The 1869 Convention Of The Missouri State Base Ball Association

The delegates to the Annual Convention of Base Ball Players of the State of Missouri met at St. Louis on Nov. 5th.  Owing to the inclemency of the weather a great many clubs belonging to the association were not represented.  The meeting was very harmonious and considerable business was transacted.  The following gentlemen were elected officers and delegates to the National Convention for the ensuing year: - President, Joseph Ketterer, of the Lone Star Club; 1st Vice-President, James Foster, of the St. Louis Club; 2nd Vice-President, David Murphy, of the Washington Club; Recording Secretary, Wm. Medart, of the Turner Club; Corresponding Secretary, George D. Barklage, of the Empire Club; Treasurer, C.H. Overbeck, of the Lone Star Club; Delegates to the National Convention, Col. David Murphy, of the Washington Club, Washington, Mo., and Joseph Ketterer, of the Lone Star Club, of St. Louis.

-Mears Baseball Scrapbook, Volume 4, 1856-1907

Von der Ahe Arrested For Employing Labor On The Sabbath

Last week at Viva El Birdos, Larry Borowsky posted an interview with Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, who has just published a new book, 100 Things Cardinal Fans Should Know And Do Before They Die. In the introduction to the interview, Larry wrote that he had "never heard the one about team owner [Chris Von der Ahe] getting arrested in the second inning of an 1887 game and charged with conducting business on a [Sunday]..." Well, I had never heard that one either and, given my interest in the history of Sunday baseball in St. Louis, I had to find out what this was all about. A quick search led me to the relevant article.

The Browns and Baltimores played one inning yesterday, when the game was stopped by the police and Von der Ahe was arrested. A crowd of fully 10,000 people assembled to witness the game, many no doubt being attracted by curiosity and in the hope of seeing some excitement to vary the monotony of the Sabbath. All arrangements had been perfected in anticipation of what transpired. Every person who paid his way into the grounds was given a check which would admit him to any future game in the event of yesterday's game being stopped. A squad of twenty-five mounted police were on the grounds, under the leadership of Sergt. Floerich. The Baltimore team arrived early on the grounds, but were instructed to remain off the field. At 3:10 the gong was rung, and the home team proceeded to their places for practice. Ten minutes later the Baltimores came on the field amidst a perfect storm of applause, and after ten minutes' practice for the visitors the gong was rung and Umpire Ferguson proceeded to call "time." The Baltimores took the field, and the game commenced. In the meantime a squad of police formed in line at the western end of the grand-stand, and another across near the dressing-rooms. Latham opened by hitting to center for a base, and reached second on a passed ball. Gleason hit to Kilroy, who caught Latham between second and third, where he was run down, Gleason reaching second on the play. He reached third on O'Neill's out, but was left, Comiskey striking out. Greenwood flew out to Robinson, Purcell went out on an assist of Gleason's. Burns hit through Gleason and stole second, but was left, Tucker flying out to Welch.

Caruthers had stepped up to the plate for the second inning, when Sergt. Floerich stepped up to Bob Ferguson, and said:

"You will have to stop the game."

"All right, sir," said Bob-"Time!"

And ball playing for the day was at an end.

During the progress of the first inning Sergt. Floerich went up to the Director's box, where Mr. Von der Ahe was sitting. The Sergeant stepped up to the Browns' President, accompanied by Detectives Howard and Harrington.

"Mr. Von der Ahe, I will have to place you under arrest," he said.

"All right," was the response, "although I wish you had allowed us to play a few more innings, as the game was very interesting."

