The Appended Honorable Release

What do the St. Louis papers mean by announcing that Force, Blong, etc., have been or are to be expelled from the St. Louis Club, in the face of a fact like the one we give below, which has been sent to us by the Buffalo Club manager?  The fact we refer to is the appended "honorable release" from the St. Louis Club.  If no charges have been found true against Force, then the St. Louis journals and other Western papers have done him injustice.  Either the players who have been charged with crookedness are guilty or not guilty.  If they are guilty, put them out of the fraternity, as has been done in Louisville.  If not, then come out openly and say so, not through one member of the club, but over the signature of all of the directors.  The release in question is signed only by the club manager, who himself has been charged with crooked work by Devinney, and no satisfactory examination has been made of the case that we have heard of.  Will Messrs. Fowle and Bishop post us up on the facts?

Copy Of Release

Headquarters Brown Stockings B.B. Club,

St. Louis, Nov. 21, 1877.

Mr. E.R. Spaulding, Buffalo B.B. Association. - I take the pleasure of notifying you that Mr. D.W. Force has been honorably released by the St. Louis B.B. Association.  G. McManus, Manager.

-Mears Baseball Scrapbook, 1856-1907

I really don't want to get back into all of the culture of corruption stuff surrounding the Brown Stockings but this was too good to pass up.  My favorite part is when Chadwick (I assume) throws the whole McManus/Devinney thing back in their face.  That was a nice touch.   

The Game In Question

Chicago snatched a victory out of the jaws of defeat in fine style here to-day.  A two-base hit by Clapp and a single by Croft gave St. Louis an earned run in the fourth inning.  In the fifth, after two hands were out, Clapp and Dorgan scored on errors by Anson and McVey and two hits, which were all the runs St. Louis could squeeze in.  In the sixth inning an overthrow by Force gave McVey second, and he tallied on Anson's two-base hit.  In the seventh Eggler earned first, and was sent home by Bradley with an earned run, with two men out.  Battin made a miserable muff of Eden's bounder, and Brad got in with the tieing run.  In the eighth inning, with two men out, Anson stole second on Battin's muff of Clapp's fine throw, which reached him in plenty of time to catch the striker, and Hines then brought in the winning run by a solid hit to left.  Clapp's catching, Peter's fielding, Dorgan's throwing, and Croft's first-base play were the features of the game.

-Chicago Daily, August 25, 1877

This is the game, played on August 24, 1877 in St. Louis, that Joe Blong and Joe Battin  were alleged to have thrown.  The Brown Stockings lost to Chicago that day by a score of 4-3 after having a three run lead through five innings. 

(William) Spink alleged that two Brown Stockings had conspired with Chicago gambler Mike McDonald to fix the St. Louis-Chicago game of August 24...it seems clear that (Spink) intended to target pitcher Joe Blong and third baseman Joe Battin as the dishonest Brown Stockings...Evaluating the player performances of August 24, Spink complained, "The game was lost, after it had been won, by Battin, who has been the weakest spot in the St. Louis nine all season.  In the early part of the contest, Blong pitched well, but towards the end went to pieces, his wild pitching and lack of headwork...proving very costly."

  -Before They Were Cardinals

In the game, Blong had three errors and Battin two.  Battin's drop on Anson's steal appears to be the glaring error that had everyone scratching their heads and, in retrospect, pointing fingers.  Force also was named in the scandal by the Chicago papers and his throwing error is probably the reason for that.   

