The Alleged Outrage

Ernest Rother, late book-keeper in the grocery store of Von der Ahe, of the St. Louis Base Ball Club, was arrested in [Columbus, Ohio,] to-day on a telegram from the Chief of Police of St. Louis, asking that he be detained on a charge of embezzlement.  Rother waived all formalities of a requisition, and left with an officer this evening on his return to St. Louis.  He states that he does not know what the special charges can be against him, though there is nothing wrong with his accounts or books, and he can make the matter clear when he arrives.  He thinks the arrest was made through the connivance of some of his enemies.

Rother was on his way to Germany.  While in the city he sent for James Williams, late manager of the St. Louis Club, who visited him at the prison and heard his story of the alleged outrage.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 1, 1884


I know that somewhere on this blog I've mentioned this story before but here it is again, coming up in the context of the 1884 season.  As a baseball story, there's not much there and the only interesting thing about the entire matter is the involvement of Von der Ahe and Williams. 

Von Der Ahe Had That Effect On Some People

Mr. James Williams, late manager of the St. Louis Club, has arrived home, and been offered a position at the Republican State headquarters, his duties being to schedule the speakers of the campaign, which will open next week.  Williams announces himself as being thoroughly disgusted with the business of base ball management, in St. Louis, at least.

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

The Personal Attention Of Mr. Von Der Ahe

Manager James A. Williams has severed his connection with the St. Louis Base Ball Club, having tendered his resignation yesterday, the same having been accepted by the Directory.  There is no bad feeling or any but the kindliest sentiments between Mr. Williams and his late associates, but the club affairs required the personal attention and disciplining of Mr. Von der Ahe, who will strain every nerve to brace them up once more into winning form.  

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 5, 1884


I have no doubt that the club got the personal attention of Mr. Von der Ahe and that was one of the main reasons Mr. Williams resigned.  

And Here's The Suspension

At a meeting of the Directors of the St. Louis Base Ball Club last evening Messrs. Von der Ahe, Walker, Williams and Reid were present.  It was decided to suspend Fred Lewis for the season of 1884, which disbars him from playing with any club under the tripartite agreement.  Jim O'Neill claims that he had no connection with the trouble on Tuesday night, and that the reports regarding him were unfounded.  Tom Deasley was also fined heavily for insubordination and enthusiasm.  Mr. Von der Ahe gave the other men a quiet sensible talk and desired them to do their best and work in harmony and keep up their present good record.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 3, 1884


This is so good that I'm going to have to go with the bullet points to cover it all quickly:

-Well, of course, Lewis gets suspended.  You can't get all drunk and tear up a whorehouse and not expect to get suspended.

-I imagine Tip O'Neill standing with his hands up and saying "It wasn't me."

-Was Tom Deasley involved in all of this or was his fine a separate incident.  And how does one get fined for "enthusiasm"?  Have to assume they meant a lack of enthusiasm, or a general piss-poor attitude.

-I laughed out loud when I read that VdA gave the players "a quiet sensible talk."  Compare this treatment of VdA with the coverage from the 1890s.  If this was being reported in 1895, we'd get a made up quote from VdA's speech.  Something along the lines of "Now boys youse canks goes to de horse's house und mistreats de horse.  Dats bad far de horse's bisniss und de baseball bissniss."  

Tom Deasley Has A Way With The Ladies

Tom Deasley, the catcher of the St. Louis Ball Club, made a very bad break [in Indianapolis] to-day, as a result of which he was arrested and taken to the Station house.  In going towards Bates House he met two ladies, when he accosted, and grasped one by arm; they ran hurriedly away and took refuge in a millinery store, where he followed them.  He was arrested, as stated, for drunkenness and insulting ladies.  Manager Williams put up bail for his appearance in court to-morrow.  

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 14, 1884

All There Is In The Matter

To the Editor of the Globe-Democrat.

St. Louis, February 3, 1884.-Dear Sir: In your issue of to-day there is an intimation that Mr. Von der Ahe, President of the St. Louis Club, had been concerned in a "pool," whose object was to buy Mullane's services from the Lucas club. Now, without further argument in the matter, I wish to designate this as purely and entirely false, and its object can only be to injure Mr. Von der Ahe and his club in the good graces of the St. Louis public. Now, I desire to state all there is in the matter, so far as the St. Louis Club is concerned, and what connection it has had with the business, and I will leave nothing unsaid, so the public can draw its own inference.