Mr. Von der Ahe smiled as he arose to accompany the detectives. An omnibus had been provided for the occasion, and the detectives, Mr. Von der Ahe, Wm. Medart, Jos. G. Lodge, Judge Scott and the Globe-Democrat reporter jumped in and were driven rapidly to the Fair Grounds Sub-Station, where a charge of breaking the Sunday law was preferred against Mr. Von der Ahe. The party was evidently expected at the station, as quite a crowd had gathered to watch the developments. In the station the prisoner and his friends were greeted by Chief Huebler, who immediately telephoned for Judge Noonan to accept the offender's bond. After a short delay, Judge Noonan arrived and the bond, but $100, or double the maximum penalty for breaking the law, was accepted, Wm. Medart subscribing to it. The Judge had evidently taken advantage of the Noonan Sunday law decision and was enjoying himself to his fullest capacity. The party was then driven back to the park, where they were greeted with shouts of applause, the crowd, no doubt, thinking that the playing would be renewed. As Chief Huebler, however, had given orders to arrest the players in case they attempted to play, Mr. Von der Ahe announced that the game was off.

When Sergt. Floerich stopped the game, the crowd, as if by one impulse, sprang into the field, and in a few seconds after the game was stopped, the diamond was filled with a surging mass of men, who hurled all kinds of vile epithets at the officers. At one time, it seemed as if personal violence would be offered them, but everything passed off smoothly, and in a short time after the players had left the field, the grounds were comparatively deserted.

The Baltimore team had made arrangements to leave for Cleveland last night, but, after the interference, Manager Barnie consented to remain over and play the game off to-day. This act on his part should be appreciated to-day by giving the visitors a rousing reception.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 11, 1887

The law in question had gone into effect on June 19, 1887 and prohibited labor or the employment of labor on the Sabbath. However, the Globe stated, on June 15th, that the City Counselor had targeted the law at saloons, beer gardens, pool halls and baseball and noted that "bakeries, barber-shops, baths, cabs, carriages and baggage-wagons, drug stores, gas and electric light companies, hotels, ice-dealers, laundries, livery stables and undertakers, meat-shops, milk depots, news-stands, physicians, restaurants, street cars, telegraph companies, and ticket offices" were not effected by the law. The Globe also noted on June 22 that Von der Ahe planned to test the new law and would not alter the Browns schedule. The saloons and beer gardens targeted also were going to fight the law.

The law began to be enforced on June 26 and by June 29, after the first arrests, it was being challenged in court. On July 9, most of the law was struck down by Judge Noonan, although he declared that the ban on the sale of whiskey was legal under Missouri law. The Chief of Police in St. Louis then ordered his men to "arrest and prosecute all persons pending or hawking their wares...on Sunday." The Globe, on July 14, stated that this order was the result of "an old ordinance which has existed on the books for years, more as a curiosity than anything else." This law may be the one that was being enforced in 1864, but that is unclear.

On July 15, Von der Ahe had his day in court and did not contest the facts of the charges against him. Under cross-examination, Sgt. Floerich testified "that the games had been played in the park for twelve years on Sundays and they had always been quiet and orderly, and had never been interfered with before." He also noted that the "ball-grounds were a private property." The defense, which included testimony from Congressman John O'Neill and former Union club member Charles Turner, essentially consisted of stating how wonderful a game baseball was and how orderly the crowds were at the games. They also argued that the law "had not in its purview the game of base-ball, but its application to labor was only to servile labor. [They] quoted other laws to show that the game of ball and kindred amusements were not prohibited...[arguing] that the law did not apply to sports and games, other than what are known as gambling games."

After a deliberation of two hours, Judge Noonan returned an opinion agreeing with the argument of the defense. He explicitly stated that the law only applied to servile labor and gambling games such as horse-racing and cock-fighting. "The evidence shows," he wrote, "that the base-ball playing was in private grounds, and no noise disturbing the peace of the neighborhood resulted therefrom, and the Court decided that the defendant committed no offense under the statute in playing base-ball and discharged him." The law did not prohibit "either expressly or by construction, base-ball, carried on decently, orderly and quietly on Sunday. I might say, in addition to this, that the game was a reasonable sport, and use of nature's powers, and, while the evidence showed that money was taken and money paid to the players, it in my mind is not within the meaning of this statute, any more than would be the playing of any piano player or singer that might come into the home of a citizen on Sunday to contribute to his entertainment." The Globe headlined their article of July 16, reporting the decision, "Base-Ball Is Recreation."

