Joe Hallesbeck, Secretary

Empire Base Ball Club.—At the regular monthly meeting of this Club, held at their hall, corner of Third and Vine streets, on the 3d of July, 1860, the following officers were duly elected: B.J. Higgen, President; Peter Naylor, Vice-President; John F. Walton, Secretary; and Patrick Cooney, Treasurer. 

 The following resolution was adopted: 

 Whereas, The [Cyclone] and Morning Star Ball Clubs are matches for a game on the 9^th inst. 

  Therefore, 

Resolved, that the Emprie Base Ball Club challenge the winning party.  If not accepted by them, then this challenge is extended to any Ball Club in Missouri. 

Joe  Hallesbeck, Sec’y.

-Daily Missouri Republican, July 7, 1860 




I posted about the Empire Club's challenge to the winner of the Cyclone/Morning Star match before, having found basically this same article in the St. Louis Daily Bulletin.  The one piece of information that the Missouri Republican includes that the Daily Bulletin did not is the mention of the secretary of the Empire Club, one Mr. Joseph Hollenback.  The impossibly illusive Joseph Hollenback, or Hollenbeck, or Hallesbeck, or Hallenbeck.


This is the first contemporary reference to Hollenback (as it's spelled in the 1860 census and the 1860 St. Louis city directory) being involved with the Empire Club that I've ever seen.  Edmund Tobias wrote in The Sporting News (October 26, 1895) that "The origin of the Empire Club was mainly due to Joseph Hallenbeck, a deputy under Constable Dan Manning, who acted as such for both Justices Ed A. Allen and Peter W. Johnstone.  Hallenbeck was a New Yorker, and had played with the old Knickerbocker Club before his advent in St. Louis, and he was assisted by L.P. Fuller in forming the club."  Al Spink, in The National Game, stated that "Jacob Hollenbeck" was at the first meeting of the Empire Club and was elected as the club's first secretary.  The above article from the Republican seems to confirm that Hollenback was indeed the first secretary of the Empire Club.


Finding information about Hollenback has been very frustrating.  I can't really even tell you how his last name was spelled.  What I do know is that he was born around 1836 in New York state.  In 1860, he was single, was living in St. Louis at Mrs. Boston's Boarding House, was working as a constable, was involved in the formation of the Empire Club and was elected as the club's first secretary.  What I think is probable but can't prove is that he played baseball in the East (although I seriously doubt he was a member of the Knickerbocker Club) and was one of the founders of the Empire Club (the distinction being that while I know Hollenback was at the first meeting, I'm not certain what his role was in the organization of the meeting).  What I think is possible but can't prove is that he was serving with the Missouri Militia in 1864 and died in 1866. 


That's all kind of convoluted but that's how I've had to organize my thinking about Hollenback because I have a lot of information about him but can't confirm most of it.  The major problem is the spelling of the last name (of which I've given you four variations).  It's tough to track down information about a guy when you don't know how to spell his last name.  Also, I really believe that he died young.  I thought for a time that he was killed during the Civil War but I found the death record for a Joseph Hollenbeck, who died in St. Louis in 1866, and that feels right to me.  But it's possible that he lived into the 20th century.  I can't say for sure but if he died young, that would be a reason why there's not a lot of information about him in 19th century databases.  


Regardless of my personal struggles with the Hollenback problem, the above article from the Republican gives us some contemporary confirmation of the secondary sources.  And that's a good step in the right direction.                   

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.  

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Missouri Glass Company

I'm serious.  This article, which appeared in the Daily Missouri Republican on October 23, 1859, is absolutely everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about the Missouri Glass Company.  Since the thing runs three thousand words, I'll give you some of the important information up top:

-The company was founded in May of 1859.  This is interesting because it helps us date Merritt Griswold's arrival in St. Louis.  One would have to believe that Griswold, who went to work for the company when he moved to St. Louis, arrived after the company came into existence.  Griswold coming to St. Louis in the late spring or early summer of 1859 fits with the information that we already have.

-Edward Bredell, Jr., Griswold's Cyclone Club teammate, was actually the company's business manager.  That surprised me a bit.  I knew he worked for the company but didn't know that he ran it.  So, basically, Griswold worked for his teammate.  

-Archibald Gamble, the father of Cyclone Club members Joseph and Rufus Gamble, was one of the investors in the company.  I knew about the relationship between the Gamble and Bredell families and this just supports that.  

Anyway, if you read this whole thing (and I do recommend it), you'll know more about 19th century glass making than 99.9% of the people on the planet.  So, you'll have that going for you: 

  

The Manufacture of Glass In St. Louis—Interesting Visit To The Works—A Morning With The Glass Blowers.—Everybody is acquainted with the transparent, hard and brittle substance which is called glass, for its use is limited to no country, and to no condition of life.  The Knowledge of its properties is universal.  The babe that delights to flatten its nose against the window pane, glories in its translucency, which it soon comes to understand; and it does not require long to find out that glass, though hard and durable, will break, as shown by the careless knocking off a tumbler from the table or the casual displacement of the camphor bottle from the mantel.  We used to think that glass was everywhere, being led to this conclusion by the number of broken bits which found their way into the balls and heels of our youthful trotters when, in summer, we flung our shoes into a corner and “went barefoot.”  But everybody don’t know all about glass, about the way it is made and how fashioned into the beautiful shapes which meet us everywhere we go, and about the people who, if they do not exactly “live” in glass houses at least spend a good deal of time there.

For our own part, until the other day, we had never been inside a glass house, and, except by hear-say, which the lawyers will tell you is poor testimony, knew as little of the manufacture of glass as we did of glaciers.  We take it for granted there are others as ignorant as we, and will be surprised if some notes which we have picked up will not prove both interesting and instructive.

The Missouri Glass Works.

West of Arsenal stand the Works of the Missouri Glass Company, a corporation which was chartered by the Legislature last winter, but which was not fully organized till May last.  The stock of this Company is principally owned by Edward Bredell, Sr., Archibald Gamble and James W. and Samuel Wallace.  The latter two are brothers, and practical men, having been in the business, one twenty-seven and the other twenty-five years.  The Company have five acres of ground, on which are something like $50,000 worth of improvements.  Edward Daily is the Secretary of the corporation, and the business management of the concern is in the hands of Edward Bredell, Jr., who has an office near the corner of Olive and Fifth streets.  The Messrs. Wallace have the general superindendence of the works, direction of the men employed, &c. 

Facilities Enjoyed.

The facilities for making glass here are excellent, and it is said they will compare very favorably with those afforded at any other point in the country.—The great desideratum is sand of the proper quality, and in this particular the Missouri Glass Company avail themselves of very great advantages.  In Franklin county, this State, on the line of the Pacific Railroad, is a bluff of sand of remarkable whiteness and fineness, which is fifty feet in height, a quarter of a mile long and goodness only knows how deep, which probably contains enough to furnish the whole world for a century.  The bank may be said to be inexhaustible.  Such is the fame of this sand that a quantity of it is exported to Pittsburgh, and is thought to be the best for manufacturing glass in the known world.  We have a sample of it which is as fine and white as loaf sugar.  The transportation of the sand to the works is attended with but little cost.  A car is switched off immediately under the “quarry,” which is easily loaded and brought to the city at trifling rates of freight.

