Sweasy Arrives In St. Louis

Charlie Sweazy, the veteran second baseman of the old Cincinnati Red Stockings, arrived in town yesterday morning, looking remarkably well and hearty.  The Red Sox will now get down to work in earnest.

-Missouri Republican, April 14, 1875

Wanted: One Veteran Professional

We learn that our Red Stocking club have secured Dennis McGee, the "Mack" of the Philadelphia club last season, now playing with the Lone Stars of New Orleans as their second baseman.

-St. Louis Republican, February 21, 1875


This is pretty interesting.  Now, obviously McGee didn't sign with the Reds in 1875 but this shows that they were looking for a veteran, Eastern professional for the club.  That sheds a great deal of light on the Charlie Sweasy signing. 

It's Like Christmas Morning

The Reds have been practising daily at their park during the past week.  They will not play to-day as the Atlantics have engaged the park for their own use.  The work on the new fence at the park is well under way and will soon be completed.  Their new uniforms will be done to day.  This uniform consists of a gray cap, gray shirt and gray pants, all trimmed with red, and red stockings.  The nine is now definitely fixed with "Pack" Dillon, Dan. Morgan, Wm. Redmon, J. Blong, John McSorley, Chas. Houtz, Arthur Croft, Thos. Oran, and Chas. Sweasy.  John Dillon will be the tenth man.  Sweasy is a new man, and will arrive in the city on Tuesday [April 13].  He was one of the old Cincinnati Red Stockings and is a very strong player.

-St. Louis Republican, April 11, 1875


Issues of the St. Louis Republican, covering 1873 through 1876, are now online at the website of the State Historical Society of Missouri.  I'm giddy with excitement.  I spent like two minutes playing around with the search engine and found the date of Charlie Sweasy's arrival in St. Louis and a nice description of the Reds' uniforms.  I'm going to have a lot of fun with this.      

That Joke Never Gets Old

"It is said" that Charley Sweasy, of old-time fame, is negotiating with the Cincinnati Unions. Where is Douglas Allison and Asa Brainard? Arise, sweet memories of the past.-[Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.]

-Cleveland Herald, March 17, 1884

Heck, I used the joke just last week. The St. Louis Blues signed Jason Arnott and Jaimie Langenbrunner to one year contracts and I told a friend that we should sign Derian Hatcher and Kirk Muller too. Of course, the joke's funnier if you know something about hockey. But still...

How Did Sweasy End Up In St. Louis?

The St. Louis base ball nine for 1875 will be composed as follows:-Catcher, Miller, of Easton, Pennsylvania; pitcher, Bradley, Easton; short stop, Pearce, Atlantic; first base, Dehlman, Atlantic; second base, Battin, Athletic; third base, Fleet, Atlantic; right field, Waite, Easton; center field, Pike, Hartford; left field, Cuthbert, Chicago; substitute, Sweasy. The men will rendezvous in St. Louis, January 1, 1875, and will go into winter training after the Boston fashion, at the Missouri gymnasium, in St. Charles street.

-Hartford Daily Courant, November 23, 1874

The question of how Charlie Sweasy ended up in St. Louis, playing for the Reds, is one that has bothered me for many years now. It's rather frustrating that I've never found the answer because I'm sure it's not that hard to find.

The Reds were, for the most part, made up of St. Louis players who had been with the club in 1874 and the core of the team had been together for two years. Sweasy arrived in St. Louis around April 12 and, according to the Chicago Tribune, he was "engaged to Captain and steady" the young Reds. What I don't know is when the Reds contacted Sweasy and why Sweasy agreed to play with the club.

The above article sheds some light on the question. It appears that the Browns Stockings, as they were putting their club together in the fall of 1874, had some interest in Sweasy and may have contacted him about coming to St. Louis. So it's the Brown Stockings who probably first gave Sweasy the idea of coming to St. Louis to play baseball. It's also probable that after the Brown Stockings passed on the second baseman, the Reds picked up the idea of bringing Sweasy in.

This is all rather speculative and based on scant evidence but it's the best explanation of why Sweasy was playing for the Reds in 1875 that I've yet to see.

The 1876 Brown Stockings: An Opening Day Loss To The Worst Team In The League

Were it not for the "glorious uncertainty" of base ball, that pastime would never have been chosen as the National game of America. There was not an enthusiast in this city yesterday who would not have bet dollars to cents that the Brown Stockings would win the first game of their championship series with the Cincinnati Reds. That game was played yesterday, and the result was: Cincinnati, 2; St. Louis, 1-a result which reflects almost as much credit on the losers as on the winners. That it was a brilliant struggle there can be no doubt, and Cincinnati is to be congratulated on the possession of a nine, hitherto looked upon as the weakest in the field, capable of lowering the standard of one of the two clubs which is conceded to be the strongest.

Great excitement prevailed in the vicinity of this office throughout the afternoon, the result of each inning being bulletined pro bono publico. The opening inning was announced-a tie at one each-Brown Stocking admirers breathed freer. In the next three innings, no runs being added on either side, ominous looks were exchanged, and such remarks as "Those Cincinnatis are holding them down nicely," and "What's got into the boys?" might have been heard muttered. With the result of the eighth inning-Cincinnati 1, St. Louis 0-fears were, for the first time expressed that the St. Louis favorites might possibly lose, and the probability became a certainty when it was announced that both sides had been presented with goose eggs in the ninth inning. Though disappointed at the result, the friends of the home club took the defeat of their favorites with a good grace, attributing it to the fickleness of fortune. As stated before, to lose finely contested a game reflects as much credit on the vanquished as on the victors...