I think it's safe to conclude, based on this incident and the Edwardsville movement in 1886, that there was a general Sabbatarian movement in St. Louis at this time and they made an attempt to target baseball games. However, Sunday baseball and a loosely-observed Sabbath was a part of the general culture of St. Louis and I think this found expression in Judge Noonan's decision. In the end, the Sabbatarian movement would succeed and blue laws would be enforced in Missouri into the 1980s. But, to the best of my knowledge, those laws never effected the playing of baseball in St. Louis on Sundays. This incident stands out as an exception to St. Louis' general tolerance of Sunday baseball.

Note: For those interested, the law under which Von der Ahe was arrested stated that "Every person who shall either labor himself or compel or permit his apprentice or servant or any other person under his charge or control to labor or perform any work, other than household offices of daily necessity, or other work of necessity or charity, or who shall be quilty of hunting game or shooting on the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not exceeding $50."

Also, I have to admit that I've changed the title of this post four times, attempting to accurately describe what happened. In the end, I think it's accurate to state that Von der Ahe was not arrested for organizing a baseball game or engaging in business on a Sunday. He was arrested for compelling persons under his charge or control to labor on a Sunday. When I first started looking into this, I thought he was arrested for selling beer and whiskey on the Sabbath and that this had nothing to do with baseball but, after looking into it a bit more, I realized that I was wrong. The City Counsellor was targeting Von der Ahe and the Browns because they were playing professional baseball on a Sunday.

The 1885 World Series: Game Four

The Browns scored another victory over the Chicagos yesterday in a contest that was one of the most exciting that has taken place at Sportsman's Park this season. The visitors outbatted and outfielded the home team, but they ran bases with very bad judgment and three of their four errors were very costly. Anson would not accept McCaffrey as umpire and the opening of the game was delayed forty minutes before a choice was made, William Medart being finally agreed upon. Mr. Medart tried to satisfy both sides, but failed to please the visitors, and after the game was ended declared that he would never again be found in such a position. To the eyes of the reporters he made a mistake in the fifth inning in deciding Burns out at third on Robinson's throw to Latham, but otherwise his decisions were correct, and there was no reason in the kicking that the Chicago players persisted in. In the last inning, after Burns had obtained first on an error by Barkley, McCormick raised a fly to Comisky, who muffed the ball. Burns then ran for third and Comiskey picked up the ball, turning his arm as if to throw to third, causing McCormick to move away from first base, and made a dash to cut off McCormick. The latter tried to get back, but did not succeed, and Comiskey, after touching him, fell over him. When McCormick was declared out he stood on the base and refused to come in, and Sunday walked up to Medart and told him he knew "that man was not out." Medart informed Sunday that he was "a liar" and ordered him to shut up, adding "if you don't do it I'll make you." Sunday shut up, but stood back with his fists clenched, prepared for an attack and looking as if ready to make one. Kelly stepped up to Sunday and led him to the bench. Then McCormick came in from first, with his face glowing like fire, and was making a bee line for Medart, when Kelly met and stopped him. But for Kelly's intervention there doubtless would have been a row, for McCormick is not only hot-tempered but is a fighter, and had he got near Medart there would have been a fight. Had one occurred the Chicago players would undoubtedly have been roughly handled, for the feeling was very strong against them.

The first run was scored by Latham in the third inning. After he had batted the ball, which McCormick ran to field and then let roll about an inch outside of the left foul line, Anson called Kelly close up behind the bat. Then he drove a slow one by McCormick to center and took first. A low throw by Kelly to Pfeffer gave him a life at second, and Foutz out at first advanced him to third. When Caruthers hit to Williamson and the latter threw to first, he broke for home and tallied. The visitors made their 2 in the fifth. Burns led with a single to left, went to second on a passed ball and third on Barkley's fumble of McCormick's grounder. McCormick then ran slowly for second to induce Robinson to throw to Barkley. Robinson, however, threw to Latham, and Burns was declared out. After Halliday had been called out on strikes, Balrymple drove the ball over the right field fence, bringing in McCormick and scoring a home run himself. The winning runs were made in the eighth inning. Latham obtained first on Burns' failure to stop a grounder to short, took second on a passed ball, third on Foutz's hit to Anson and out at first; and scored on Caruthers' single to left. When he crossed the plate, the crowd in the grand stand stood up and cheered. Caruthers got second on a passed ball, but was run down between second and third when Gleason hit to McCormick. Pfeffer scored the out and threw wild to Anson to catch Gleason off first, with the result that Gleason ran to third and scored on Welch's grounder, which Williamson fielded back of third but could not get to Anson in time to put out the striker.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 18, 1885

No one can say that the 1885 World Series lacked for drama.