Another considerable item is the clay used in making the pots in which the materials of the glass are fused.  The pots must be of such a quality as to withstand the most intense heat without breaking or cracking; and as at best these vessels cannot last more than a few months, their constant manufacture becomes a matter of economic necessity with every glass establishment.  The German clay has long been considered of most excellence to withstand fire in making glass, but it has been ascertained that the clay which is found in large quantities at Cheltenham, in this county, and which for two or three years has been used for fire-brick, possesses all the qualities required for the purpose alluded to, being heavy, ductile, coherent, compact, and showing great lack of fusibility. 

In the particulars of sand and clay, therefore, the Missouri Glass Company may take advantage of natural conveniences which are not enjoyed to the same extent, perhaps, at any other large city in the country.  There are various other facilities found herebouts which make St. Louis an important point for the location of glass works.  The principal draw-backs, as we learn, which place this city behind Pittsburgh in this respect is the difficulty of obtaining hands and the difference, in favor of the latter place, in the price of coal.  But these drawbacks are more than counterbalanced by superior advantages. 

The Premises.

As we have before said, the grounds of the Glass Company embrace five acres, situated west of the Arsenal, in the lower part of the city.  The improvements consist of several buildings, erected expressly for the different purposes for which they are used, being divided off in separate compartments.  We do not intend to describe these buildings, but only to say that they appear to us to have every convenience required.  Piled up about the yard is a great quantity of glassware in boxes-“right side up with care”-awaiting shipment, with here and there a heap of straw or hay to be used in keeping the breakables a proper distance apart when they shall be placed in layers in barrel, hogshead or box.  Elsewhere is a mass of old glass of every shape known to geometry and of rainbow hues-broken tumblers, window panes, bottle necks, inkstands, pitchers, etc., etc., etc.  On the whole, the grounds look as though business was done there, and that of an interesting kind.  The reader will please step with Mr. Bredell and us into

The Pottery.

Here is a long, dry cellar, as it were, paved on the bottom, and appearing as neat and cleanly as a good housewife’s kitchen.  The pots for melting glass are made here.  After the clay has gone through a mill, and been ground into fine particles, it is passed through a sieve, to relieve it of all extraneous substances.  It is then put into a large trough, and water poured upon it, to give it consistency, when it is ready to be mixed like bread.  The dough, for the mixture looks something like that, is moulded and moulded and moulded, day after day, being trampled by a pair of good-sized feet, attached to the lower part of the body of a stout Hibernian, till it becomes smooth and moist throughout, and every particle adheres.  This requires about two weeks, at the end of which time the clay is moulded into the shape of large deep tubs, called pots, which are set aside for six or eight weeks, to become perfectly dry.  The pots are heated to a very high temperature before they are put in the furnace, which is done to prevent their cracking and flying to pieces. 

The Mixing Room.

The mixing room is the place where the materials for the manufacture of glass are prepared.  Flint, or white glass, is made of sand, potash, saltpeter, oxyd of lead, arsenic, manganese, and sometimes other substances.  The sand has to be washed, burned and sifted, to relieve it of all organic matter, which, if left, would give a greenish tinge to the glass.  Everything about the room is kept with most scrupulous neatness and care.  It is necessary in order to turn out superior qualities of work, that this apartment should be at all times perfectly clean; and we opine that no pastry cook in the incorporation of the ingredients of an extra fine cake is more attentive and particular than the workmen in this department. 

In one corner of the mixing room is a place to refine and purify pearl-ash.  The refined quality is used for flint glass and the residue, which is called “slurry,” is thrown aside to be employed for green glass, or the poorer quality.  The oxyd of lead, which forms one of the components of glass is made on the premises in a neat building erected for the purpose.  The process is an interesting one.  There is a sort of oven, containing an iron bath tub into which receptacle pigs of lead are thrown and subjected to the heat of the furnace.  The lead melts, and as a draft of air is allowed to pass over it, forms a scum.  This is pushed back over the inclined rim of the bath tub, where it is baked to more thoroughly extract the metallic substances, and comes out the oxyd of lead.  It may do to state here that the process of oxidation increases the weight of the lead ten per cent, a pig of one hundred pounds producing one hundred and ten of the oxyd. 

The Green Glass House.

We are now ready to enter the green glass house and see the men at work making bottles.  Green glass is the commonest quality, and is made of sand, lime, soda and salt.  The materials are not worked with much particularity and care, as this would add to the cost of the ware.  The color from which it takes its name is produced by the foreign substances, which it requires considerable labor to remove. 

The green glass-house is a square building, having in the center a large furnace, provided with five pots.  A fireman for day and night stands pitching lumps of coal upon the fire continually, and we can assure the reader climate thus generated is exceedingly warm, being over a thousand degrees in intensity.  Every one of the pots holds twelve hundred pounds of material, and each is “worked out” every day, thus turning out, independent of waste, six thousand pounds per week.  The pots in the green house furnace last from three to four months before becoming unfit for further use.  In the building are twelve annealing ovens, where the glass is placed after it has gone through the manipulations of the blowers, for the purpose of cooling it gradually to make it less brittle.  The process of annealing, or nealing, as the workmen call it, is one exceedingly simple, but of the highest importance.  We were shown a lump of unannealed glass which looked strong enough to “fell a bull,” but which broke into countless pieces on the merest touch of our pen-knife.  No sooner does a piece of work leave the hands of the blowers than it is taken to the oven, where it remains from thirty-six to fifty-two hours, the heat being allowed to die out slowly beneath it. 

The Glass Blowers.

In the green-house we saw fifteen men and twenty boys at work.  The men were ranged around the furnace, each with his hollow iron rod or stem.  Dipping the end of this pipe into one of the pots containing the molten factitious metal, the workmen twirls it out with a quantity of the white semi-fluid attached.  Keeping the rod revolving he passes the “dip” over a stove plate which serves to roll the glass out.  Then applying his metal to the tube, he inflates the glass with air till it assumes a certain size, when he gently dips it into a mould which opens or shuts with the touch of his foot.  Another blow in the tube presses the glass against the sides of the mould, filling it completely, and after a moment’s pause the mould is thrown open, like waffle irons, disclosing the shape of a soda bottle, Godrey’s cordial vial, castor oil bottle, essence vial, or whatever the matrix is intended to fashion.  It is amusing to witness the contortions of countenance shown by the blowers when filling their tubes with wind.  Their cheeks swell up to a most extraordinary size, as though practice had given them a strange ability to stretch; their eyes appear to sink in their heads, and wear a peculiar wildness which, under other circumstances, would be alarming, and every feature is irresistibly ludicrous.  This remark, however, has not an universal application, for some of the workmen do their blowing with apparent ease.

After the bottle comes from the mould, a rim is adroitly placed upon the neck, and a sudden twitch releases from the tube the new-made vessel, which is caught on an iron prong by a boy in waiting, who takes it off to the annealing oven, the blower meantime having taken another dip into the pot.  We were astonished at the uniform good guessing of the blowers in making these dips and bringing out every time just the required amount of metal.  We were told that, in taking out from the pot, an experienced workman will not vary half an ounce from the proper amount in a whole day.  On inquiring how expert the blowers were in getting out work, we were informed that a deaf and dumb man named William Diamond recently made fifty-two dozen soda bottles in a day!  This was certainly proof that Diamond, though deprived of hearing and speech, is highly gifted in the way of wind.