The St. Louis club has known for weeks that Mullane would be glad to return to its service. Indeed, Mr. Von der Ahe was approached by friends of Mullane with intimations that all that was necessary was his consent and Tony would jump the Lucas contract in a moment. Further than this friends of Mr. Von der Ahe, knowing of the matter, have blamed him severely for not accepting the offer. He has consistently refused to treat with Mullane or his friends, as he declares he had made Mullane a bona fide offer, which he had seen fit to refuse after promising to accept it, and that he would have no further intercourse with him. On Wednesday last Mullane sent the following dispatch: "Have signed agreement to play in Toledo. Will you release me? Please send release at once." To which Mr. Von der Ahe replied: "St. Louis Club releases you from reservation." This ended the correspondence. The entire cost to the St. Louis Club of Mullane's purchase by the Toledo, if it can be called a purchase, was the cost of that telegram.

As to the intimation that there is any pool for the purchase of any Union Association players, I simply desire to say the St. Louis Club has no knowledge of it whatever.

Hoping you will publish this in justice to the St. Louis Club, which is doing all it can to furnish St. Louis base ball lovers with first-class sport during the season, I am very respectfully,

J.A. Williams

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, February 4, 1884

Anything That Savors Of Trickery

Tony Mullane's case was on yesterday, as on Saturday, the leading topic wherever there exists any interest in base ball. What a general favorite he is with local patrons of the national game not even his most ardent admirers realized until the present complications arose. It may be that it is because he is such a pronounced favorite that the means which contributed to his prospective loss to St. Louis are so unanimously condemned, but the fact that they are vigorously denounced is none the less suggestive, as it shows conclusively that the public opinion is diametrically opposed to anything that savors of trickery or intrigue in base ball affairs, regardless of whether it crops out in managerial or playing circles. That Mullane of his own volition, and without being influenced, decided to break his contract with the Lucas Club, no one who knows the man will believe.

Space is given to a card from J.A. Williams, Secretary of the St. Louis Club, in which he gives an official statement of President Von der Ahe's connection with the case, and denied that the St. Louis Club had any knowledge of any pool for the purchase of Union Association players. The Globe-Democrat did not state that there was a pool, but stated that such was the general acceptance of the case. What the Globe-Democrat did state was that the defection was the result of a matured scheme arranged within the American Association, and this it is prepared to maintain. Several weeks ago information concerning the scheme was confidentially communicated to a representative of this paper by a gentleman who is very nearly if not quite as well informed in American Association affairs as Secretary Williams, and, while the name of the gentleman will not be made public, Mr. Williams can learn it at any time he so desires. The gentleman referred to made a small bet with the reporter that Mullane would play at Toledo, and also stated that Mullane's release would be granted just as soon as he would agree to sign with the Toledo Club, and emphasized his remarks with, "Now, I know what I am talking about." The results bear out the assertion that he did know what he was talking about.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, February 4, 1884

I'll have Jimmy Williams' side of all of this tomorrow.

He Is Pretty Slippery

In an interview with a Globe-Democrat reporter last night, President Von Der Ahe stated that he believed that there were sufficient grounds for the expulsion of Dave Rowe by the American Association. "Under our rules," he said, "he could not have signed with any other club after he had given me his terms. I did not do the business with him. It was done by Williams, who reported to me that he had accepted Rowe and had agreed to give him $200 advance money. I then sent on a contract and a draft for $200. The draft, which has come back, was dated November 14. On the 17th, Williams wrote me that he was afraid that Rowe would not keep his agreement, and, to settle the matter, he had written him a sharp letter, requesting him to either sign or refuse to. The next day he wrote that Rowe had signed with another club, and that he had black and white on him, and would present the case to the annual meeting at Cincinnati. Rowe wrote, as well as telegraphed, to Williams, and there is where we have got him fast. He is pretty slippery. He fooled Barnie out of reserving him by assuring him that there was no necessity for naming him, as he wanted to play ball in Baltimore next season. Barnie had made him a sort of assistant manager, and had great confidence in him, and so all that he had to do to get off was to say to Barnie: 'You needn't reserve me. I know that you want more than eleven men, and as I want to remain with you there is no occasion to reserve me. I'll sign with you anyhow.' Barnie took him at his word and did not reserve him. That was the way that Rowe tied up the other Baltimore players and got free himself. For my part, I don't care about a violation of the reserve rule. I never did approve of it, and don't think it will stand; but when a man names terms to a manager and is accepted, and then signs with another club, that is

A Different Thing,

and I think that man ought to be punished. To my mind, the reserve rule is doing more harm than anything else. It is forcing up salaries, because a player feels more important when he has been reserved than he would if left to find employment on his merits, and he won't sign as quickly nor on as reasonable terms as if he had to look for an engagement instead of having one forced on him. And then I don't want any player that I must force into my club. I don't see how any one can think that such a man will do his work as earnestly and as well as a man who works where he pleases. I told all my men they could consider themselves free, and the only one I have lost is Mullane...