The special correspondent of the Globe-Democrat at Cincinnati sends the following particular of the struggle by telegraph:

About two thousand spectators, many of whom were ladies, witnessed the game between the Cincinnati and St. Louis Clubs to-day. It was by all odds the best game ever played in this city. The batting on both sides was heavy, but the Reds got in the safest licks, being credited with eight base hits to the Browns four. Battin secured two of the four, and Pike and Clapp one each. Battin's three-bag hit in the fourth inning brought home Pike, who was the only Brown Stocking to cross the home plate. Bradley and Dehlman went out on flies, leaving Battin on third twice. On two occasions the Reds had three men on bases, but could not succeed in getting in a run. The last time was in the ninth inning, when Blong captured Pearson's fly to right field, and, by an excellent throw, headed Jones off at the home plate, thereby accomplishing a magnificent double play...

The Browns erred as follows: Clapp, 2; Batten, 1; Bradley, 2; Dehlman, 1. The Reds made but three errors, Fisher being charged with two and Kessler with one. For the Cincinnatis Jones secured two safe hits, and Kessler, Booth, Gould, Clack, Snyder and Sweazy one each. The Reds got four base hits off Bradley in the first inning, scoring in that and the eighth. Fourteen of the Browns were disposed of on flies to the outfield, Snyder at left gathering eight of them. Mack and McGeary did the most effective work in the field for St. Louis, while Booth, the new third baseman, and Pearson, the youthful catcher, did the lion's share of the work for Cincinnati. The best of good feeling prevailed throughout. The Browns are in tip-top condition, and say they will get even on Thursday. They claim that the game was won by a scratch. Houtz, formerly of the St. Louis Reds, umpired...

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 26, 1876

I'll post the box score tomorrow along with a game account from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

This incarnation of the Cincinnati Reds was not a good ball club. They finished last and won only nine of fifty-seven league games. After taking the first two games from the Brown Stockings to open the season, the Reds would only win seven more league games the rest of the way.

The main problem for the Reds appears to have been a lack of pitching (although I can't speak to their defensive talents or their ability to generally prevent runs). The pitching appears to have been split between twenty-three year old Dory Dean, who put up an ERA+ of 59 in 262 innings, and thirty-one year old Cherokee Fisher, who posted an ERA+ of 73 in 229 IP. While I don't know much about the club, I'd speculate that the Reds started with the veteran Fisher and, once he proved that he couldn't get the job done, tried the young Dory Dean (without better results).

Offensively, they weren't much better (and when you lose eighty-seven percent of your games, there is plenty of blame to go around). Charley Jones had a pretty good year with the bat (OPS+ of 154) but he was the only player on the club who you could say was an above average hitter that season. Charlie Gould and Henry Kessler were just about league average but everybody else, including our old friend Charlie Sweasy, was just flat-out bad. Redleg Snyder, twenty-one years old and playing everyday in left field, may have been the worst everyday player in the history of baseball (although I'd argue that that honor goes to Steve Jeltz). Snyder hit .151/.155/.176 with an OPS+ of 17. He had 36 total bases on the year with three doubles, one triple, ten runs scored and twelve RBI. The clubs starting third baseman, Will Foley, had nine RBI in 221 AB.

So I guess I should amend my previous statement that the main problem was pitching. The main problem for the 1876 Reds of Cincinnati was that they couldn't pitch or hit. They were just a bad club.

We Have Witnessed Many Worse Games Than This

Last Monday a large number of the male population of Ludlow visited the new Star Base Ball Grounds, at the head of Madison street, Covington, to witness the great game between the much-talked of and loudly advertised "Shining Stars" (see Covington news in all the Cincinnati dailies,) and the famous St. Louis Reds. The Stars having defeated the Ludlow club when it was in its infancy, and the Ludlows having made four runs in their game with the Reds, keeping their score down to 13, and whitewashing them five times, an easy victory was anticipated for the Covington boys.

A crowd estimated at between 3,000 and 4,000 was on the ground when game was called, about 4 o'clock, and as the larger proportion of those in attendance were Covingtonians, the enthusiasm was unbounded. When the Asterisks began to toss the ball, just to show how they were going to do it, the crowd applauded, and smiled pityingly at the St. Louis boys, especially poor Blong, the lame pitcher, and Houtz, the first baseman, who, in practicing, muffed every other ball. Some of them felt sorry for Sweasy, too-he had seen better days, when he belonged to a club which could play almost as well as the Stars. Then there was a delicate-looking boy named Flint, who was going to try to catch!

All of this was preparatory. The Reds went to the field, when game was called, with the air of men determined to do their best, even though their cause was hopeless. The Stars went to the bat, and for some reason, unexplained as yet, they didn't make any runs. The Covington people winked and smiled, and "guessed" the boys were throwing off on the Reds, to make it appear like a close game. But the St. Louis boys were evidently not let into the secret, for in their half of the the first inning they scored 8.

In the second inning the Stars seemed undecided as to whether they would merely "tie" the Reds, or make it 16 to 8; but after some reflection and consultation, they concluded to give their opponents a still better chance, and generously permitted themselves to be whitewashed a second time. The St. Louis boys, not to be outdone in matters of this kind, also scored a goose egg.

When the third inning had been played, and the score stood 9 to 0, it began gradually to steal over the minds of the Covingtonians that if the Stars were really going to score two to one, they had arrived at a point in the game where it was necessary to make a start-just the smallest kind of a start. This conclusion was made known to the directors, who communicated the same to the Nine.