The Flint-Glass House

Is a very commodious circular building, provided with a large “nine pot furnace.”  Here every kind of flint or white glassware is made, from an insulater for a lightening rod to the most costly globe.—This is the only establishment west of the Allegheny Mountains where plated glass is made.  Even in Pittsburgh and Wheeling, which are somewhat noted for the manufacture of glass, this kind is not made.  The large plated globes which were exhibited at the late Fair by the Missouri Glass Company, and which attracted great attention, were splendid samples, and we doubt if anything of the sort got up in this country could surpass them.  We were shown some tumblers made here which, compared with the celebrated French glass tumblers, are very little, if any, inferior.  A large business is done by this Company in the manufacture of lamp shades, chimneys, &c.  For this work the very best hands are required, men of experience in the business, judgment and taste.  It would be worth the while of anybody to visit the flint-glass house and observe the skill displayed by the blowers in the manipulation of glass.  We cannot undertake to describe the wonders we saw there, nor tell of the many pretty shapes into which we witnessed a mass of liquid glass formed.  While we were there, Mr. Samuel Wallace took off his coat, and in a few moments made an imitation of a pair of bellows, which, combining three colors, white, red and blue, brilliantly interwoven throughout, was exceedingly beautiful. 

The pots in the furnace of the flint house contain twenty-two hundred pounds of “metal,” which are worked up twice a week.  As the fire (which burns day and night) is all underneath, and the flames are not allowed to communicate directly with the glass, as is the case in the green house, the pots last about twice as long, or from six to eight months.

In the flint house is an annealing oven sixty-two feet long, in which pans are fixed on rollers, and the ware to be “nealed” is gradually removed from the heat of the fire immediately under the entrance or “door,” to the rear, where, at the expiration of the allotted time, it is taken out, ready to be packed and shipped. 

Thirty-four men and boys are at present employed in the flint house, which number is to be increased twelve in the course of a couple weeks.

Glass Cutting, The Mould Room, &C.

The cutting room is a kind of finishing department for the finer ware.  Here lamp-globes are “roughed” on the outside by placing them on a lathe and allowing them to revolve against a bundle of small wires dipped in wet sand.  The inside is “roughed” by filling the globe with sand and placing it in a revolving cylinder, lined with straw.  The most interesting work done in this department, however, is cutting designs upon vases, shades, &c., which is performed simply by holding with the hands the article to be cut against a very soft grindstone.  The visitor cannot help feeling astonishment at the proficiency shown by the workmen in this.  It is in this way that emblems, figures and other sketches we see on various articles of glassware are made, and it is this tedious and skillful work which accounts for the costliness of such.

The mould-room is the place where the different moulds for bottles, tumblers, pitchers, and in short for nearly everything that is manufactured from glass, are kept.  The moulds must present the highest degree of polish, and hence those of brass are best.  The reader will form some idea of the importance of this branch of the business when he is informed that less than $20,000 worth of moulds would hardly do to carry on anything but a very limited business.  It requires one man’s undivided time to keep the moulds in a perfect condition of cleanliness.

Near the mould-room is an apartment devoted to the making of flint glass vials, syringes, etc., from tubes prepared into lengths of six or eight feet.  The manufacture of syringes and kindred druggists’ ware is an important feature of the business of the Missouri Glass Company, a large quantity being exported even to Pittsburgh, which place, notwithstanding its reputation in the matter of glass, cannot begin to compete with St. Louis in this particular. 

Concluding Remarks.

We have already used up so much space that we cannot dilate upon other branches of the business of the Company.  The whole number of men employed at present is one hundred and five, which will be considerably augmented in a few weeks. 

The reader who has had the patience to follow us from the beginning of this article, will have probably concluded that the manufacture of glass in this city is likely to become of great commercial importance.  We certainly think it will, for it is already assuming proportions which, a few years ago, would have been deemed almost preposterous to think of.  Any department of trade that promises to be of benefit to the place where it is carried on should be, and is generally apt to be, encouraged. 

The St. Louis Cricket Club

There was an exciting match at Cricket yesterday between the married men of the St. Louis Club on one side, and the single men on the other.  Gamble's Addition was the ground chosen, and there was quite a crowd of spectators.  Much interest was manifested by the bystanders throughout.  The single men, after a well contested battle, won a score of six more than the married men.

-Daily Missouri Republican, May 28, 1859

Cricket Match Between The Two First Elevens Of The St. Louis Club.-The long expected match between the two first Elevens of the St. Louis Club, came off yesterday in presence of a large number of friends of the Club and lovers of the game. 

-Daily Missouri Republican, May 28, 1859


We can date the playing of cricket in St. Louis to the mid-1850s, so these matches are not, in and of themselves, that significant.  The significant thing is that playing in both matches, as members of the St. Louis Cricket Club, were James Yule, James Reynolds and David Duffy, all original members of the Empire Club.  It's interesting that we can now say that two of the earliest baseball clubs in St. Louis had their origins in other bat and ball games.  The Morning Star Club was originally a town ball club and part of the original core of the Empire Club played on a cricket club together.

I've always argued that the tradition of various bat and ball games in St. Louis provided an infrastructure that the New York game used to help establish itself.  There were clubs, grounds and a tradition of playing bat and ball games among adults in St. Louis prior to the advent of the New York game in the city in 1859.  The new game latched onto these traditions and the community of ballplayers gravitated to the new game.  The traditions that surrounded the playing of town ball and cricket in St. Louis made it easier for the new game to be accepted and grow in St. Louis.  I think that the fact that some of the original Empire Club members were cricketers supports that argument.

By Order Of Sheridan

William Barclay Napton

[December] 20.  An only son of a citizen of this place, Mr. Bredell, was shot by order of Sheridan, as one of Mosby's men, in retaliation.  Mr. Bredell, the father, is one of our wealthiest citizens.

-The Union on Trial: The Political Journals of Judge William Barclay Napton

Napton was a member of the Missouri Supreme Court from 1857 to 1861 and was a pro-southern slaveholder.  His account of the death of Ed Bredell, which comes from an 1863 journal entry, is interesting, if not likely accurate.  We have accounts of Bredell's death that comes from men who served with him and those accounts state that he was killed in battle, rather than executed on the orders of Phil Sheridan.

There is a note to this journal entry that states that "Despite Napton's characterization of the incident, the circumstances of Bredell's death are unclear."  I don't believe that the circumstances are unclear.  Bredell was killed in battle.  Napton's version of Bredell's death speaks to the problems of communication in 1863 and to his own pro-southern sympathies.

Napton, in his journal, also mentioned that Bredell was buried on January 17, 1864.  I can't say if this was the first or second of Bredell's burials.  Like something in a Faulkner novel, the remains of Ed Bredell kept getting buried, dug up and reburied.

The 1884 Maroons: Humiliation And Retaliation (And Joe Quinn Really Couldn't Hit)

Quinn, the promising young first-baseman of the St. Louis Unions, was approached yesterday with an offer to jump his contract and join the Washingtons, of the American Association.  It was reported that Ted Sullivan, the former manager of the Unions, had exerted his influence to induce Quinn to break his contract, but Sullivan denies the story most emphatically.  He says, on the contrary, he advised Quinn to stick to the Unions, and claims that Quinn will corroborate his statement.  Mr. Lucas is very indignant over the matter, and declares that, having stood the dishonorable attacks of the League and American Association without retaliating until he feels almost humiliated, he will, on the 1st of July, propose to the Union Association to go into the contract-breaking business.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 23, 1884


Given that he was going to get another job in the UA in the not to distant future, I actually believe Sullivan.  I don't think Lucas would have let him have the KC job if he was trying to poach Quinn for the AA.