How St. Louis Was Sold Out, Part One

The base ball season is virtually at an end, although it does not officially close until November 15, and a few remarks pertaining to the year and its work may not be out of place, especially as numerous rumors have been afloat for some time past to the effect that "crooked" dealing has been indulged in to a great extent. To those who keep thoroughly posted concerning the national game, it has been evident that several screws have been loose in at least three of the leading clubs of the country-the St. Louis, Louisville and Chicago. To this same class of persons it has also been evident that pool sellers and players, instead of club organizers and managers, are alone responsible for the dirty tricks which have been practiced. Ever since pool selling became an established institution of the land a small number of strictly first-class ball players have been suspected of co-operating with the gamblers and throwing games to suit the "box." They were merely suspected, however. So cunningly did they carry out their part in the various swindling schemes, that it was an utter impossibility to obtain sufficient proof on which to base a charge which would terminate in their expulsion from the fraternity. These men have been "marked" for years and will be readily recognized by the patrons of base ball, although no names are given. In the face of innumerable hints thrown out as to their character, the various club managers of the country seem to have thought that by giving them a chance to reform they might be induced to cut loose from the gambling fraternity and remove the odium which, by their conduct, had become attached to the base ball profession. As a result of this mistaken idea, when the season opened the names of one or more of these scoundrels appeared in each of the lists of players furnished by the Louisville, St. Louis, and Chicago clubs. For this reason Chicago dropped from the head to the tail of the League, Louisville did not win the championship, and St. Louis, after opening the season in magnificent style, closed it by pressing Chicago closely for last place. The root of the evil in the St. Louis club was not reached until the season was so far advanced that it was impossible to remedy it, and even then proof necessary to make out a case in a court of justice was not obtainable, although sufficient evidence of a conclusive nature had reached the officers of the St. Louis club to demonstrate that at least two of their men were playing into the hands of Mike McDonald, the notorious Chicago gambler, who carries out a system of pool-selling on an extensive scale.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, November 1, 1877

I'll post the rest of this long but fascinating article tomorrow.

William Spink, who wrote the article for the Globe, was being rather coy about naming names. However, we know that the two Brown Stocking players that Spink fails to name in the article are Joe Blong and Joe Battin. Davey Force and Mike McGeary would also find themselves accused of improprieties as the Louisville/St. Louis scandal blew up.

Spink, the sports editor of the Globe, did an outstanding job covering the scandal, writing a series of articles about gambling corruption in baseball. According to Jon David Cash, Spink was so disgusted by the scandal that he "temporarily ceased to promote the game and instead pursued an investigation into the negative effect of gambling."

Speaking Of Wee Davy...

Here's a link to Davy Force's obituary from The Deadball Era. The grave photo above also comes from The Deadball Era.

Force played in St. Louis for one season, in 1877, with the Brown Stockings.

Mike McGeary

Mike McGeary, a Philadelphia boy, was the captain and second basemen of St. Louis' first team in the National League.

This was away back in 1876 and in 1879 McGeary was playing this same position for the Providence Club, that year the Champions.

On this Providence team with McGeary were such great players as John Ward, Robert Matthews, Em. Gross, George Wright, Tom York, Paul Hines and Jim O'Rourke. And among these great players McGeary held his own.

-From The National Game

Mike McGeary, of course, was involved in the scandal that rocked the Brown Stockings in 1877. According to Jon David Cash, in Before They Were Cardinals, McGeary "had been a target of gambling rumors since 1875." The Chicago Tribune certainly considered him to be guilty, along with Joe Blong, Joe Battin, and Davey Force, of laying down against the White Stockings in the August 24, 1877 game that was at the center of the scandal. Henry Chadwick, Cash wrote, "joined the Tribune in insisting that the Brown Stockings discipline Blong, Battin, Force, and McGeary."

The Brown Stockings' board of directors emphaticly defended Battin against the charges. When the board became aware of the possibility that ceretain players were colluding with gamblers, they took this information to McGeary. On August 25, "McGeary 'made a judicious change' when it appeared that one of the players 'attempted to duplicate his errors (of the previous day).'" McGeary transferred the suspected player "to a position where, as luck happened, he had little to do..." The player in question was Joe Blong. The fact that McGeary took actions in the face of a possible gambling scandal is what led to both the board and Al Spink defending McGeary against charges of corruption.

While the National League took no official action against the four Browns' players, none played in the League in 1878. McGeary played with the Interregnum Browns before joining the Providence NL club in 1879.

"The Greatest Game Ever Played In St. Louis" Part Two

My first post on the Browns' fifteen inning, 0-0 game against the Stars of Syracuse (which can be found here) was essentially Al Spink's take on the game. Bill Kelsoe also had quite a bit to say about the game in A Newspaper Man's Motion-Picture of the City. Reading Kelsoe's account of the game (which is posted below), I think you can understand why everyone made such a fuss. It sounds like it was one heck of a baseball game.