William Medart, for those who are interested, had been a board member of the old NA/NL Brown Stockings and had previously umpired League games in games in St. Louis. However, it had been pointed out in the past that he was not a particularly good umpire.

The 1876 Brown Stockings: The Centennial

The most exciting game of ball ever played in this city was that between the Bostons and Brown Stocks at Grand Avenue Park yesterday afternoon, which was witnessed by at least 6,000 spectators, who shouted themselves hoarse. All the seats were densely packed, and the limits of the field were encircled by a live cordon of sweltering humanity. The red-legged champions were unlucky enough to lose the toss, and Mr. Wm. Medart, of St. Louis, was chosen to act as umpire. The champions presented Geo. Wright, Leonard, Manning, Shaefer and O'Rourkke, of their old team, Tim Murnan, formerly of the Philadelphias, and Brown, Whitney and Morrill, three promising young players who had never before been seen on a St. Louis ball ground. All three created a favorable impression, Brown especially, who is without doubt one of the most effective catchers in the country. The Bostons took the lead in the third inning and maintained it until the ninth, when the Browns were allowed tp get even with them, principally by a bad muff of O'Rourke's. The tenth and eleventh innings did not add to the score, but in the twelfth, Morrill, by the errors of Clapp and Pike, and O'Rourke's timely hit, tallied, and this proved to be the winning run. The home team was outbatted and outfielded at all points...George Wright was the bright particular star.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 5, 1876

That's an odd reference to the "Brown Stocks" and I'm not certain if it's intentional or just a misprint.

The 1876 Brown Stockings: Home Sweet Home

The Eastern clubs put in an appearance on Western fields yesterday. At Grand Avenue Park 3,000 spectators assembled to witness the contest between the Athletics, of Philadelphia, and the St. Louis Brown Stockings. Mr. William Medart was chosen Umpire, and his errors in judgment were numerous. The Browns, who lost the toss, played Pearce at short, Mack at second, and McGeary behind the bat, Clapp's hands being still very sore. Rittenhouse caught for the Athletics, Malone also being used up. Glaring errors in the first inning gave the home team two runs and the visitors two. One of the three runs scored by the Browns was earned. An almost faultless game was then played by both sides until its close. The best fielding was done by Zettlein, Dehlman, Force, Pearce, Mack and Meyerle. The batting was weak, Hall, the noted hard hitter, getting in one of his long drives in the ninth inning. All the other safe hits were singles.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 21, 1876

Charles H. Turner

This weekend I was doing research on three projects that I wanted to get off my plate. The first was a basic genealogy of the Lucas’s, a prominent St. Louis family that was deeply involved in the history of 19th century baseball in the city. The second was the makeup of the board of directors of the 1875 St. Louis Brown Stockings. In A Newspaper Man’s Motion-Picture View of the City, Bill Kelsoe lists the members of the board and I wanted to gather some general information about the men who were instrumental in financing and organizing the team. Finally, I wanted to find more information about the social makeup of the Union Base Ball Club of St. Louis. Based on a few sources that I have, it appears that some of the members of the Union Club came from prominent and wealthy St. Louis families. That members of the Union Club came from the city’s upper class seems to be fairly unique among baseball clubs of the era and demanded more research. While I was unable to finish any of the three projects, interestingly all three research threads came together in the person of Charles H. Turner. As a wise man once said, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