And speaking of Quinn, he has rather odd career numbers.  It looks like he was a pretty good defensive second baseman and was better defensively at second than he was at first, which is kind of weird.  Also, for a guy who was a regular in the major leagues until he was thirty, the guy really didn't hit much.  He lead the NL in games played in 1893 and had an OPS of 50.  Fifty.  He had -2.1 WAR that season and played every game (which, I assume, is one of the reasons the Browns finished 57-75 that year).  For his career, over 1769 games and 7352 at bats, Quinn had 1.6 WAR and -1.1 oWAR.

I've been sitting here thinking about putting up a negative oWAR over seven thousand at bats and I'm having trouble wrapping my head around it.  Guys who hit like Quinn shouldn't get 1700 games in the big leagues.  If  I had to guess, I'd say that Joe Quinn was one of the twenty worst hitters in the history of baseball (minimum 5000 AB).  The numbers suggest that he was a very good, but not a great, fielder but he had to have better than that.  Right?  He had to have been just an outstanding defensive second baseman or his career doesn't make any sense.          

The 1884 Maroons: Chicago Plunks Dunlap

There was a large attendance at the Union Grounds yesterday, the attraction being the Chicago and St. Louis Unions.  It was the final contest of home series of spring championship games, and the fine performance of the same clubs on Saturday caused a general anticipation of an interesting and exciting struggle, and between 6,000 and 7,000 people turned out to witness.  The result was quite disappointing, the game being one of the poorest ever played on the grounds.  The weather was very hot and sultry when play was called.  During the first half of the second inning a heavy shower necessitated a delay of fifteen minutes, and thereafter the ball was wet and difficult to handle, and the diamond became so slippery that it was quite amusing to see the fielders slipping in their efforts to intercept the ball, and the runners slipping by the bases, falling in trying to stop and scrambling back on all fours.  In one instance Rowe's feet shot from under him and he sat down with a dull thud, and in another Daily lost his footing in the pitcher's box and measured his length.  In the second inning Dunlap was hit by a pitched ball on the left forearm, on which a big lump was raised.  During the interruption caused by the rain, he left the field, Hodnett coming out and taking right field, Brennan moving to the center, and Rowe, who took charge of the nine, going to second.  The home nine batted Daily from the start, scoring fifteen hits with a total of nineteen bases off his delivery.  In five times at the bat Dickerson scored four hits, three drives by third and a slow one in the same direction that Leary could not handle in the time to score an assist.  Rowe made three hits, Taylor two and Quinn two.  Whitehead struck out three times, twice missing the first three balls pitched to him.  The visitors hammered Taylor for ten hits, so scattered that they did not earn a run.  Gross, Krieg and Leary led for their side at the bat, each scoring two hits.  Daily made one base hit and drove to left a fly that Dickerson had to go back after, each hit eliciting hearty applause.  Whitehead's work at short was the feature of the home nine's fielding.  Baker made a difficult foul fly catch, taking the ball close to the north wing of the grand stand.  In the fourth inning he let in two runs by a wild throw to Gleason.  Rowe piled up four errors at second.  After fielding a ball in front of second, he threw so wide to Whitehead, covering second, only fifteen feet away, that the ball went untouched out to center field, giving Ellick second and Householder one, and right afterward a passed ball was charged to Gross.  Notwithstanding his errors, McLaughlin played brilliant at second.  Krieg made a fine running catch at left that was loudly applauded.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 23, 1884

The 1884 Maroons: How They Stand

Here's a quick look at the standings, as published in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat on June 22, 1884:

The Maroons, according to Baseball Reference, had a 10.5 game lead after their 6-4 victory over Chicago.  That's the smallest lead they'd have the rest of the season.    

The 1884 Maroons: Driven Out

Dunlap, Dave Rowe and Shafer have driven Ted Sullivan out of the St. Louis Unions, and as he is on the black list his lot is not a happy one.

-Cleveland Herald, June 18, 1884


Well...

You kind of have to take anything the Herald says about the UA or Dunlap with a grain of salt.  But this is the best piece of evidence we have about what went down between Sullivan and his players.

Regardless, Sullivan would land on his feet and be back in baseball, with the Kansas City Unions, in July.  And thinking about that fact, that Sullivan would get another job in Lucas' UA, leads me to believe that it really was the players, rather than Sullivan, who instigated the whole thing.  

The 1884 Maroons: Manager With .903 Winning Percentage Gets Fired

Ted Sullivan was released from the management of the St. Louis Unions last night.  Ill-feeling between Sullivan and some of the players had existed for some time.

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


And there it is, short and sweet.  I just missed it when looking at the Maroons' June 13th game against Cincinnati.  Anybody want to speculate about which players had "ill-feelings" towards Sullivan?

*Cough*  Dunlap  *Cough*

Not that Sullivan was a saint or anything, as we'll see later, but how does the manager get fired when the club is 28-3?  I have to image that it would have something to do with the highest paid player in all of baseball going to the owner and saying something along the lines of "It's him or me."  But thinking about it a little bit, I can also imagine Sullivan going to Lucas and saying something similar about Dunlap.  Those two guys were serious pieces of work and it's impossible to say who was the bigger a**hole.  At the moment, I'm leaning slightly towards the idea that Sullivan got himself fired but, really, it's a pick 'em.

Honestly, I feel kind of bad for Henry Lucas.  He was just a guy who loved the game and had the resources to start his own team and league.  That's a noble thing.  But he made some bad decisions and got saddled with these two j*rk-*ffs.            

The 1884 Maroons: The Beautiful Plays With Which The Game Abounded

By clever work with the bat and backing their batting up with brilliant fielding the St. Louis Unions gained another victory from the Chicago Unions yesterday.  Up to the eighth inning the game was one of the prettiest contests that has taken place upon the Union grounds.  The visitors were blanked until the eighth inning when they scored one run on a two-base hit by Daily and Gleason's low throw to first.  In the ninth they secured three earned runs, on a home run by Gross, who drove the ball over the fence, a two-base hit by Kreig and singles by McLaughlin and Leary.  For the home team in the third inning a single by Dunlap, aided by an error of Leary's, scored one run.  In the seventh a single by Whitehead, aided by a wild throw, let in another run.  In the eighth two-basers by Dunlap and Taylor, singles by Dickerson and Quinn increased their total to 4 runs.  Hodnett pitched a remarkable game for the home team, holding the giants down to four hits up till the eighth inning when they got on to his twirling so hard that in the middle of the inning Dunlap deemed it best to substitute Taylor.  His support by Brennan was excellent, not a passed ball being charged against him.  Daily and Krieg, who formed the visiting battery, played a creditable game.  The fielding honors were carried off by Dickerson and Rowe, each of whom made catches that electrified the spectators.  The attendance was about 2,500, and the crowd manifested keen enjoyment of the beautiful plays with which the game abounded.  Many of the spectators declared that it was the prettiest game they had ever witnessed.  Dunlap was fined $10 by Sullivan for failing to run back from second after he had been put out.  Dunlap was ordered to hurry up, but disregarded the order, whereupon the fine was imposed.  Dunlap, who is now manager and captain of the nine, should set a better example to his men.  His great ability as a ball player is conceded by all, but he must learn and impress upon his team that respect for umpires and gentlemanly deportment on the field are essential elements of success on St. Louis ball fields.  