Then, after the Umpire had remarked "Out on first," three several times, the still Shinning Stars went to the field, and the St. Louis, still in the dark as regards the intentions of their opponents, went to the bat, and after a reasonable time spent in exercise, left the score 14 to 0.

At this state of the proceedings Coroner McCabe, in a very excited manner, asked if any one had heard from Campbell's Creek. Our reporter, who has an aunt living in that vicinity, lost all further interest in the game, and in his struggles to get within speaking distance of the man of inquests, lost his score card; and to add to his misfortunes, he was lost in the large crowd, and failed to hear any of the Campbell's Creek news. The rest of our report, therefore, is made up from our exchanges, principally the Covington papers...

We have witnessed many worse games than this; and we believe that with close application, much practice, harmony, discipline, &c., the Stars will be a very good club by next summer...

-Ludlow Reporter, July 3, 1875

This may be the best account of a 19-0 game I've ever read. Good stuff.

An 1875 Season Preview: The Red Stockings of St. Louis

The Red Sox, as they are familiarly called, have not yet filled their nine.  They are the pick of last year's Empires and Red Stockings, and are "natives" with the exception of Charley Sweazy, the veteran second baseman of the Cincinnati Red Stockings and other clubs.

Sweazy arrived in (St. Louis) on Tuesday last and, I expect, will at once proceed to place the players in position and training, he having been engaged to Captain and steady them.  They have two pitchers-Morgan, medium paced, with legitimate delivery, and plenty of endurance and pluck, while J. Blong is change and centre fielder.  He is a good player in almost any position, and throws a very swift underhand ball.  Hously, from the Empire, will play first base, and in him they have an excellent player.  He is of the steady, sure, and quiet order.  Sweazy will of course play second, and if he only approaches to his old-time play will do better than many that other clubs boast of.  McSorley, a brilliant player at times, and Tommy Oran, also a fitful fielder, will fill the short-field and third-base positions. 

In the outfield, Joe Blong, Redmond, and Croft will look after the high flies, the former being also the change pitcher, while Redmond is change catcher, and Croft is an excellent first baseman and one of the most promising players in their corps.  Packey Dillon is the regular catcher, and there are very few better as long as he keeps his temper: the want of control in this respect is the only fault Pack's best friends find with him...

The Red Sox will have a neat gray cap, shirts, and pants, red hose, and name in letters of same color on the breast.

-Chicago Tribune, April 18, 1875 

Sweasy Released At His Own Request

Charles J. Sweasy, the veteran second baseman, has severed his connection with the St. Louis Red Stockings, having been released at his own request. Charlie has done a great deal for the Reds and under his Captaincy they have gone through the most successful season since their organization. He has made many friends during his stay in St. Louis and will always be warmly welcomed on the ball field in this city. He will probably be snapped up by some first class club to guard second next season. Ellick will play Sweasey's position for the Reds in future.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 22, 1875

Rudy Kemmler

Rudy Kemmler played in thirty-five games for the World's Champion Browns in 1886 as a catcher and first baseman. What's notable about Kemmler's stint with the Browns is that over one hundred and twenty-three at bats, he posted a remarkable OPS+ of nine. That's nine (9), as in one short of ten. So I think the question that needs to be asked is was Kemmler the worst player ever to play for a championship team?

Interestingly, the fourth most similar player to Kemmler (according to Baseball Reference) is Charlie Sweasy, the manager and second baseman of the 1875 St. Louis Reds. The tenth most similar player was Tom Dolan, who played with the Browns, Maroons, and Whites. The list of Kemmler's comps is not exactly Murderer's Row.

Flint Playing With The Elephants In May 1875

It's difficult for me to look at Dillon's games with the Reds, as I did yesterday, without considering Silver Flint, who replaced Dillon in the lineup. When specifically Flint joined the Reds is a question that's still up in the air but based on information provided by E.H. Tobias, it's clear that Flint was still playing with the Elephants as late as May 9, 1875. Tobias, in the February 8, 1896 issue of The Sporting News, provides the box scores of two games that Flint played in for the Elephants. The first was a game against the Reds on May 2 and the second was against the Empires on May 9.

However, while it's obvious that Flint was still playing with the Elephants in early May, he certainly already had established a relationship with the Reds. In the May 4, 1875 game against the Brown Stockings, Flint was playing for the Reds. Tobias wrote that the Reds were shorthanded, missing Trick McSorley, and used Flint, "late of the Elephants," at third base.

Flint replaced Dillon as the Reds' starting catcher after the May 8 game in Keokuk. Dillon had suffered a hand injury in the spring and it was reported in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat at the time that Dillon was still injured as the season began. It appears that Dillon tried to play through the injury, was unsuccessful, and Flint replaced him in the lineup. What is unclear is when specifically Flint joined the club. It's possible that he had already joined the club after the game on May 2 and played in the May 9 game with the Elephants because the Reds didn't take him on the road trip. On the other hand, after the trip to Keokuk Charlie Sweasy may have come to the conclusion that Dillon was physically unable to get the job done behind the plate and at that point brought Flint into the fold. But regardless of how it went down, after the Reds returned from Keokuk, Flint was the starting catcher and played in the remainder of the Reds' championship games.

The Reds Have A Bad Road Trip

Bill Kelsoe writes in A Newspaper Man's Motion-Picture View Of The City about a baseball game that took place on July 14, 1875 between the St. Louis City Council and a group of St. Louis newspaper reporters.