Greatest of St. Louis Ball Games
(From the Sunday Evening Telegraph, St. Louis, Mo., May 1, 1910)

Thirty-Third Anniversary Today of Remarkable Game at Sportsman's Park--"Billy" Kelso, a Veteran Baseball Authority, Writes Interestingly of Great 15-Inning Struggle Between the Old Browns and the Famous Syracuse Stars.

How many fans at the Cleveland-St. Louis game this afternoon know it was played on the grounds and on the anniversary of the day made memorable by one of the most remarkable contests in the history of baseball? The opponents of "our Browns" on May 1, 1877, were the famous Syracuse Stars, who had won two games on the way to St. Louis from the ex-champion Cincinnati Reds and who the season before had defeated all the big clubs in the national organization, including the Chicago champions and the Boston ex-champions.

The contest was specially noteworthy on account of the brilliant fielding. Some of the batters were famous as sluggers and they had on their batting clothes that day, but as fielders they did even better than as batters. Every chance given a fielder to put out a man was accepted. Fifteen innings were played and not a run scored, darkness then putting an end to the game.

The Stars played McKinnon, Farrell, Geer and Carpenter at, respectively, first, second, short and third, and the Browns, Croft, McGeary, Force and Battin. In the outfield were Mansell, Hotaling and Clinton at left, center and right for the visitors and Dorgan, Remsen and Blong for the home club. McCormack and Higham formed the Star battery and Nichols and Clapp ours.

Only one batter in the game reached third base, but he almost scored, missing the chance by less than half a second. It was in the eighth inning and Dave Force had made third on hits to right field by himself and Jack Remsen.

In my report of the game to the old St. Louis Times, I said:"Only one man was out as yet and the hard-hitting Croft was at the bat. It seemed as though the Browns were about to score and when Croft sent a long fly to back center field everybody was sure Force would get in. The fly settled in Hotaling's hands, however, and the next instant the ball came home like a shot and Davy was caught at the plate. The play was the finest of a game full of brilliant plays and Hotaling had to take off his hat in response to the cheers that greeted him. The second half of the inning was remarkable for a fine catch by Remsen and a piece of lightning fielding by McGeary."

Darkness Stops Great Battle

The game would have been worthy of a conspicuous place in baseball history even if darkness had come at the end of the regulation nine innings. As stated in the Times report, "the batting had, for the most part, been heavy and the fielding brilliant, but good as either the batting or fielding was during the first nine innings, that which followed was even better. From now until the close of the fifteenth inning, when darkness ended the contest, the spectators were kept constantly busy with their hands and lungs, applauding brilliant plays by individual fielders. Nichols opened the tenth with a long fly to Mansell's field. Dorgan tipped a swiftly pitched ball and Higham shot out his left hand and fastened his claws on it (foul-tips counted out when caught thirty years ago). Clapp sent a hot one through McKinnon and stole second, where he was left by a fly to Geer. The batting of the Stars netted no bigger results. McGeary stood in the way of Carpenter's bounder and Mike Dorgan's long legs and long throw prevented Higham from getting farther than second base on a ball batted nearly to the left-field fence. Only one man was as yet out, but the spectators were relieved a little later when Remsen froze to Geer's fly and McKinnon was put out by Croft."

Dorgan, who had captained the Syracuse Stars the year before, was noted both as an outfielder and catcher and was considered the heaviest batter of the home team. In the eleventh inning the fans all expected Force to reach third base on a hit to the left-field fence. "The instant the ball left Force's bat Mansell started on a run toward the southwest corner of the ball park (in 1877 the home plate was in the southeast corner of the park), and when the ball neared the ground in that corner his right hand was there to receive it. Mansel was on a dead run when he reached the ball, and the play was the best one-handed catch ever made on that ball field."

In the second half of the same inning "a ball from Hotaling's bat went like a shot in Blong's direction (right field) and it seemed as if nothing short of a miracle could prevent the batter from reaching first, but McGeary managed in some way to get a hand in front of it and the next instant the ball was held by Croft."