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 22, 1884


I am, of course, amused by Dunlap's lack of gentlemanly deportment but this article raises a question I've been meaning to address for awhile.  The Globe writes that Dunlap was "now manager and captain of the nine" but I didn't see anything about Ted Sullivan leaving the club.  In fact, going through the season day by day, I haven't seen any mention of Sullivan at all.  There was plenty of talk about Sullivan during the off-season but once the season started, it was like he wasn't a part of the club.

We know that Sullivan was the manager of the club to start the season and Baseball Reference has him managing the club for the first thirty-one games.  The Maroons' thirty-first game was played on June 13th, a 16-11 win over Cincinnati at home.  They then left for a four game set against the Outlaw Reds in Cincinnati.  So it appears that Dunlap took over as manager starting with the trip to Cincinnati.  But the Globe doesn't mention this until June 22nd?

I think I obviously missed something and I'm going to go back and see if I can find any references to Sullivan leaving the club.  I'd like to know how and why all of this went down.              

The 1884 Maroons: That's Just Dunlap Being Dunlap

The St. Louis Unions and Chicago Unions played the first game of the second home series yesterday afternoon at Union Park.  The attendance was about 2,000.  Daly and Gross were the visitors' battery and Taylor and Baker were in the points for the home team.  Daly struck out thirteen men and Taylor six.  Dunlap led off with home run, sending the ball over the fence at left center, making the longest hit that has been made on the grounds.  The home nine played an errorless game, and the visitors, who made but seven scattering hits, were blanked.  It was a quick game.  On one occasion, when Umpire Sullivan called a strike on Dunlap, the latter turned and scowled at him.  Sullivan very quickly ordered him to look the other way or he would fine him $25. A few more such umpires as Sullivan would be a benefit to the Union Association, and particularly to the home club.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 21, 1884


That's an eventful game for Dunlap.  Essentially wins the game with a monster, lead-off home run and then later gets into a bit of a row with the umpire.  That's Dunlap in a nutshell.  If he had refused to play the game unless he got a raise and then did all that, it would have been the perfect summation of Dunlap's baseball life.

Tom Oran During The Civil War

A match game of Base Ball was played yesterday afternoon, on Gamble's Lawn, between the Commercial, Jr., and Cyclone clubs...

-Missouri Republican, June 2, 1863


This is pretty neat.  I think that the earliest we had traced Oran's baseball career was to 1867, when he was playing with the Olympics.  But now we know that Oran, who around 16 years old in 1863, was not only in St. Louis during the Civil War but he was also playing baseball.

Oran, of course, was the first Native American to play in the major leagues.

Also, it should be noted that this Cyclone Club was not the same club that was founded by Merritt Griswold in 1859.  That club broke up sometime in 1861.  

Speaking Of Match Games During The Civil War...

A match game of base ball came off yesterday on the old Commercial grounds, between the Baltic (second nine) and the Independent Base Ball Clubs, which resulted in the defeat of the latter.

-Missouri Democrat, June 5, 1863


Two days before this game was played, Robert E. Lee launched his second invasion of the North and was heading for Pennsylvania.

Of note here, besides the fact that this was a rare match game played in St. Louis during the Civil War between two senior clubs, is that Shepard Barclay was pitching and captaining the Baltic Club.

For The Championship

The game of Base Ball played at Gamble Lawn yesterday, between the Union and Empire Base Ball Clubs, resulted in the complete victory of the former.  The score was as follows: [Union 53, Empire 15.]
The game was played for the Championship.

-Missouri Republican, May 15, 1862


Just for a bit of context, while this game was being played Stonewall Jackson was routing Union forces in the Shenandoah Valley and McClellan had already landed his forces in Virginia and was (slowly) marching on Richmond.  The Civil War was in full swing.

What interests me here is the reference that the game was "played for the Championship."  Most likely this was one of a series of games between the Empires and Unions for the championship rather than a winner-take-all championship game.  There appears to have been a championship series between the clubs in 1861 and I doubt that they would have changed the format so radically in 1862.

I should also mention that this is one of the few match games I'm aware of that was played between two senior clubs in St. Louis during 1862.  There was plenty of baseball going on during the war but match games between senior clubs still appears to have been a rare occurrence.

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 1884 Maroons: A Tough Loss

About 800 people were present at the game to-day, the last of the series of four played here between the Cincinnati Unions and the St. Louis Unions.  It was the hottest day of the season.  The sun blazing out of a clear sky with the mercury at [eighty-two degrees.]  The Cincinnatis had for their manager a new man, Sam Crane, and to this they are tonight ascribing success.  They were first at bat.  Harbidge went out on a fly.  Then Powell got a base on balls, and afterward reached second on a wild throw, made by Baker for the purpose of catching him napping.  Hawes then sent a single to left, giving Powell time to score.  Hawes made first on his own hit and right away got to second on Dunlap's muff of Dickerson's assist.  Then Sylvester flew out to Dickerson and Dunlap took in Jones' grounder and threw him out at first.  After that it was an even tug through five innings, during which each club had players on bases, but neither proved able to send a man around.  In the seventh inning Sylvester opened with a good three-baser to left, and got home on a failure by Brennan, after the ball had been fielded to him, to get it to the catcher.  Jones then got a base on balls.  Crane followed on his grounder to Dunlap, and got his first while Dunlap threw in to head off Sylvester.  Burns sent off a grounder, which, by Dunlap's assist, was fielded in and availed to capture Jones at the home plate.  Then Crane undertook to steal home, but got taken in.  Barber in the eighth started with a three-bagger and came in on Harbidge's out.  Powell made a base hit and was followed by Hawes with a two-baser, but Jones and Sylvester were unable to bring them home.  Whitehead sent a grounder to Jones who fumbled it, which with Schwartz's low ball, gave Whitehead second.  Dunlap, after Hodnett had struck out, sent a sky-scraper to center for a home run, making the only two runs for the visitors.  Dickerson then hit safely, after which Rowe forced him out at second on a grounder.  In the ninth inning two hits by the Cincinnatis and four errors by the visitors gave the home club three runs, while the visitors proved an easy prey in the last half of the inning.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 20, 1884

The 1884 Maroons: Most Unmercifully

To-day the St. Louis Union Club walked over the Cincinnati Unions most unmercifully, but so gracefully as to elicit admiration from the 750 spectators who witnessed the feat.  The home club batted hard, as is shown by Dickerson and Rowe, the left and middle fielders of the visitors, being credited with nine put-outs, of which all but two were difficult ones.  But it was by splendid playing at the bat and in the field that the visitors won their victory.  With such batting as that of to-day by the Cincinnatis at least a half score of their hits that counted for naught would have been safe hits against any other antagonists.  Dunlap took in seven hits, of which five appeared safe for one base, and Whitehead made a long running catch, which before accomplished the feat seemed impossible.  Both clubs had good catchers, but the visitors were the better equipped with their pitcher. At all events, they hit Bradley more easily than the Cincinnatis hit Hodnett.  Brennan showed brilliantly in throwing to bases.  Hawes, of the Cincinnati Club, won applause by a over-handed running catch.  