"A new City Council was elected in the spring of 1875," he wrote, "some of the members being ardent baseball fans, the same as many of the newspaper reporters here. While the Browns were on their first, or maybe it was their second eastern tour, advantage of their absence to use Grand Avenue Park, now called Sportsman's Park, was taken by two nines representing, respectively, the press and the city government...The game was played on the afternoon of July 14, resulting in a victory for the reporters."

Kelsoe goes on to write that "(while) the St. Louis reporters were having a holiday game with our City Fathers...the original St. Louis Browns, were defeating the Atlantics at Brooklyn by the score of 2 to 1. The following day they won a second game in Brooklyn, making their sixth victory, without a single defeat since leaving home the week before, the other victims being the Philadelphias and the New York Mutuals, with two defeats each. The St. Louis Reds...were in Cincinnati for two games, one being with the Covington Stars across the river, which they won, losing the other."

This reference to the Reds playing in Covington in July of 1875 seems to come from Kelsoe's personal recollection and therefore can't be taken at face value unless confirmed by another source. However, it is rather significant because it speaks to why the Reds stopped playing championship matches after July 4, 1875.

Most of the general histories that mention the Reds erroneously claim that the team ceased operations after July 4th. The various reasons given for this are that the Reds never planned on making an Eastern road trip, they didn't have the money to make a road trip, or the players refused to make a road trip. The fact is the Reds made at least two major road trips after July 4th. The first was the trip to Cincinnati and Covington and the second was to Little Rock. Couple these with an earlier trip to Keokuk and Chicago and it doesn't seem that the Reds had problems making road trips. While they did disappear from the history of major league baseball after July 1875, the Reds were still a viable operation and soldiered on until the late 1880's.

However, the fact remains that the Reds did cease playing games against other NA teams after July 4th. The most likely reason for this is two-fold. First, it appears that they had difficulties scheduling games against the Eastern teams that precluded them from making an Eastern road trip. At the same time, the team fell apart. Joe Blong was either expelled from the club for "hippodroming" or bolted the team for greener pastures. Either way, on June 29, 1875, Blong signed a contract to play with the Stars of Covington, Ky. Shortly thereafter, Charlie Sweasy jumped ship and joined a team in Cincinnati and Packy Dillon and Trick McSorley joined Blong on the Stars. Although it's unclear, Silver Flint may also have joined the Stars. In the middle of the season, the Reds lost half their team and were left scrambling to find enough players to field a nine.

One question I always had was how did Blong, Sweasy, Dillon, McSorley, and possibly Flint all end up playing baseball in the Cincinnati area after July 4, 1875? Kelsoe may have provided the answer. If the Reds are in Cincinnati and Covington in early to mid July and at the same time their players are jumping to teams in Cincinnati and Covington, it would follow that the Reds were raided by the local teams during the road trip. It's very likely that if Blong was already playing for the Stars, he might have enticed his former teammates to jump ship.

Another question that remains is why so many of the Reds were willing to jump ship in the middle of the season? It's unlikely that there's one simple answer for that. The influence of Blong would certainly explain some of it. Sweasy's connections in Cincinnati probably played a role. Sweasy himself, an outsider brought in at the last minute and a man known to be difficult to deal with, likely made for a divisive clubhouse and may have drove some people away. The lack of on the field success couldn't have been good for morale. If the Reds were truly a co-op team then the lack of a promise of an Eastern road trip would have hurt the players financially and had them looking for greener pastures. Added together, all of this put a great deal of pressure on the club and its players.

If Kelsoe is correct, and again I believe we need another source to confirm it, then we can place the break up of the Reds' NA team in mid July when they made a road trip to Cincinnati and Covington. While the situation is still unclear and many questions remain, Kelsoe gets us one step closer to figuring out what happened to the Reds in July of 1875.

Sweasy Lives!

From The Mexia Evening News, April 27, 1922:

"Locate Famous Old Player
Charles Sweasy, who played with original Cincinnati Reds, is found in Texas

Dropping into Fort Worth for an exhibition game, scribes with the Cincinnati Reds discovered a member of the famous team of 1869 living in the city...(Sweasy) is seventy-five years of age and in feeble health. When the Reds won the pennant in the National League in 1919 an effort was made to dig up all the members of the 1869 team. George Wright and Cal McVey reported but Sweasy did not and it seems it was not even known he was alive until he identified himself the other day. He has prospered in business and is passing his last days in comfort."

The only problem with this is that Charlie Sweasy, the captain of the 1875 Reds, died in Newark on March 30, 1908.

Jack Dillon Muffs A Fly Ball

Tuning up for their championship games, the Reds played the Niagara Base Ball Club of St. Louis on Sunday, April 18, 1875. More than 1,000 fans came out to the Compton Avenue Ball Park and saw the Reds win 14-6. According to the Globe-Democrat, both teams were sporting new uniforms.

The Reds' lineup for the game, which started at 3:15 p.m., was a little different than normal. They played Charlie Houtz at first, Charlie Sweasy (in one of his first games with the club) at second, Trick McSorely at short, Joe Blong, Tom Oran, and Jack Dillon in the outfield, Billy Redmond catching, and Pidge Morgan pitching. One of the reasons for the switch up was that Packy Dillon, the Reds' starting catcher, was out with a "sore hand." Dillon's hand problem would keep him out for much of the season and force the Reds to bring Silver Flint over from the Elephants.

The Globe-Democrat's coverage of this game is one of the few references I can find to Jack Dillon playing for the Reds. They mention the fact that he played left field, went hitless, and muffed a fly ball.