An Epochal Session

Joe Battin, one of the picked men who had represented the United States in an all-around-the-world series of games a few years before, opened the fourteenth inning with a stinging, crooked bounder which struck Geer in the breast and "rolled twenty feet away," but the ball beat the batter to first. "Mansell distinguished himself again by taking a fly from Force's bat on a dead run. Remsen now came in for another safe hit, the ball going to centerfield, but in running to second directly afterward he unfortunately collided with a hot liner from Croft's bat and was decided out" (much to the surprise of the spectators, as the decision was under a new rule).

The sun being almost down, it was decided to play only one inning more. As Remsen was the last out for the Browns in the fourteenth inning, Croft, the next batter, who had caused the out, was, under the old rules, the first up in the fifteenth. He hit safely and after Joe Blong's out stole second base. "Everything now depended on Nichols and Dorgan, neither of whom had batted McCormack for a single safe hit. Nichols struck fiercely, but wildly, for a double-bagger and brought forth a skyball for Farrell, and then Dorgan, the last hope of the Browns, faced the pitcher. He swung his bat as if to send the ball to the out fence, but the sad result was a high ball, which dropped into Carpenter's hands, and the Browns took the field for the fifteenth time."

Farrell, the first striker, stood at the plate without making a motion with his bat and was finally sent to base on called balls. McCormack batted a fly to Croft and Carpenter hit to Nichols, who threw to McGeary and forced out Farrell. Then Higham, the last hope of the Stars, came to bat. A two-base hit would bring home the man at first and win the game for the Stars. Higham made a desperate lunge at the first good ball pitched, but a twist was on the sphere. It bounded to Davey's feet and the next instant was shot into Croft's hands, and the game was over-a 15-inning game with a score of nothing to nothing.

The result seemed to satisfy the players, as well as spectators, and everybody was jubilant at having witnessed the most remarkable game on record. The batting under ordinary circumstances would have netted a score or more of base hits. The fielding was never excelled on a ball field."

Joe Blong

One of the more interesting players in the history of 19th century St. Louis baseball, Joe Blong played a total of 136 games in the NA and the NL between 1875 and 1877. A pitcher and outfielder, Blong was college educated, a member of a politically influential family, and was expelled from three teams in three years for “dishonesty, desertion, and unfaithful conduct”. In November of 1877, he was officially blacklisted and never played another game in the major leagues.

Joseph Myles Blong, the son of Irish immigrants, was born in St. Louis on September 17, 1853. He and his brother Andrew attended the University of Notre Dame in the late 1860’s, where they were members of the baseball team. When Blong made his major league debut in 1875, he, along with Cap Anson, became the first Notre Dame alum to play in the big leagues. Blong was married to a woman named Mary in 1880 with whom he had four children (Joseph, Mae, John, and James). In the 1880 census, Blong listed his occupation as painter. He died in 1892 and is buried at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.

While details about his personal life are rare, much more is known about Blong’s baseball career. After his playing days at Notre Dame were over, Blong returned to St. Louis where he played on amateur teams with his brothers Andy and Tom. When the St. Louis Red Stockings entered the NA in 1875, Blong was added to a club that already included his two brothers as members. In the spring of 1875, as the Reds got ready for the season by playing various amateur teams and picked nines, Blong played first base, second base, the outfield, and pitched for the team. By the time the NA season began in May, Blong was selected as the Reds main pitcher.

The 1875 season was an eventful one for Blong. He certainly had a disappointing record on the mound, officially going 3-12 for the Reds with a 3.35 ERA and an ERA+ of 72. While his performance was certainly not what the Reds had been hoping for, Blong did throw a few gems that showed the potential he had as a pitcher. On May 11th, he held the Chicago White Stockings to six hits and one run in a 1-0 Reds loss. That game, according to Baseball Library.com, was the lowest scoring game in baseball history at the time. Also, on May 23rd, Blong threw a two hitter against the Keokuk Westerns. The Reds won 7-1 although the game, because it was played on a Sunday, did not count in the official standings.