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 18, 1884

The 1884 Maroons: At Least The Game Was Short

The weather to-day was a little warmer than that of yesterday, but still was favorable for good playing.  As to the grounds, their condition was very greatly improved.  About 1,000 people turned out to see the sport.  The contest was close, but it lacked spirit, and was therefore devoid of brilliant features.  There were no earned runs, no two-base or three-base hits, and not a home run.  On the other hand, there were neither wild pitches nor passed balls.  After entering upon the play both sides were speedily retired through the first two innings.  It was in the third inning that the only run in the first seven innings was made.  Whitehead had been put out of the way and Hodnett was given his base on calls.  Then a hit by Dunlap gave him second, and after that he got home on Dickerson's single and Burnes' interference with an assist to him from Harbidge.  After the third the retirements on both sides were rapid until the eighth inning, when a base on calls, a fumble by Rowell, Dickersons out, Rowe's sacrifice and Taylor's single secured two more.  In the ninth inning the St. Louis Club brought up their score to four on a fumble by Jones, a single and Sylvester's juggle.  The home club made their solitary run in the ninth on Whitehead's wild throw, Burnes' out and Powell's single.  Both nines fielded rather loosely.  Quinn and Dunlap made the only double play of the game.  Four men were struck out by Taylor and five by Burnes.  The game was short, only one hour and forty minutes.  Holland's umpiring gave general satisfaction.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 17, 1884

The 1884 Maroons: Hotly Contested From Beginning To End

Four thousand people saw a most exciting game at the Union Park in [Cincinnati] to-day between the St. Louis and Cincinnati nines.  It was hotly contested from beginning to end, and not until the very last man was out was the result a settled thing.  Both nines fielded magnificently.  Several running catches were effected by both teams, one by Rowe saving at least three runs.  The local nine clearly outbatted their opponents, but lost a victory through very sluggish base running, they having twelve men left on bases.  Taylor was quite effective for four innings, but after that he was pretty badly thumped.  Bradley pitched wonderfully strong, and Taylor was the only Missourian who could gauge his delivery successfully, he securing two three-base hits.  Harbidge and Burns did the best batting for the local nine.  The visitors began the fun in the first inning.  After Dunlap had flied out, Jones allowed Shafer his first by a poor throw.  Dickerson then flew out, while Rowe and Taylor followed with three-baggers and Baker a single, all of which netted three runs.  Neither side did anything more until the sixth.  Then Crane reached third on a bad throw by Brennan, Dunlap juggled Bradley's grounder, and a three-baser by Harbidge sent them home.  The latter could have easily scored a home run, but he was foolishly held at third by Barber.  Each gained a run in the seventh.  The visitors made theirs on a muffed fly by Burns, a fumble by Jones and a poor throw by Kelly, which, although it caught a man, should have kept Quinn from crossing the plate.  Jones tallied for the home nine on his single, a wild pitch and Crane's baser.  Taylor's three-baser and a single earned the only run in the contest.  The Cincinnatis had two men on bases in the last inning, with nobody out, but could not get them home.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 16, 1884

Trick McSorley Released By The Browns

Trick McSorley, the substitute player of the Brown Stockings, was released yesterday [June 4] by President Von der Ahe to the Memphis Club, where he will play short or third, and will probably manage the team.

-Sporting Life, June 9, 1886


McSorley's last game in the big leagues was May 6, 1886, against Pittsburgh.  He went 0-3 in his final game in with the Browns.

But this post is really just an excuse to show off this picture that was given to me by Lynn McSorley, the granddaughter of Trick McSorley.  I got to meet Lynn this weekend at the Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up and she was kind enough to give me all the files she had on her grandfather.  I can't tell you how great it was to meet Lynn and talk to her about her grandfather, who is one of my favorite 19th century ballplayers, as well as her and her family's efforts in researching his baseball career.  I'm honestly humbled and honored that she entrusted me with all the information that they had put together over the years.  

Touch That Plug And I'll Break Your Heads

Henry Clay Sexton

On Sept. 14, 1857, Henry Clay Sexton became St. Louis' first fire chief (formally, "chief engineer") at an annual salary of $1,000.  He had 30 employees and three steam engines.  Sexton got the job after the Mound Volunteer Fire Company, where he was chief, sold its engine and house at North Broadway and Brooklyn Street to the city for $250. 

Some volunteer companies refused to quit.  In August 1858, Sexton personally defended a plug with a heavy wrench, telling his covetous competitors, "Touch that plug and I'll break your heads."

-St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 12, 2010


This is from a nice article about the beginnings of the St. Louis Fire Department that's online at the Post's website.

Sexton, of course, was a prominent figure during the pioneer baseball era in St. Louis.  He was a member and long-time president of the Empire Club and I believe he was instrumental in developing the relationship between the StLFD and the Empires.  That relationship was most likely used as a way to compensate members of the Empires' first nine, who often were employed by the fire department.

Tip o' the hat to Steve Pona, who sent me the link to the article.  

Now That's A Great Nickname

The St. Jacob's Hard Hitters and the Highland Invincibles crossed bats [in Highland, Illinois] today.  But eight innings were played on account of the rain.  The score stood 20 to 13 in favor of the Invincibles.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 16, 1884


How can you not love a club named the Highland Invincibles?  That is just a fantastic name for a baseball club. And the Hard Hitters isn't too shabby either.  Who wouldn't want to watch a game between the Invincibles and the Hard Hitters?  

Clifford Virgil Matteson

C.V. Matteson

[Clifford Virgil] Matteson was born in Seville in 1861, one of seven children.  His mother, Mary, was a Hulbert, one of the pioneer families of Westfield Township.  Their home sheltered runaway slaves, and for this the Hulberts faced much derision from neighbors and fellow church members. 

Matteson's father, Horace, was a schoolteacher who boarded with the Hulberts...Horace later worked for Ohio Farmers Insurance, now Westfield Group, and reportedly wrote one of the company's first policies in 1848.  He eventually operated a dry goods store in Seville, which C.V. took over. 

Matteson's sister, also Mary, traveled the world with her husband, Hollis, in his work for the YMCA.  Her letters and memoirs are on file in the Harvard University library.  She noted her brother was a gifted storyteller--and marksman.  He was said to have owned the Medina County record for clay pigeon shooting, once hitting 50 of 50. 

His eye for the strike zone probably wowed them on the local baseball circuit, where town rivalries were taken very seriously.  Big-league competition is a different matter.  In his first and last game, Matteson allowed nine hits, three walks and struck out three.  After pitching six innings, he finished the game in center field.  He went 0-4 in the batter's box that day... 

How a 22-year-old kid from Seville was handed the baseball on that day 125 years ago this summer is a mystery.  Maybe an upstart team in an upstart league was a small-town player's only shot. 

He went on to a short stint in the minors in 1886 with the Augusta (Georgia) Browns.  Matteson was 1-1 on the mound and 1-10 at the plate.  Sometime after that, he must have come home to Seville to join his dad at the store and start a family.  He was active in civic groups and loved to hunt and fish. 

Matteson was serving his second term as village mayor when he died in 1931 at age 70.  His wife passed away a few years before.   

He had attended "an entertainment" in the town hall, put on as a fire department fundraiser.  The newspaper report said he ate a late dinner, laughed with friends and family over the jokes in the firemen's show, and died early the next morning of "acute indigestion..." 

Of his early life as a young man, the obituary said only that Matteson's "early days were marked by his activity as a baseball player" and he "retained his interest in the national pastime to the end."

-The Medina (Ohio) Gazette, July 15, 2009


The above comes from an article written by John Gladden and the photo comes from Gladden's blog.  Gladden did an outstanding job of putting the story together so I encourage you to head over to his site or the online version of the Gazette and read the whole thing.