Joe Blong

One of the more interesting players in the history of 19th century St. Louis baseball, Joe Blong played a total of 136 games in the NA and the NL between 1875 and 1877. A pitcher and outfielder, Blong was college educated, a member of a politically influential family, and was expelled from three teams in three years for “dishonesty, desertion, and unfaithful conduct”. In November of 1877, he was officially blacklisted and never played another game in the major leagues.

Joseph Myles Blong, the son of Irish immigrants, was born in St. Louis on September 17, 1853. He and his brother Andrew attended the University of Notre Dame in the late 1860’s, where they were members of the baseball team. When Blong made his major league debut in 1875, he, along with Cap Anson, became the first Notre Dame alum to play in the big leagues. Blong was married to a woman named Mary in 1880 with whom he had four children (Joseph, Mae, John, and James). In the 1880 census, Blong listed his occupation as painter. He died in 1892 and is buried at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.

While details about his personal life are rare, much more is known about Blong’s baseball career. After his playing days at Notre Dame were over, Blong returned to St. Louis where he played on amateur teams with his brothers Andy and Tom. When the St. Louis Red Stockings entered the NA in 1875, Blong was added to a club that already included his two brothers as members. In the spring of 1875, as the Reds got ready for the season by playing various amateur teams and picked nines, Blong played first base, second base, the outfield, and pitched for the team. By the time the NA season began in May, Blong was selected as the Reds main pitcher.

The 1875 season was an eventful one for Blong. He certainly had a disappointing record on the mound, officially going 3-12 for the Reds with a 3.35 ERA and an ERA+ of 72. While his performance was certainly not what the Reds had been hoping for, Blong did throw a few gems that showed the potential he had as a pitcher. On May 11th, he held the Chicago White Stockings to six hits and one run in a 1-0 Reds loss. That game, according to Baseball Library.com, was the lowest scoring game in baseball history at the time. Also, on May 23rd, Blong threw a two hitter against the Keokuk Westerns. The Reds won 7-1 although the game, because it was played on a Sunday, did not count in the official standings.

On June 29, 1875, just five days before the Reds played their last NA game, Blong signed a contract with the Stars of Covington, Kentucky. The circumstances under which Blong left the Reds and joined the Stars are not exactly clear. While it’s possible that he simply left the team for greener pastures, most sources state that he was quietly expelled from the Reds on suspicion of crooked play. The St. Louis Globe Democrat, in an article on October 31, 1875, stated that Blong was kicked off the team for “hippodroming”.

However it happened, the Reds had lost their main pitcher to the Stars and ended their pursuit for the whip pennant. And while Blong was the first to leave the team, he was certainly not the last. Captain Charlie Sweasy soon left the sinking ship for Cincinnati. Blong was joined on the Covington club by Silver Flint, Packy Dillon, and Trick McSorley. It’s not known how these players all ended up in Covington. There is enough evidence to believe that McSorley had also been expelled from the team for crooked play and may have had no other options. It’s possible that a Covington official may have raided the Reds for players. Blong may have sowed dissension in the clubhouse and enticed several of his teammates to follow him to the Stars. It’s likely that all of these things played a role in splitting up the 1875 St. Louis Red Stockings.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Blong’s departure from the Reds is the role that his brother Andrew may have played. Andrew Blong was born in St. Louis in 1850 and had a long, successful political career in the city before his death in 1909. He served as a police commissioner, a member of the police board, and as chairman of the St. Louis Democratic Party Central Committee. An upstanding member of the community, Andy Blong was also a member of the Red Stockings Base Ball Club. He had played for the team in the past and, in 1875, represented the team at the 5th annual convention of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in Philadelphia. While Mr. McNeary (possibly Tom McNeary), as club secretary, ran the day to day business of the club, Andy Blong was certainly involved in the management of the Reds. There are several sources that list him as Club President and another as Business Manager. Whatever his role, it’s likely that Andy Blong was involved in whatever decision the Reds made regarding the status of his brother.

While the rump Red Stockings soldiered on in St. Louis, Blong was in Kentucky with his new team and some of his old teammates. But the honeymoon in Covington didn’t last very long. In late September, Blong jumped from the Stars to W.B. Pettit’s Indianapolis club. Again the circumstances are less than clear. One source claims that Blong was expelled from the Stars on September 23rd for throwing a game against a Cincinnati team.

Was Blong expelled from both the Reds and the Stars in 1875 for throwing games? Blong certainly took a beating in the press in the off-season. An unnamed Reds official stated in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle that Blong would “not be eligible to play (with) any reputable club in the future” although he did play on a picked nine team against the Reds in November of 1875. That month, the Eagle chastised the St. Louis Brown Stockings for signing Blong for the centennial season and named Blong to their “all-rogue” team. The St. Louis Globe Democrat also chastised the Browns for signing Blong. While it’s possible that this sense of outrage was simply a result of Blong’s disregard for a contract, the Globe Democrat’s article from October 31st, that stated that Blong was expelled from both the Reds and the Stars for “hippodroming, must be taken seriously. The contemporary sources paint Blong as a scoundrel at best and, at worst, as a man lacking honesty and character. The red flags were certainly up.

Playing mostly in the outfield, Blong had an uneventful 1876 season for the Brown Stockings while enjoying his best year statistically. In 1877, he was named team captain. Captain Blong was not having a good year at the plate that year when the Brown Stockings went to Chicago in late August to take on the White Stockings. On August 24, 1877, Chicago beat St. Louis 4-3 in just another game in the dog days of the season. However, later that month, Blong and teammate Joe Battin were named by a group of Chicago and St. Louis gamblers as “willing partners” in the fix of the August 24th game. “Crooked play has been discovered in the St. Louis nine,” said an article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, “and a dispatch from St. Louis says that (Davey) Force, Battin, and Blong have been expelled with forfeited pay.” The scandal would lead to the blacklisting of Blong, Battin, Force, and teammate Mike McGeary in November of 1877.

