The Silver Moons Of Belleville

The Eagle Base Ball Club, of this city, through their Secretary, have challenged the Silver Moon Base  Club of Belleville to a match game of base ball.  As yet, the Silver Moons have not accepted, but the probabilities are that they will do so.

-Missouri Republican, August 6, 1869


Is the first reference that I've found to the Silver Moons of Belleville.  Don't know anything about them but that's a great name for a ball club.

The Colored Base Ball Clubs Of Belleville And Lebanon

The colored base ball clubs of Belleville and Lebanon crossed bats Thursday afternoon, the game resulting 13 to 12 in favor of Belleville.

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


It's not much but given that the Globe had pretty much ignored the black clubs of the area for the most of the 1884 season, it's great to see this.  And it's a nice reference to black clubs on the east side of the river, which is rather rare. 

A New Illinois Corporation

The Belleville Base Ball Association, of Belleville; capital $250.  Incorporators - G.C. Wagner, H.C. Henderson, Geo. Thomas, W.H. Smyler, Jr., Al Davison, C.P. Fluschbein and A.G. Fleischbein.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 29, 1884


I guess I'm a bit surprised that the Belleville club officially incorporated.  I don't know if I should be but I am. 

A Busy Day

April 6, 1884 was a busy baseball day in St. Louis.

Besides the Maroons' first game, the Browns played their reserve club at Sportsman's Park, the Western Brass Manufacturing Company club played an amateur club from East St. Louis, the East St. Louis Club played the Belleville Standards at National Park in East St. Louis, the Papins played the Eclipse, the Ely-Walker's Packing-room nine played the Ely-Walker's Porters, the Kemper Grocery nine played the Southerns, the Prickly Ash played the St. Gothards, the Jolly Knights played the Martin Neiser "Ice-water nine," the CBC club played a club made up of college students at the Compton Avenue Grounds, and the Western Railroad nine played the Missouri Pacific Railroad nine, also at Compton Avenue.

The Globe-Democrat noted that the Browns had 5,000 people at their game and the doubleheader at the Compton Avenue Grounds drew 500 fans.  They also mentioned, of course, that the Maroons had around 10,000 people at the Union Grounds.  The Cleveland Herald, on April 9, stated that "[in] St. Louis last Sunday 20,000 people took part in base ball either as players or spectators of the many games played on that day."  They also noted the attendance at the Maroons' game, which must have truly galled them.

The 1884 St. Louis baseball season was in full swing.

For The Fun There Is In The Game

Mr. Swancutt, manager of the Belleville Browns, requests the statement made that his team will play any organized amateur club for the fun there is in the game, but not for money, as the former manager of the club desires.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 28, 1876

I think somebody missed the memo about the nature of baseball in the postbellum era.

More On The Organization Of Amateur Clubs In 1886

"The amateur clubs of St. Louis will outdo themselves this year in the number and character of their players, clubs and leagues. The Amateur Park Association of clubs will, of course, be first in point of quality and general excellence. The League formed will be the first and only one ever formed in St. Louis on a solid basis. The players will all be required to sign regular contracts with the clubs they join, and should they break any of the rules they will be forever disbarred from taking part in a championship struggle, and also from playing in any St. Louis park: and, moreover, the members of all clubs belonging to the League will be prohibited from taking part in any game where any player under suspension from the League is engaged. This rule will have a tendency to make the sore-heads come to reasonable terms and will prevent all revolving from one club to the other as has been the case in the past, and always to the detriment of strictly amateur ball playing."

"The Business League profiting by past experience will no doubt make some iron-clad rules to prevent clubs from grabbing up such semi-professional players as may chance to be out of an engagement. In fact, all amateur organizations in St. Louis have made a careful study of the word amateur, and they intend to carry out the meaning to the letter. The right men are now at the helm, and, with proper encouragement, will bring out the latent qualities of who now are compelled to play second fiddle for the benefit of older players of reputation."

"The Amateur League will have the following clubs represented: Amateur Park Club, St. Gotthard's, Drummand's, Enterprise, St. Louis Amateur, West Ends, and Union Blues. This will make eight evenly matched teams, and the winners of the bunting will have many a hard fight before securing the trophy."