SABR's Biographical Committee had a short piece on Matteson in their March/April 1998 newsletter.  Come to find out, Richard Malatzky, one of the editors of Base Ball Pioneers, 1850-1870, was the one who figured out who Matteson was and found all of his biographical information.  That might not sound like much but when all you have to go on is a name and the name is wrong (Matteson was originally identified as C.V. Matterson), it took a great deal of research to figure everything out.

My hat's off to both John and Richard for their great work in putting together all of this information.

Matteson's grave

There is an entry for Matteson at Find A Grave that was put together by Carol Tessein.  Interestingly, while all references and records I've seen refer to Matteson as Clifford Virgil Matteson, his gravestone identifies him as Virgil Clifford Matteson.  

The 1884 Maroons: All To Pieces

There were 1,500 people present to witness the St. Louis Unions defeat the Cincinnati Unions for the third time this week.  The visitors presented Bradley and Kelly as their battery, while for the home team Matteson, their new pitcher, and Brennan filled the points.  Until the fourth inning Bradley did the twirling, but being hit hard, gave way to Sylvester, who held the home batters down.  Matteson, the new St. Louis pitcher, was hit very hard by the visitors, and it was found prudent to put in Taylor, Baker coming in to support him.  The game was an uninteresting one, as the Cincinnati boys went all to pieces, making some very costly errors, their batting being much heavier than in previous games.  The hoe team batting was heavy, while their fielding game was not up to the regular standard.  The main feature of the game was Taylor's fine drive over the left field fence for a home run, and Burns' line drive out in right field, the ball going clear to fence, among the buggies, and on which he came home with ease. 

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


This was Clifford Matteson's first and only big league game and he didn't exactly cover himself with glory.  I'll have more on Matteson tomorrow.  

The 1884 Maroons: The Contest Was Close And Interesting

The St. Louis and Cincinnati Unions came together yesterday for the third time this week in the presence of about 2,000 spectators.  The contest was a close and interesting one.  The batting on both sides was somewhat weak, the home team only securing four safe hits from Burns, who pitched with marked effectiveness, striking out nine men, while his support by Schwartz was excellent.  The home team had Taylor again in the box, and, although pitching two successive games, the visitors only secured six hits off his delivery.  Harbidge scored three hits of the six, including a two-bagger.  The visitors obtained their runs in the first inning on a two-baser by Harbidge and a single by Sylvester, with the aid of a wild pitch by Taylor.  The home team got three runs in the sixth on hits by Dunlap and Rowe and a costly error by Crane, who let the ball hit his foot and bound away out to right field.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 13, 1884

The 1884 Maroons: Bradley Shuts Down The Maroons

There was 3,500 people out to witness yesterday's game, which was one of the prettiest seen on any diamond in St. Louis this season.  Bradley pitched a wonderful game for the visitors, and was supported by Kelly in excellent style, while the fielding of the whole nine was perfect, not an error being charged against them.  The home team presented Taylor and Baker, who did creditable work throughout.  Their support in the field, however, was not up to their regular standard.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 12, 1884

The 1884 Maroons: George Washington Bradley Tomorrow

The St. Louis and Cincinnati Unions played an inning and a half yesterday afternoon and were compelled to stop by rain.  In the first inning each side scored two.  In the second the St. Louis side were blanked.  When the game was called the visitors had three men on base and O'Leary at the bat... 

George Washington Bradley tomorrow.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 10, 1884


Bradley, the hero of 1876, still must have been very popular in St. Louis.  The Globe had mentioned the fact that he was in town with Cincinnati for several days running.  The last sentence I quote above is a culmination of their attempt to drum up excitement over his return to St. Louis.

Bradley.  Baseball.  Tomorrow (tomorrow, tomorrow...).

The 1884 Maroons: George Washington Bradley, Umpire

The game yesterday afternoon was not a championship contest, as announced.  Holland, the umpire who should have officiated, missed a train in Cincinnati, and failed to arrive.  Manager Dan O'Leary, of the Cincinnati Unions, promptly took advantage of the situation, and produced his book containing the rules to establish that under the circumstances only an exhibition game could be played.  After this point had been argued at length it was finally conceded by Manager Sullivan and Capt. Dunlap, of the St. Louis nine, who presented William Bowman as a competent man to umpire the game.  Not knowing Bowman, O'Leary declined to accept him.  Then Dunlap, who had noticed that Bradley, of the Cincinnati team, who occupied a seat in the grand stand, had been giving points to O'Leary, concluded to call on him to act.  Bradley, realizing how embarrassing the position would be for him, protested at length, but finally yielded when the patience of the crowd had nearly been exhausted.  Donning a St. Louis Union cap, he took his stand, and to the merriment of the crowd called the first ball delivered to Dunlap a strike.  He proved a very accurate and impartial judge, and his decisions were generally highly commended...The game was a very remarkable one.  With 12 hits and a total of 18 bases, the Cincinnati team earned 5 runs, all they made, and with 4 hits and a total of 7 bases the home nine did not earn a run but scored eight through errors on the part of the visitors.  Holland will be on hand to-day, a telegram announcing that he was on a train from Cincinnati having been received last night.  

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 8, 1884


It's kind of odd that Lucas didn't have a couple of local guys on the payroll to umpire St. Louis games.  Regardless, the crowd must have had a great time watching Bradley, a local favorite, umping the game.  

A Great Piece Of Advertising

This is just a fantastic piece of baseball-related advertising from the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 6, 1884:

Click on the thing to get a good look at it and see how big it was.  Also of note is that the owner of the Simons Hardware Company was E.C. Simons, a pioneer-era St. Louis baseball player who was a member of both the Commercials and the Unions.

Consulting With President Lucas

Mr. A.V. McKim, manager of the Kansas City Union Base Ball Club, was in the city yesterday, consulting with President Lucas and engaging players.  Among those signed for the new club are Wheeler and Hickman, formerly of the St. Louis Reserves; Berry, Shafer, and Harris, formerly of the Altoonas, and Chatterton and Fisher, of the Lynn, Mass., club.  By to-night Mr. McKim expects to have eight more men under contract.  Harry Wheeler will captain the team.  The opening game will be played next Saturday and Sunday, with the Chicago Unions.

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


It's interesting to see Lucas' involvement with other clubs.  We've seen it in the past, as Lucas was involved in helping clubs fill their roster at the beginning of the season.  Now, as clubs begin to unravel, we're seeing it again.

The 1884 Maroons: The Superior Work Of The St. Louis Unions

Costly errors at critical points, inability to bat Taylor's pitching, and the superior work of the St. Louis Unions, both in the field and at the bat, caused the home nine the most disastrous defeat they have ever known.  Gross, the famous catcher, who made such a brilliant record with the Philadelphia League team last year, appeared with the Chicagos for the first time, and, while showing lack of recent practice, held his reputation as a steady player and good batsman.  McLaughlin, the new second baseman of the Chicagos, also made his first appearance.  His work was neat at points but two inexcusable errors dampened the favor with which the audience seemed disposed to regard him.  Daly's pitching was as remarkable as ever, even the hard hitters of the St. Louis nine being unable to do any effective work against him.  For the visitors Dunlap's work at second and Baker's as catcher were superb, the latter being particularly praiseworthy for his support of Taylor's difficult pitching.  Shafer distinguished himself in right by taking three difficult catches.  

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


After losing two of their last six, the Maroons got back to their winning ways.  As to the question of What Did Dunlap Do?  I looks like nothing but I'm going to retire this gimmick because I've gotten a bit tired of it.