Joe Blong’s big league career was over. Even though he was able to catch on with “the Springfield nine” in 1878 and was playing baseball with the Union Club of St. Louis as late as 1884, Blong would never again be allowed to play baseball in the major leagues. While the incidents with the Reds and Stars are open to interpretation, Blong was specifically named, by gamblers, in a fixing incident while with the Brown Stockings and would be persona non grata in Organized Baseball for the rest of his life.

Charlie Sweasy

Charles James Sweasy, a member of the 1869/70 Cincinnati Red Stockings, was born on November 2, 1847 in Newark, New Jersey to John H. and Rachel Sweasy. According to the 1850 census, he had two brothers, George (b. 1835) and John H. (b. 1842), and three sisters, Henrietta (b. 1833), Sarah (b. 1840), and Eliza (b. 1840).

Sweasy first drew attention as a ballplayer in the mid 1860's while playing as a second baseman for amateur teams in the Newark area. In 1866 and 67, he was playing second for Irvington (N.J.) in the NABBP. One of his teammates was Andy Leonard, another future member of the 1869 Red Stockings. In 1868, Sweasy moved to the Buckeyes of Cincinnati, where he played both second and third. There is a reference in his obituary in the New York Times to Sweasy playing for "the Lancaster Red Stockings" and being managed there by Harry Wright in 1868 but there is no other evidence to support this. The Buckeye team also included Andy Leonard and Dick Hurley, who would join Sweasy the next year on the Red Stockings.

In 1869 and 1870, Sweasy was playing for the Cincinnati Red Stockings. He appeared in all 57 of the Red Stockings’ victories in 1869, playing second base. In 1870, he appeared in 73 of 74 games, again all at second base. According to The Advocate, Sweasy was paid $800 in 1869. Although there were a few players making more, specifically the Wrights, this was the "standard rate" for Reds players. In 1870, it is suggested that Sweasy was involved in a salary dispute, asking for a $200 raise (a salary that would have made him the third highest paid player on the team). It's unclear whether he got his raise. However, if the account is true, this might make Sweasy the first baseball player ever to hold out for more money.

It's interesting to note that Sweasy listed his occupation in the 1870 census as "ballplayer". With baseball still transitioning from a purely amateur game to a full time profession and there still being some controversy surrounding the professionalization of the game, to list one's occupation as ballplayer was fairly unique. It is known that Sweasy was, as Harry Wright said in The Sporting News in 1866, a hatter by trade and practiced that profession after his playing days ended. There is also a reference to his being a hatter in 1869. So while he had an "honest" profession, Sweasy choose to identify himself as a professional baseball player in 1870.

After the Reds broke up following the 1870 season, Sweasy lived a journeyman's life, officially playing for eight teams in seven years. While he lived the vagabond's life of a fringe player, Sweasy actually captained at least three of the teams he played for: the 1871 Olympics of Washington D.C., the 1872 Forest City Club of Cleveland, and the 1875 Red Stockings of St. Louis. While the statistical evidence shows that Sweasy was not much of a player (at least in the batter's box), the panache that he earned playing with 1869/70 Red Stockings usually guaranteed him not only a spot on a roster but also the field manager's job. It seems that more than one team used Sweasy's "fame" to establish their own credentials.

In 1875, when the Reds of St. Louis transitioned from a top local amateur team to a professional team in the NA, they stocked their team with local amateur talent. Every member of the St. Louis Reds made their professional debut in 1875-except for Charlie Sweasy. Sweasy, the only player with any “big league” professional experience, was brought in by Reds’ management in mid April to the captain the club. This is in contrast to the Brown Stockings of St. Louis who joined the NA in the same year and stocked their team with the best eastern ballplayers they could buy.

The results of this were what you would expect. The Browns had a decent season, finishing fourth in the league with a record of 39-29. The Reds were not competitive in the NA in 1875, finishing with a record of 4-15, good for tenth place. The Reds, for numerous reasons, ceased league operations after a game on July 4, 1875. Regardless of whether or not the Reds had difficulties scheduling games against other NA teams or the players refused to make a scheduled road trip or the team ran out of funds or a combination of these, the Reds NA season was finished.

After the Reds ended their NA season, several members of the team, including Sweasy, bolted the team and ended up playing out the season on various professional teams in the Cincinnati area. One would have to conclude that Sweasy, who had had lived and played baseball in Cincinnati, played a role in getting his teammates jobs in the area, although Joe Blong may also have had something to do with this. Sweasy not only finished the 1875 season playing for the reorganized Cincinnati Red Stockings, he also signed a contract to play for them the following year.

While Sweasy's career in the major leagues ended with Providence in 1878 (were he was involved in Paul Hines' controversial unassisted triple play), he continued to play baseball with various minor northeastern teams through the 1881 season. It was reported in his obituary that he was forced to retire in 1882 "on account of rheumatism."

After his playing days, Sweasy lived a nomadic life, living in various towns in the northeast. In 1886, it's reported that he was living in New York City. In 1890, Newark. In 1897, Providence, Rhode Island. In 1900, Sweasy was living by himself in a house in Irvington, New Jersey.

Sweasy, who died on March 30, 1908 of tuberculosis, had a reputation for being "difficult". Between the salary dispute, Harry Wright's later descriptions of Sweasy, and the numerous teams he played for, it's easy to see how this reputation developed.

