The Northwestern Association Of Base Ball Players

The Convention At Chicago.

The Northwestern Association Of Base Ball Players.

The second annual convention of the Northwestern Association of Base Ball Players assembled at the Briggs House, Chicago, Dec. 19th, 1866...

Upon the call of the roll of clubs represented at the last meeting of the Association, the following delegates were found to be present...

Hope, St. Louis - James Reed and J.M. Williams...

The Committee on Nominations reported, and the following clubs were admitted...

Excelsior Base Ball Club, of St. Louis, Mo., organized first in 1861, and re-organized October 1, 1865.  Number of members, 20.  Delegates - G.H. Hoos, August Shoot...

Defiance Base Ball Club, of St. Louis, Mo., organized April 23, 1865.  Number of members, 29.  Delegates - F. McPhetridge...

The following resolution was offered by Mr. J.H. Mower, of Indiana: -

Resolved, That whenever two or more clubs shall signify to the President of the Association their desire to compete for the Championship of the Northwest, the officers of the Association are hereby instructed to arrange the details of a tournament to be held within thirty days thereafter, at which said championship shall be decided.

The resolution was adopted, when the Convention adjourned sine die.

The death blow was given to associations composed of clubs from several States like these of the Northwestern Association and that of the New England Association, by the official recognition of the State Associations made at our Convention [in New York,] and yet there were delegates present who talked pretty loud against this movement and in favor of a selfish and narrow minded policy, which, if it had succeeded, would have made the Northwestern Association a powerful rival to the National, and have led to a different code of playing rules for the West. 

-Mears Baseball Scrapbook, Volume 4, 1856-1907


This is beyond fascinating.  I had never heard of the Northwestern Association of Base Ball Players before and I'm amazed that neither the Empires or the Unions were represented in the organization.  Perhaps I shouldn't be as both were involved with the NABBP and the Missouri baseball association and the article makes it clear that the NWABBP was a rival to both the national and state associations. 

The really interesting thing here is that idea of a rivalry between regional baseball associations.  The NABBP was dominated by New York clubs who were promoting their specific version of baseball.  Merritt Griswold had written, in 1860, that unless the game was played by the rules of the National Association, it was not "base ball."  The New York clubs had made up their minds what baseball was and that vision was spreading across the nation.  A point that I've made before is that there was nothing predetermined about the spread of the New York game or the domination of American baseball by Eastern clubs.  While there are many good reasons for the spread and acceptance of the New York game, it didn't have to drive out local variants and it's possible to imagine a scenario where local variants survived, competed against the New York game and thrived.  The NWABBP looks, to me, like the last gasp of Western clubs to stave off domination by the Eastern clubs.  The Eastern clubs had decided what "base ball" was, what the rules to the game were and were in the process of imposing that vision of the game on the rest of the nation.  The NWABBP had fought a losing battle against Eastern dominance.   

Box Scores!

At an early hour yesterday morning a base ball match, between the Excelsior and Lone Star Clubs, came off on the vacant grounds near of Twentieth and Biddle streets.  The contest terminated in favor of the Excelsior Club...The Lone Star Club is composed of boys of from sixteen to eighteen years, and the Excelsior Club of boys of much larger growth.

-Missouri Republican, August 17, 1860


I posted this information not that long ago but I'm reposting it because I was finally able to grab the box score.  Even though I have access to a lot of newspaper databases, sometimes it's difficult to capture the box score image.  But recently I found a nice little browser app that basically lets me capture any part of any image that shows up in the browser.  So grabbing the box scores just became much, much easier.   

On Empire Ground

A Match Game of Base Ball, between Excelsior and Commercial Juniors, will take place This Day, at 2 o'clock, P.M., on Empire ground.

-Missouri Republican, May 25, 1861

I'm pretty sure that "on Empire ground" means Gamble's Lawn. 

Boys Versus Men

At an early hour yesterday morning a number of people assembled on the vacant grounds near Twentieth and Biddle streets, to witness a match game of base ball, between the Excelsior and Lone Star Clubs-boys vs. men.  The contest terminated in favor of the men of the Excelsior Club.

-St. Louis Daily Bulletin, August 17, 1860

The score of the match was 49-16.  Playing for the Excelsiors was Hamilton, Noerr (or Noett), Hamilton, Hanck, Taylor (or Tayler), Hudson, Linneman, Hamilton, and Wolfan (and Wolfun).  Playing for the Lone Stars was Laferty, Duncan, Duncan, Smith, Plum, W. Dukes, N. Dukes, Jacobs, and Maginn.   Frederick Kern, of the Empire Club, was the umpire.   

A couple of interesting things here.  First, the Lone Star Club was unknown to me and therefore adds to our list of known antebellum St. Louis baseball clubs.  Second, I have no idea of whether "men vs. boys" refers to the difference in the skill level of the two clubs as reflected in the final score or whether if this was actually a match played between grown men and what was, essentially, a junior club.  Finally, we have another game played at the Laclede Grounds.  Good times.    

The Excelsior Club

In a previous communication mention was made of the Excelsior Club as being one of the ante-bellum organizations that met with an early dissolution. Through the kindness of one of its surviving members, John McKernou, Esq., of Washington avenue and Twenty-First street, the following additional and interesting data has been obtained: The club was orgainized by the election of Jas. Fitzwilliams, president; Patrick Keenan, a whitener, was treasurer; W. Sullivan, a drummer, who taught the comedian, Jos. K. Emmett, how to handle the stick, was secretary and among its active members were Peter Fitzwilliams, who was killed in the rebel army; John Hogan, a bookbinder; Joseph Champine and my informant, whose memory fails him as to the others. The club found birth and home in two old omnibusses placed end to end at Sloan's Carriage Factory, Eighth and St. Charles streets where now stands N.O. Nelson & Co.'s building. When the club membership became too large for its original quarters, its meetings were held on the east side of Sixth street between Morgan and Franklin avenue back of what was known as Beckner's Garden and in front of the Sans Souci Garden, both being places of public resort. The club played on Gamble Lawn during its brief existence of one season, that period of time being long enough to tire the boys out in carrying the old style sand bag bases back and forth the long distance to the grounds. Another feature of the game that added to the disheartening of this mis-named club was the round shape of the bats, whereby they were unable to hit the ball so frequently as with the old paddle.

-E.H. Tobias, writing in The Sporting News, November 16, 1895