Schedule Changes

A change was made yesterday in the Union Association schedule, so that the games the St. Louis Unions were to have played the Cincinnatis here on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday next will be played on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday next.  The change is made so as not to clash with the opening dates of the St. Louis Jockey Club.

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


One day I'm going to have to write something about how popular horse racing was in St. Louis.  It goes back to the founding of the city and the first French settlers in the city.  Those folks loved their horse racing and the tradition carried on throughout the 19th century.

Lucas Sets Up The Cowboys

President Lucas, of the Union Base Ball Association, arrived home last night at 9:20, after a week's visit to Altoona, where he wound up the affairs of the local club, and arranged for the transfer of the best talent in the team to Kansas City.  He says he will meet the officers of the Kansas City Club in this city on Wednesday to complete the transfer, and one week later the Kansas City Club will be in the field with a strong team.

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


The Kansas City Unions were the first major league club in KC history and it appears that the club was profitable.  They were not, however, a good team, finishing 16-63.

Known Unknowns

John W. O'Connell...and J.D. Fitzgibbon...say the game was brought here by men who had played baseball in the East, but that the first game ever played here took place in what was then Northwest St. Louis and on the ground now occupied by Carr Square Park.

-The National Game



I can't tell you how many times I've read the above sentence but last night, as I looked at it again, it held new meaning for me.

With the discovery of new primary source material from the Missouri Republican, I've begun to re-evaluate some of the things I believe about the origins of the game in St. Louis and how the game developed in the city from 1859 to 1865.  I've found evidence that conflicts with some of the more important secondary sources and evidence that conflicts with some of the conclusions I've reach after years of research.  I think it's important for me to remember that there are a lot of things that I don't know with any degree of certainty about baseball in St. Louis in the antebellum and Civil War eras.  All I can do is gather all the evidence that I can, weigh that evidence and try to reach logical conclusions.

One of the things that I believed, up until the last week or so, was that the first baseball game was played by the Cyclone Club at Lafayette Park sometime during the summer of 1859.  The weight of the evidence that I had seen supported that idea.  Now, after looking through the Republican, I can say that there is evidence to suggest that the first game wasn't played at Lafayette Park.  O'Connell and Fitzgibbons, two pioneer era players, stated to Al Spink that the first game was played at Carr Park and that testimony is very important.  Why did I dismiss it?

Carr Park was the playing grounds of the Morning Star Club, who we believe were playing town ball at the park as early as 1857.  Richard Perry, a member of the Morning Stars, stated in 1887 that his club was the first to play baseball in St. Louis.  Interestingly, the earliest reference I have to a St. Louis baseball club comes from the St. Louis Daily Bulletin of June 6, 1860, and mentions the organization of the Morning Stars.  The Protoball Chronology has a reference to an unnamed club in September of 1859, that is neither the Cyclones nor the Morning Stars.  I have some problems with the sourcing of that reference but it comes from Craig Waff and therefore should be taken seriously.

My point is that if we just relied on the primary source material, we'd have to argue that either the Morning Stars or Waff's unnamed club was the first baseball team in St. Louis, rather than the Cyclones.  I've yet to find a reference to the Cyclone Club prior to August 1860 and believe me when I tell you that I've looked.  That doesn't mean that the evidence to support my conclusions doesn't exist or that I've exhausted every source but it does mean that I don't have a lot of evidence to support my conclusions other than some secondary sources and logic.  And now I'm finding primary source evidence that is poking holes in my logic.

Another thing: I believe that town ball was played in St. Louis in the 1840s, at the latest.  I have absolutely no primary source evidence of that.  The earliest town ball reference I have for St. Louis comes from 1860.  There are insinuations in the contemporary press and exertions in the secondary sources that support or imply that town ball was played much earlier.  Also, I have plenty of evidence to support the idea that town ball was played in the region as early as the 1820s, so it's not a great leap to believe that it was played in St. Louis at the same time.  But I can't prove it.

And there, as they say, is the rub.  There's a lot of stuff that I believe about the origins and development of the game in St. Louis that I can't prove.  I can argue for a certain conclusion and show you all the evidence that I have that leads me to reach such a conclusion but argument is not proof.  I can argue that O'Connell and Fitzgibbons, when they said baseball was first played at Carr Park, were talking about town ball and the Morning Star Club but I can't prove that.  Somebody else can look at their statement and conclude that they were talking about the New York game.  That argument would be just as valid as mine.  

What I have to accept is the fact that this is a process.  I can sit down right now and write a three volume history of 19th century baseball in St. Louis but the first volume would be out of date by the time I finished writing it.  The research is ongoing and continuing to bear fruit.  It doesn't matter to me that new evidence changes what I believe because my goal is to find the truth.  I will change my beliefs and conclusions to fit the facts that I discover, regardless of whether or not those changes conflict with previously held beliefs and conclusions.  My commitment is to the truth rather than to my own ego or to any historical school of thought.

Our understanding of what was happening in St. Louis during the pioneer era is much, much greater than it was just two years ago.  I've discovered all kinds of primary source evidence over the last few years that have really shed light on the subject and have enabled us to work with facts rather than supposition.  If I was writing the St. Louis chapter of the Base Ball Pioneer book today, it would be a bit different than the one I submitted two years ago.  And I think it would be different again if I was writing it two years from now.  The research is ongoing and my shifting of the evidence never stops.

In the end, I have to continuously remember what I know and what I know I don't know.  I have to remember that there is fact and there is supposition.  At the moment fact and truth are destroying some of my suppositions and assumptions.  And that is a good thing.  Does it mean that I have to go back and rewrite a bunch of stuff that I thought I was finished with?  Yes, it does.  But that's okay because I'm just trying to get the thing right.        

Interesting To Many Of Our Citizens

There will be a friendly match of Base Ball between the Commercial and Cyclone Base Ball Clubs, on Wednesday, September 4th, at 4 o'clock, P.M., on the Empire's Ground.  The game will be according to the United States Convention rules, now so extensively played in all our principal cities, and will undoubtedly be very interesting to many of our citizens who have never seen the game.  Were there a suitable ground in some of our public parks, it would be much more agreeable to lady spectators, and it is to be hoped our Common Council, or Park Commissioners, will give this their early attention.  Players will take the market street cars at a quarter after three o'clock and go to Twenty fourth or Twenty sixth street, thence south five blocks.

-Missouri Republican, August 26, 1860


Why wasn't this game played at Lafayette Park?  If the Cyclones had been playing at the park since their inception, one would think that the game would have been played on their grounds.  Why did they play it on the Empires' ground?

As I talked about last week, there's the very real possibility that Lafayette Park was not used as a baseball grounds until 1861 and I think this supports that idea.  The Republican writes about the need for a suitable baseball grounds in the public parks and, if the Lafayette Grounds existed in 1860, wouldn't that have been suitable for the lady spectators?

At this point, I'm not sure what to think.      

A Empire/Commercials Match From 1860

The match game of Base Ball between the Commercial and Empire Club, resulted in favor of the Commercial.  Owing to the late hour at which the game was commenced, only five innings could be played, on which the game was decided.

-Missouri Republican, October 10, 1860


According to the St. Louis Daily Bulletin, this game was played on October 7, 1860.  Note that Merritt Griswold was the umpire.  

Happy New Year

The best photo of 2011

I hope everyone has a great 2012.  May it be better than 2011.  For us Cardinals fans, it can't get any better but I guess we can always hope.

We want the Cup!

And I promise that sometime in 2012, I will finish the series on the 1884 Maroons.