Another interesting note about Sweasy comes from The Mexia Evening News. In 1922, an article in the paper appeared that stated that Sweasy was alive and living in Fort Worth, Texas. “…(He) is seventy-five years of age and in feeble health…He has prospered in business and is passing his last days in comfort.” Of course, Sweasy had been dead for fourteen years.

Packy Dillon

Packy Dillon, who played three games for the 1875 St. Louis Red Stockings of the National Association and had a total of 13 at-bats in the ‘big leagues’, is one of the more obscure players in the history of professional baseball. His tenuous claim to fame is being a catcher on an uncompetitive, tenth place team that dropped out of a borderline major league in the middle of its only professional season during baseball’s “Dark Ages”. His obscurity as a baseball player is matched only by the lack of information that we have about his personal history.

According to baseball reference books and websites, Packy Dillon was born in St. Louis, Missouri and died in Guelph, Ontario on January 8, 1890. He had a brother named John, who also played for the St. Louis Reds and is an even more obscure historical figure than Packy. Those are most of the known facts about Dillon’s personal life and it’s possible to make an argument that none of them are accurate. Even Dillon’s name is up for debate. He’s listed in the Baseball Encyclopedia as Packard Andrew Dillon and at Baseball Reference.Com as Patrick Dillon. Another source lists him as Patrick C. Dillon. His nickname, in contemporary sources, is spelled variously as Packy, Packey, and Packie.

A “Dillon” is listed as a member of the Union Club of St. Louis in the early 1870’s and of the Reds in 1874. While it is an assumption that this is Packy Dillon, it seems a safe one if it is true that Dillon was born in St. Louis and living in the city at the time. The 1875 Reds were, for the most part, made up of the best local amateur players as well as players already on the club so Dillon’s inclusion on the roster in 1875 would presuppose his already being a known commodity in the St. Louis baseball community. The Brooklyn Eagle, on March 9, 1875, published the Reds roster for the upcoming season and listed Dillon as an infielder on the club. In the March 15th edition, Dillon was identified as the Reds starting first baseman. The St. Louis Democrat, in its March 21, 1875 edition, identified Dillon as the Reds starting catcher for the upcoming season. Most references to Dillon in the St. Louis papers identified him as a catcher and it’s possible that the Eagle erred in claiming he was to play first base in 1875. Again, it’s a safe assumption that Dillon was the club’s first baseman or catcher in 1874 or was a top first baseman/catcher on another St. Louis amateur club such as the Union or Empire.

Prominently mentioned in preseason reports, Dillon was one of the Reds who took part in informal practices in mid March before the manager of the Reds had finalized the roster. The first hint of an injury that would ruin Dillon’s NA season was found in the St. Louis Democrat on April 19th. Describing a game between the Reds and the Niagaras that had taken place the day before, it was mentioned that Dillon, “the catcher of the Red Stockings,” could not play because of a “sore hand”.

Dillon made his professional debut with the Reds on May 4, 1875 in a 15-9 loss to the St. Louis Brown Stockings. This game, played at Red Stocking Base Ball Park on Compton Avenue, was the first professional league game ever played in St. Louis. He also played in the first away game by a St. Louis professional baseball team on May 6th, 1875 when the Reds traveled to Keokuk, Iowa to take on the Westerns. Packy Dillon’s final game for the 1875 Red Stockings occurred on May 8th when the Reds beat the Westerns 6-1 to gain the first road victory by a St. Louis professional baseball team. By mid May, the St. Louis papers were reporting that Dillon had suffered a broken hand. His “major league” career had lasted all of three games and 13 at bats

After their 12-5 loss to the Washington Nationals on July 4, 1875, the Reds ceased operations as a franchise in the NA. While the Reds continued to play games against local amateur teams and picked nines and attempted to organize a Southern road trip, their roster was in disarray. Pitcher Joe Blong had been expelled from the team for hippodroming and captain Charlie Sweasy had bolted the club to join the Cincinnati Red Stockings. By August, almost half of the Reds, including Packy Dillon, had left the team to find employment elsewhere. Dillon ended the 1875 season playing for the Covington Stars along with former Reds Silver Flint, Trick McSorley, and the disgraced Joe Blong.

One of the more interesting moments in the Reds eventful 1875 season occurred in November. On the 7th and 11th of that month, the reorganized Reds played two games in St. Louis against a picked nine team. Playing for the picked nine were former Reds Packy Dillon, Trick McSorely, and Joe Blong. Also playing for the picked nine were several members of the 1875 St. Louis Brown Stockings, including Pud Galvin, Lip Pike, and Joe Battin. The Reds lost both games.

In 1876, W.B. Pettit was building a successful professional team in Indianapolis that would eventually join the National League two years later. Raiding the Covington team, Pettit brought in Dillon and two of his teammates to play for Indianapolis in 1876. In 1877, Pettit signed Flint to catch for the Indianapolis club and Dillon was looking for another team. Returning home to St. Louis, Dillon rejoined the Reds for the 1877 season. If Dillon had remained on the 1877 Indianapolis club, a championship team that was celebrated in Indianapolis for many years, it’s likely that we would have more information about the man through the numerous articles written about that team over the years in the Indianapolis press.