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, November 28, 1883

I must say that it's interesting to hear Von der Ahe's thoughts on the reserve rule. I'm not sure if I'm buying what he's selling but it's interesting none the less.

Lucas Returns From The East, Part One

Henry Lucas returned from the East yesterday morning, looking hearty and cheerful, and expressing perfect satisfaction over the results of his trip. In the afternoon a Globe-Democrat reporter had an interview with him and obtained the following story of his work for the new ball club while away:

"First of all, I want to say three things that I want distinctly understood, because of a mass of contradictory reports that have been given general circulation by the press. They are: The club that I am interested in will belong to the Union Association, and not the Union League. I have signed Mike Mansell and I have signed Dave Rowe. The Union League will form an Eastern circuit and none of its clubs will come West, while the Union Association will have Western and Eastern members, and, consequently, will play games in both sections. I signed Mansell as I went East, at Buffalo, where he met me in response to a telegram that I had previously sent him. From Buffalo I went to New York. I signed Rowe at Baltimore. I see it stated that Secretary Williams has officially reported Rowe as signed with the St. Louis Club, but I can assure you that he will play with my nine. A contract with the St. Louis Club was sent on to Baltimore for Rowe to sign, but when it arrived he was under contract to me, and sent it back without his signature. Now that fact makes it imperative on Mr. Williams to rise and explain why he reported that he had signed Rowe for the St. Louis Club. In all my negotiations with players I have neither talked nor written to any one of them after he had informed me that

He Was Under Contract

or had made a verbal agreement to sign a contract. After signing Rowe I went back to New York, where I closed a contract with Dunlap. Rowe brought him there to meet me, at my request. While I remained in New York the only local ball players that I saw were Clapp and Kennedy. I was informed that Kennedy was not engaged, and asked him his terms. I had previously obtained terms from Schaffer, and when Kennedy gave me his terms it became a question which I would take. I finally decided to take Shaffer, and did so. I have not yet signed him, but have made a verbal contract with him before witnesses, which is just as good. I did not at any time ask any of the Philadelphia players to sign with me. I telegraphed Gross asking his terms. He answered that he would not decide until January, and after that I paid no further attention to him.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, November 25, 1883

Lucas had a rather productive trip East and returned to St. Louis with a ball club in place. In the second half of the interview, which I'll post tomorrow, he mentions all the players that he had under contract. Even more exciting, of course, is this gives us our first mention of Fred Dunlap and the some of the details of how he signed with the Maroons.

Trouble With The Bookkeeper

Ernest Rother, late book-keeper in the grocery store of Von der Ahe, of the St. Louis Base Ball Club, was arrested in (Columbus, Ohio) to-day on a telegram from the Chief of Police of St. Louis, asking that he be detained on a charge of embezzlement. Rother waived all formalities of a requisition, and left with an officer this evening on his return to St. Louis. He states that he does not know what the special charges can be against him, though there is nothing wrong with his accounts or books, and he can make the matter clear when he arrives. He thinks the arrest was made through the connivance of his enemies.

Rother was on his way to Germany. While in (Columbus) he sent for James Williams, late manager of the St. Louis Club, who visited him at the prison and heard his story of the alleged outrage.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 1, 1884

Ernest Rother, late book-keeper and cashier for Chris Von der Ahe, arrived in the city yesterday morning from Columbus in charge of an officer under charge of embezzlement. The prisoner was placed in the holdover to await further developments, where he was interviewed in reference to the charge by a Globe-Democrat reporter yesterday. According to his statement he had been in Mr. Von der Ahe's employ a little over two years, handling in the mean time about $150,000. The books and accounts of both the grocery and Base Ball Park were kept by him. Sometimes the account overran and sometimes it was short, but Rother says he is positive that it was not out of balance more than ten times during his service. The greatest shortage was $100; he does not remember what the largest surplus was...

The difficulty which induced him to quit Von der Ahe originated in his employer opening a letter addressed to him by a lady friend. When he went away he said he parted on the best of terms with his employer, who promised to keep his situation open for him. The first intimation he had of any trouble was at Columbus, where he was spending a short visit with James Williams. When Williams showed him a telegram from Von der Ahe, accusing him of stealing, he told him he would take the next train back to St. Louis. The train was two hours late, otherwise he would have arrived here without an officer Tuesday night. As it was, he was placed under arrest when he went to get his trunks rechecked, and readily consented to come on without requisition. Said he: "If I am $2,000 short in my accounts, I do not know it."

