe that the Browns would follow the Alleganhys into the League (in exchange for a $25,000 bonus). Other rumours making the rounds in 1887 were that Von der Ahe would sell the Browns to Joseph Pulitzer for $100,000, move the club to New York, or buy a controlling interest in the Philadelphia Association club and transfer some of the abundant talent on the Browns to his new team in order to make the AA a more competitive venture.

While Von der Ahe certainly explored all of these options, in the end rather than take any radical steps he simply chose to cut expenses and raise revenue the "old fashioned" way-by selling his players. According to Jon David Cash, Von der Ahe "traveled to the East and traded away the rights to five valuable players from his championship team. For a total of $18,750, he sold to the Brooklyn Trolley-Dodgers the services of Albert 'Doc' Bushong and the two men who had served as a pitcher-right fielder tandem for the Browns, Dave Foutz and Bob Caruthers. In Philadelphia, Von der Ahe arranged another transaction, sending shortstop Bill Gleason and center fielder Curt Welch to the Athletics for catcher John 'Jocko' Milligan, shortstop James 'Chippy' McGarr, center fielder Fred Mann, and an additional eight thousand dollars." These transactions not only helped to address Von der Ahe's financial situation but it also strengthened Philadelphia and Brooklyn, making for a (theoretically) more competitive league.

As to Chippy McGarr and Lou Sockalexis, McGarr was born, raised, and lived in Worchester, Massachusetts, home of the College of Holy Cross. It seems that in the offseasons while McGarr was playing with Cleveland, he helped coach the Holy Cross baseball team. Sockalexis was the star athlete at Holy Cross and McGarr, recognizing his talent, pressed Cleveland manager Patsy Tebeau to sign Sockalexis. Tebeau had Jesse Burkett, another Cleveland player and Worchester native, confirm McGarr's scouting report. After Burkett also told Tebeau to sign Sockalexis, Tebeau spent almost a year trying to sign the player to a contract. After a complicated courtship that involved Sockalexis disappearing for a time and then enrolling at Notre Dame, Cleveland finally signed Sockalexis for the 1897 season.

Chippy McGarr

In 1887, the Browns held what David Nemec described as "the biggest fire sale in major league history." While fans of the Florida Marlins might want to argue that point, Chris Von der Ahe did move Bob Caruthers, Curt Welch, Doc Bushong, and Bill Gleason in November of 1887 to various teams for a combination of cash and players. The reasons for the fire sale included the need to reduce payroll, a desire to recoup declining profits, Comisky's unhappiness with the attitudes of some of his stars, and possibly an attempt to strengthen other teams in the AA. One of the players that the Browns received in the fire sale was James McGarr.

There is an argument to be made that Chippy McGarr was one of the worst everyday players in the history of baseball and should be on the list of the all-time worst third basemen. From 1894 to 1896, McGarr, playing everyday for Cleveland, never had an OPS+ higher than 62. At the same time that he wasn't hitting, McGarr committed 125 errors over those three seasons.

McGarr, who lived in Worchester, Massachusetts and helped coach the Holy Cross baseball team, was instrumental in Cleveland signing Lou Sockalexis in 1897. McGarr had been telling Cleveland manager Patsy Tebeau about the Holy Cross star for several years and recommended that the team sign him.