Still More About The Missouri Glass Company

The Missouri Glass Company's Works are situated in the First Ward of the city of St. Louis, west of the Arsenal.  The Company was incorporated by an act of the Legislature and went into operation under their charter on the 29th day of May, and elected Edward Bredell, President, and Edward Daly, Secretary; and  now, having erected their additional buildings and completed their furnaces, cutting and mould rooms, are prepared to furnish the trade of St. Louis with a superior quality of Flint and Green Glassware equal to any manufactured in the United States, and will furnish it on such terms as if will be advantageous to the trade to purchases of them.  Having the facilities for manufacturing their own moulds, will continue to introduce all new styles and patterns that may be desirable.  They will keep on hand a stock of all the staple articles sold by Druggists, Grocers, Glass and Lamp Stores. 

Persons wishing ware made from private moulds are particularly requested to give orders at least 30 days before they wish the goods, to insure prompt delivery. 

A large assortment of Black Bottles, viz.: Hocks, Brandies, Schnaps, Claret, Champagne and Bitters.  They will be continually adding to their stock.  Samples of ware can be seen, and orders left at their office, No. 33 North Fifth street, between Pine and Olive streets, and at their works, corner Lemp and Utah streets, South St. Louis, west of the U.S. Arsenal. 

-Daily Missouri Republican, December 26, 1859


The significant thing, as far as baseball is concerned, that we find in this classified advertisement for the Missouri Glass Company is the relationship between the company and druggists, something I forgot to point out yesterday.  This is significant because Cyclone Club members Maurice Alexander, Leonard Matthews and William Matthews all worked in the apothecary business.  One can image that they met Merritt Griswold and Ed Bredell by buying bottles from the Missouri Glass Company.  

Griswold Resigns The Presidency Of The Cyclone Club

The game of base ball now so popular in this as in Eastern cities, was ushered in yesterday afternoon, by the Cyclone Base Ball Club, on their old grounds in Lafayette Park, on which occasion they had the pleasure of having united with them in the game, representatives of the Morning Star, Empire and Commercial Clubs.  As was the case last season, a jolly time was had, especially when a member in his eager endeavors to catch the ball would step into some sunken hole, (left to ornament the park,) thereby changing his movement into that of the Zouave drill, or more properly speaking, lofty tumbling of a gymnast.  But we are happy to say this is soon to be remedied, as the clubs have petitioned the Common Council for the privilege of leveling the same at their own expense, which petition has been referred to the Park commissioners, and only awaits their action, when the improvements will be immediately commenced, provided the Commissioners do not delay the matter until it is too late in the season for starting the grass on places that are to be filled.  We notice the Club is composed of the same members as last year, but a slight change has been made in the officers, caused by Mr. M.W. Griswold resigning the Presidency, which is now filled by the promotion of the Vice President, Mr. Leonard Matthews, and the election of Mr. Benteen as Vice President, Mr. M.W. Alexander, Secretary, Mr. F.L. Garesche, Treasurer, and Messrs. Wm. Matthews, J. Riggin, Jr. and E. Bredell, Jr., Trustees.  The Cyclones play every Wednesday and Saturday afternoon.

-Missouri Republican, March 7, 1861


There is some very important information in this brief article from the Republican.  The mention of Lafayette Park as the Cyclones' "old grounds" should lay to rest any debate about whether or not they were playing in the park prior to 1861.  Now that debate was mostly (or only) taking place in my own mind but I'm back to being comfortable in stating that the Cyclones played at Lafayette Park in 1859 and 1860.

More important is the reference to Griswold resigning the presidency of the club prior to March 1861.  There are a couple of secondary sources that state that Leonard Matthews was the club's first president and I always found that to be odd.  I always wondered why Griswold wouldn't have been elected president.  He basically formed the club and introduced the New York game to St. Louis.  Why wouldn't he have been president of the Cyclones?  Now, in any club and election, there is politics involved and I just figured Matthews was a more popular figure among the club members.  But this article implies that Griswold was president in 1860 and that leads me to question whether or not he was president in 1859.  That would make more sense than Matthews being president and Matthews election to the club presidency in 1861 would explain the references in the secondary sources, which date to the mid-1890s at the earliest.  Matthews was remembered as being the president because he was the last president.   

The Matthews Brothers

The above photograph includes three members of the Cyclone Club-Orville Matthews (front row, center), William Matthews (front, right), and Leonard Matthews (top, right).

Leonard Matthews And The Cyclones

In 1927, a transcription of Leonard Matthews autobiography was published privately under the title A Long Life In Review. In the book, Matthews, the brother of Orville Matthews, wrote the following about the Cyclone Base Ball Club:

In the early days in St. Louis my most intimate young men friends were John Riggin, Louis Hutchinson, John Stetinius and Paul Prewett, all “high rollers,” except myself. We belonged to the St. Louis Cyclone Base Ball Company in 1860. We leased what is now Lafayette Park. At that time, it was surrounded by an osage orange hedge. We spent $600 to put the grounds in shape. This company was one of the first of its kind, formed long before the game became professional. The members were all young men in business, or sedentary life, and the club was for exercise, recreation and social intercourse. I was the first President. Among its members, I remember, were Edward Bredell, who lived opposite on Lafayette Avenue; Jack and William Collier, Ferd Garesche, Alex Crosman and E. O. Matthews, the latter two cadets in the United States Navy; Edw. Farish, my brother W. H. Matthews, now of New Orleans, and others I do not recollect. One afternoon some of us, Ed. Bredell among the rest, were lying in the shade of the hedge, pitching a ball from one to the other, when someone remarked – “Boys, we will soon have another kind of ball to pitch” – and poor Ed. caught one in battle in Virginia, early in the war.

A couple of notes:

-Both Leonard Matthews and his brother William H. Matthews worked for J. Matthews & Co., an apothecary business that they owned along with their father John Matthews, Jr. and their brother John III.

-Matthews account confirms the fact that the Cyclone Club played games at Lafayette Park (an idea advocated by Bill Battle); Al Spink lists Lafayette Park as one of the places were some of the earliest baseball games were played in St. Louis.

-Members of the Cyclone Club mentioned by Matthews but not by Griswold include Leonard Matthews, Louis Hutchinson, John Stetinius, Paul Prewett, Jack Collier, William Collier, and Alex Crosman.

-Interestingly, Matthews does not mention Griswold, Ed Bredell's co-worker from Brooklyn. I'm not sure how to interpret this. Matthews also fails to mention that the Cyclones were the first baseball club in St. Louis and that they played in the first baseball game in the city. While this suggests numerous possibilities, I don't want to read too much into it.

-That quote about "we will soon have another kind of ball to pitch" sounds awfully familiar. I don't know if I've heard it before, if Matthews "borrowed" it, or if I'm just imagining things.

-The photo of Leonard Matthews that is at the top of this post was taken from Life in St. Louis: The Matthews Family Exhibit 1851-1933, the website where I also found Matthews' autobiography.