"The Business League will open the season with six clubs and will try and keep this number as they are anxious to finish the schedule, which would be impossible with more members. The clubs likely to be selected from the score of applicants are as follows: Crow, Hargadine & Co., Sam'l C. Davis & Co., St. Louis News Co., Wm. Barr Dry Goods Co., Rice, Stix, & Co., and Brown, Daughaday, & Co. This will insure good games, as all of the teams will be equal in playing strength, and the struggle for supremacy will be long and hard."

"In fact, from the present outlook, amateur base ball will be a feature in St. Louis this year, something it never has been before. The managers have the correct idea and have only to carry out the policy laid down at the recent meeting to meet with the success their efforts deserve."

-From The Sporting News, March 17, 1886

It's interesting to see the machinations of the smaller clubs in St. Louis as they organize for the season. Groups and leagues and associations are being formed as clubs compete for players, fans, money, and survival. These clubs are competing against not only each other but also the bigger clubs in St. Louis. In 1886, there was not only the Browns and the Maroons in St. Louis but also the Peach Pies, the Prickly Ash, and the Reds while just across the river were the Madisons of Edwardsville, the Alton Club, the Belliville Club, and the East St. Louis Club.

In the face of such competition, organization had to have been crucial for the clubs to survive. Reading between the lines of the above article and some of the other ones posted this week, it's clear that these clubs were in the habit of raiding each other for players. Revolving was obviously a major problem. Making and keeping a schedule also must have been difficult. Arranging games so that they were economically beneficial to both teams was also an issue.

The Sporting News, as an advocate of the game, was not only reporting on these undertakings but was actively encouraging them. They toted the beneficial nature of such organizations and chided the poor management that often stood in the way of achieving them.

One interesting note about the above article is the quote at the end about the status of amateur baseball in St. Louis. Al Spink, of all people, should have known better then to write something like that, given the tradition of 19th century amateur baseball in St. Louis. The "Golden Age" of St. Louis amateur baseball had certainly passed but it had passed only a scant eleven years previous to this article being written and certainly within the living memory of most of the readers of The Sporting News in 1886.

Trouble In Paradise

"There is talk of the amateur clubs of the city forming a combination for the purpose of establishing rates and guarantees in cases where they are asked to go out into the country and play the suburban clubs. It is believed that this is the only way to secure fair play at the hands of outside clubs. Heretofore the amateur teams have visited outside points on a guarantee barely sufficient to meet expenses. The majority of the suburban teams are composed largely of the best local players and could afford to give visiting teams a fair guarantee. Instead of doing this they only guarantee expenses and this leaves a big margin for themselves. They are thus enabled to engage all the good local players at a good salary, the latter naturally going with the team that makes the most money. As an example of this the Belliville Club last year engaged Peters, Oberbeck and a lot of other St. Louis players and paid them a good salary while the players of the teams visiting that point got nothing but their fare to Bellivelle and back. By combining it is believed this evil can be wiped out and St. Louis players who remain loyal to the local clubs will be enabled to earn as much money as those who play with the clubs in the adjacent towns."

-From The Sporting News, March 17, 1886

The Southern Illinois League

From The Sporting News, March 17, 1886:

"Cairo, Ill., March 11.-Editor Sporting News:

The baseball season here will open up early in April. On April 26 there will be some eight thousand Odd Fellows in town. The Cairo manager will pay any two League or American Association Clubs a good big guarantee to come here and play on that day. As there will be any number of professional teams in the South at about this time, some of them will doubtless take up this offer. Duquoin wanted Cairo to join the contemplated Southern Illinois League, but the management here declined. Duquoin will have a good team this year, Moore of Cairo and other good players having gone there. Besides Duquoin the new association if formed will have Belleville, Nashville and East St. Louis in its ranks. The Paducah, Ky., Club which played such rattling games with Cairo a year ago, has gone under."

I'm still digging and trying to find out more information about the Southern Illinois League but I wanted to share this little article because it gives you a good sense of the state of baseball on the East Side and in Southern Illinois. It pretty much covers the major teams in the area except for Alton and Edwardsville and it's surprising that those two wouldn't be a part of an association of Southern Illinois clubs.