After the 1877 season, Dillon is, for the most part, lost in the mists of time. How long his playing career lasted after 1877 is unknown and there are few references to him in the sporting press. In 1881, Al Spinks, speaking about the 1875 Reds, referred to Dillon as a “crackerjack” ballplayer. The Sporting News, in 1886, mentions that Dillon had played in a benefit game for Tom Sullivan on May 8th of that year. Dillon was also mentioned by The Sporting News in their October 4, 1886 issue. Reporting on the death of former Red Tom Oran, it was mentioned that Dillon was now in the “commission business.” There’s a subtle suggestion in the article that Dillon’s playing career had come to an end.

There are several basic questions about Packy Dillon that have yet to be answered. The first and most basic of these involves his real name. Was his first name Patrick or Packard? Was his middle initial ‘A.’ or ‘C.’? Was his last name really Dillon? Or was it Dylan or Dilon or Dillan? The safest assumption is that his name was Patrick Dillon. Packy was a common shortened form of Patrick and it’s tough to imagine a 19th century Irish-American named Packard. There is no reason to believe that his surname was not Dillon other than the fact that baseball players of his time where known to sometimes play under assumed names.

The question of Dillon’s date of birth also needs to be addressed. While all the reference material lists his date of birth as unknown, it’s safe to assume that Dillon was somewhere between 16 and 28 years old in 1875 and therefore he was born between the years 1847 and 1859. The average age of the Reds in 1875 was about 21 and it was remarked upon in the press of the time how young the team was. It was mentioned that one member of the team was 16 and it’s known that Tom Oran and Charlie Sweasy, at 28, were the oldest members of the team. If one believes that Dillon was not the 16 year old team member and that he wasn’t a veteran like Sweasy or Oran then it’s safe to assume that Dillon was in his early 20’s and most likely born sometime between 1850 and 1855.

Another question about Packy Dillon involves his family, specifically the relationship between him and the Reds’ John Dillon. John Dillon, who was usually referred to as ‘Jack’ in contemporary sources, is listed in modern baseball reference material as Packy Dillon’s brother. I have never seen a source that mentions any relationship between the two other than that of teammate. While it is possible that the two were brothers and one would have to assume that there is a basis for the claim, the common nature of the surname ‘Dillon’ in St. Louis in the 19th century leaves open the possibility that the two men were not brothers. This is certainly a serious problem when trying to research Packy Dillon. The identification of a brother is one of the best leads one has when attempting to identify Dillon in contemporary records and if John is not Packy’s brother then most of the leads go cold.

Other questions regarding Dillon that still need to be investigated include his place of birth and his place and date of death. Dillon is listed in modern baseball reference material as having been born in St. Louis. There is no evidence of this that I can find. It’s certainly known that Dillon was living in St. Louis in the 1870’s and 1880’s. However, there is no primary source material that establishes his place of birth or his place of residence prior to the 1870’s. The same holds true for his place and date of death. While secondary source material states that Dillon died on January 8, 1890 in Guelph, Ontario, I have no primary sources that confirm this. While I can not believe that this information is accurate without confirmation from primary source material, I also have not found any definitive source that contradicts this information.

If one accepts the secondary source material as being accurate with regards to his place of birth and his relationship to John Dillon and one makes educated assumptions about his given name and age, then it is possible to find information about Packy Dillon in contemporary records. In general, when looking for Dillon in sources such as census data, birth records, death records, etc, I have based my search on the assumption that his first name was Patrick, his brother’s name was John, he was born in St. Louis in the early 1850’s, and he died in Ontario in 1890. Again, it must be stated that, while it’s logical to assume these things about Dillon, these are nothing but assumptions.

Given those caveats, it is arguable that Packy Dillon was the bastard son of Irish immigrants. A Patrick Dillon was born in 1854 to James and Ellen Dillon, Irish immigrants who would not marry until 1858. While census records state that Patrick was born in St. Louis, it’s possible to imagine that his parents immigrated to America either upon learning of Ellen’s pregnancy or shortly after the birth of young Packy and then settled in St. Louis by the late 1850’s. Dillon also had two younger brothers, John, born in 1859, and James, born in 1864. In the 1880 census, they were living in St. Louis and both James and John listed their occupation as ‘teamsters’ while Patrick listed his as ‘produce huckster’.

This Patrick Dillon was married to Martha F. Dillon. Martha, who is also listed in some sources as ‘Mary’, was born in Ohio in 1859. They had one son, Edward, who was born in St. Louis in 1879. It’s known that Packy Dillon was in the Cincinnati area in 1875 and it’s entirely possible that, while playing with Covington, Dillon met Mary, won her hand, and took his new bride back to St. Louis. Also, there are numerous Patrick and Mary Dillon’s buried next to each other in cemeteries throughout Ontario, where one can assume Packy Dillon was laid to rest.

James and Ellen Dillon’s son John would have been 16 years old in 1875 and William Rzcyek writes that the Reds had a 16 year old on the roster (although he identifies the 16 year old as Trick McSorely who according to most sources was born in 1852). Jack Dillon’s lack of playing time in 1875 (1 AB) could easily be explained by his age and inexperience. It’s possible that the Reds, in the manner of teams at the time, kept the young Jack on the roster simply as a glorified gopher, someone who could take tickets and do the ground keeping.

This Patrick Dillon fits all of the assumptions that we make about Packy Dillon. His name is Patrick. He was either born in St. Louis or, at the very least, was living in St. Louis during the 1860’s-1880’s time period, had a brother named John, and was born in the early 1850’s. By 1890, he disappears from public records, leading one at assume that he might be deceased. There is no other Patrick Dillon in the public records who fits all the assumptions that are made about Packy Dillon. While, of course, it’s impossible to say for sure that this Patrick Dillon is Packy Dillon, the baseball player, I can not find a better candidate.