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 2, 1884

Too Wild And Jovial

In the race for catching honors in the National League in 1882 Tom Deasley, then catching for Boston, tied Bennett of Detroit.

A great catcher and thrower was Deasley, so great indeed that Ted Sullivan brought him to St. Louis and here he really wound up his career.

Deasley was a fine receiver and thrower, but too wild and jovial a fellow to last long in league company. His life on the center of the baseball stage was brief.

-The National Game

The description of Pat Deasley as "too wild and jovial a fellow" wins the award for best euphemism of the week. Deasley was an alcoholic whose escapades were part of the Browns' "team discipline" problem in 1884.

On a trip to Indianapolis that year, several members of the team were, as the Post-Dispatch said at the time, "(pouring) liquor down their throats." A drunken Deasley, according to Jon David Cash, "approached two women on the street. He apparently propositioned them, and, when his overtures were rejected, Deasley grabbed one of them by her arm. Both women escaped to the safety of a store that sold women's hats. Deasley steadfastly pursued them, and the Indianapolis police quickly arrived to arrest him 'for drunkenness and insulting ladies.' After being convicted on charges of drunkenness and assault, Deasley paid a ten-dollar fine and court costs for each offense."

Later, when the team was in Toledo, Deasley was beaten up by teammates Joe Quinn and Tom Dolan. Deasley was injured in the fight and was unable to play in "an embarrassing 16-2 shellacking at the hands of the first-year Brooklyn Trolley-Dodgers..."

On July 2, Deasley showed up drunk for a game against Baltimore. Held out of the game by Jimmy Williams, Deasley, according to Cash, "bitterly condemned the team's manager to the crowd" while his teammates were in the process of losing the game. As a result of his "jovial" antics, he was fined by the team and forced to sign an affidavit stating that he would refrain from alcohol for the rest of the season.

Late in the season, Deasley got into another fight with a teammate. This time it was Daisy Davis who Deasley battled in the dinning room of the Louisville Hotel. Deasley may also have been responsible for the Tom Dolan jumping to the Maroons. It seems that Dolan, who didn't much care for the "wild and jovial" Deasley, was unhappy that Deasley was starting at catcher ahead of him.

At the end of the 1884 season, the Browns sold Deasley to New York for $400 (although Baseball Reference states that Deasley was released by the Browns and signed with New York as a free agent). The Browns were on the verge of putting together their championship run and didn't need the kind of problems that Deasley brought. In a concise summation, Comiskey stated that Deasley was "a continual source of trouble to the team."

Jimmy Williams

The St. Louis Base-ball Club to-day engaged a new manager in the person of J.A. Williams, well known as the present Secretary of the American Association. President Von der Ahe to-day makes the announcement that while he lost the championship of the American Association in 1883 he will make a bold bid for it in 1884, and will appear in the field with the strongest nine that can be go together. He says the club of this year cost him $45,000 and that he will expend twice that amount to get a winning team here in 1884. Williams is to be given full management of the team and he is to be allowed the privilege of engaging players without regard to the expenses entailed.

-The New York Times, October 16, 1883

J.A. Williams is Jimmy Williams, the manager, and not Jimmy Williams, the player, who was born in St. Louis and played for the AL Browns. And for that matter, it's also not James Alfred Williams, who played for the Padres in 1969 and 1970, or Jimy Williams, the manager of Blow Jays fame.

Williams' tenure as manager of the Browns in 1884 is seen as a bit of a disaster and a set-back in the team's growth towards championship status. While the team played well, they finished fourth in the AA as compared to a second place finish the previous year. Also, in 1884, there were a string of embarrassing incidents involving Browns' players that many believed reflected a lack of managerial discipline. On September 4th, Williams resigned amid accusations that he had lost control of the team. He was replaced by Charlie Comiskey.

One positive that came out of Williams' tenure was the acquisition of Tip O'Neill. Jon David Cash writes that Williams "had been hired by Von der Ahe in late October 1883 to manage the Browns. Nevertheless, he still remained the American Association secretary until December 12, pending the appointment of his replacement at the winter meeting. In his capacity of league secretary, Williams voided O'Neill's contract with the Metropolitans; then in his role as Browns' manager, Williams signed O'Neill to a St. Louis contract...National League president Abraham G. Mills, functioning as chairman of the Arbitration Committee, upheld the Browns' claim to O'Neill's services..."