Charles Turner was born in 1849 to Henry S. Turner and Julia Hunt. Henry Turner was a West Point graduate and classmate and friend of William T. Sherman who served with Stephan Kearney in the Mexican-American War. Julia Hunt was the daughter of Theodore Hunt, a naval officer and favorite in St. Louis social circles, and Anne Lucas, the only daughter of J.B.C. Lucas, one of the earliest settlers of St. Louis and one of its wealthiest and most influential citizens. H.S. Turner, with the support of his wife’s powerful family, would serve as a member of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, the Missouri State Legislature, and as Assistant United States Treasurer. In the 1880 census, he listed his occupation as “retired capitalist.” In the 1870’s, H.S. Turner, as a member of the Board of Aldermen, would introduce legislation that established the street car system in St. Louis. Within a few years, his son Charles would own the company that his father helped to establish.

Charles Turner, according to Jeremiah Fruin, was an original member of the Union Base Ball Club of St. Louis. Other members of Turner’s social set who were members of the club included his cousin Robert Lucas, Shepard Barkley, Joseph Charles Cabanne, Orrick Bishop, and Harry Carr. Turner, a catcher, was described as a part of the original battery of the Union nine. He also pitched and played second base for the club. His membership in the original Union Club raises some questions. If the club was founded in the early 1860’s at about the same time as the Empire Club (and they were certainly playing baseball by 1861) then Turner could not have been an original member, being too young. It’s most likely that Turner did not join the club until after the Civil War.

In 1875, Turner was involved in the founding of the Brown Stockings. With the urging of newspaper men W.C. Steigers and R.P. Thompson, “several young St. Louisans of prominence” set up an organization to create a professional baseball team in St. Louis that could compete with the professional Chicago White Stockings. The board of directors that was elected to run the new organization included J.B.C Lucas, president; W.C. Steigers, vice-president; Charles A. Fowle, secretary; and Charles Turner, treasurer. Other members of the board included Orrick Bishop, William Medart, and Joseph Carr. Interestingly, the Union Club was heavily represented on the board with Turner, Steigers, and Bishop all being members and with the possibility that Lucas and Carr were as well. The Lucas family was also well represented with Turner joining his cousin J.B.C. Lucas on the board.

While it’s unknown exactly what role Turner played with the Brown Stockings, he was involved, according to Jon David Cash, in the signing of the Louisville players in 1877. These signings which were an attempt to duplicate Chicago’s raid on the Boston Red Stockings, coupled with the gambling scandal that involved both the signed Louisville players as well as members of the Brown Stocking nine, helped to bring about the collapse of the Brown Stockings organization and the experiment with professional baseball in St. Louis.

It’s difficult to overstate the prominence of Charles Turner in 19th century St. Louis. Not only was he a member of the wealthiest St. Louis family, he also married into another prominent family. His wife Margaret was the daughter of Stephen Barlow, the cousin of Stephen Douglas and a wealthy politician and railroad magnate in St. Louis. Turner himself was the president of the Suburban Railway Company, which owned the St. Louis street car system, and the Commonwealth Trust Company. He was described by Lincoln Steffens as being a millionaire and served on the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners in the 1880’s. Turner also was a member of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Company, which raised the money to put on the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis.

Turner’s influence in St. Louis was exposed in a negative way by Steffen in 1902. In what became known as “The Boodle Scandal,” Turner was shown to have been a member of a cabal that bribed city aldermen and state legislators in order to get legislation passed that was favorable to their business interests. In grand jury testimony, Turner was shown to have paid over $144,000 in bribes to secure legislation that would double the value of the Suburban Railway Company, which he was looking to sell. The case was tied up in court for several years and Turner died in 1906 before facing the legal consequences of his actions.

While “The Boodle Scandal” and Steffen’s exposes may have tarnished Turner’s reputation, his legacy was saved by the service of his grandson. Charles Turner Joy was the son of Charles Turner’s only daughter, Lucy Barlow Turner, and Duncan Joy. He graduated from Annapolis in 1916 and served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. During Korea, Rear Admiral Charles Turner Joy served as Commander of Naval Forces, Far East. After he passed away in 1956, a destroyer was named after him. The USS Turner Joy, pictured above, served the nation proudly until it was decommissioned in 1982.