On June 29, 1875, just five days before the Reds played their last NA game, Blong signed a contract with the Stars of Covington, Kentucky. The circumstances under which Blong left the Reds and joined the Stars are not exactly clear. While it’s possible that he simply left the team for greener pastures, most sources state that he was quietly expelled from the Reds on suspicion of crooked play. The St. Louis Globe Democrat, in an article on October 31, 1875, stated that Blong was kicked off the team for “hippodroming”.

However it happened, the Reds had lost their main pitcher to the Stars and ended their pursuit for the whip pennant. And while Blong was the first to leave the team, he was certainly not the last. Captain Charlie Sweasy soon left the sinking ship for Cincinnati. Blong was joined on the Covington club by Silver Flint, Packy Dillon, and Trick McSorley. It’s not known how these players all ended up in Covington. There is enough evidence to believe that McSorley had also been expelled from the team for crooked play and may have had no other options. It’s possible that a Covington official may have raided the Reds for players. Blong may have sowed dissension in the clubhouse and enticed several of his teammates to follow him to the Stars. It’s likely that all of these things played a role in splitting up the 1875 St. Louis Red Stockings.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Blong’s departure from the Reds is the role that his brother Andrew may have played. Andrew Blong was born in St. Louis in 1850 and had a long, successful political career in the city before his death in 1909. He served as a police commissioner, a member of the police board, and as chairman of the St. Louis Democratic Party Central Committee. An upstanding member of the community, Andy Blong was also a member of the Red Stockings Base Ball Club. He had played for the team in the past and, in 1875, represented the team at the 5th annual convention of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in Philadelphia. While Mr. McNeary (possibly Tom McNeary), as club secretary, ran the day to day business of the club, Andy Blong was certainly involved in the management of the Reds. There are several sources that list him as Club President and another as Business Manager. Whatever his role, it’s likely that Andy Blong was involved in whatever decision the Reds made regarding the status of his brother.

While the rump Red Stockings soldiered on in St. Louis, Blong was in Kentucky with his new team and some of his old teammates. But the honeymoon in Covington didn’t last very long. In late September, Blong jumped from the Stars to W.B. Pettit’s Indianapolis club. Again the circumstances are less than clear. One source claims that Blong was expelled from the Stars on September 23rd for throwing a game against a Cincinnati team.

Was Blong expelled from both the Reds and the Stars in 1875 for throwing games? Blong certainly took a beating in the press in the off-season. An unnamed Reds official stated in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle that Blong would “not be eligible to play (with) any reputable club in the future” although he did play on a picked nine team against the Reds in November of 1875. That month, the Eagle chastised the St. Louis Brown Stockings for signing Blong for the centennial season and named Blong to their “all-rogue” team. The St. Louis Globe Democrat also chastised the Browns for signing Blong. While it’s possible that this sense of outrage was simply a result of Blong’s disregard for a contract, the Globe Democrat’s article from October 31st, that stated that Blong was expelled from both the Reds and the Stars for “hippodroming, must be taken seriously. The contemporary sources paint Blong as a scoundrel at best and, at worst, as a man lacking honesty and character. The red flags were certainly up.

Playing mostly in the outfield, Blong had an uneventful 1876 season for the Brown Stockings while enjoying his best year statistically. In 1877, he was named team captain. Captain Blong was not having a good year at the plate that year when the Brown Stockings went to Chicago in late August to take on the White Stockings. On August 24, 1877, Chicago beat St. Louis 4-3 in just another game in the dog days of the season. However, later that month, Blong and teammate Joe Battin were named by a group of Chicago and St. Louis gamblers as “willing partners” in the fix of the August 24th game. “Crooked play has been discovered in the St. Louis nine,” said an article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “and a dispatch from St. Louis says that (Davey) Force, Battin, and Blong have been expelled with forfeited pay.” The scandal would lead to the blacklisting of Blong, Battin, Force, and teammate Mike McGeary in November of 1877.

Joe Blong’s big league career was over. Even though he was able to catch on with “the Springfield nine” in 1878 and was playing baseball with the Union Club of St. Louis as late as 1884, Blong would never again be allowed to play baseball in the major leagues. While the incidents with the Reds and Stars are open to interpretation, Blong was specifically named, by gamblers, in a fixing incident while with the Brown Stockings and would be persona non grata in Organized Baseball for the rest of his life.