A Unique Trade Proposal

President Von der Ahe left for Cleveland last night to make a proposition to President Robison. His idea is that the Cleveland Club lend to the St. Louis Club pitchers Cuppy and Wallace, second baseman Childs and shortstop McKean, in exchange for catcher Douglas, pitcher Kissinger, shortstop Cross and outfielder Parrot. In return the St. Louis Club will give to the Cleveland Club one-fourth of the profits derived from base ball in this city this year and at the end of the year the players will be returned to their original clubs. Secretary Muckenfuss, of the Browns, believes that the deal will be consummated. There are only a few others, however, who share his belief. If such a deal were made the local club would indeed be the beneficiary. Cuppy, Wallace, Childs and McKean form the nucleus of a winning team. The quartette are all stars. Cleveland would receive about $10,000 or $15,000 of the profits of the Browns, as it has been demonstrated in St. Louis in days gone by that a winning team can earn at least $50,000.

-Sporting Life, February 6, 1897


How is this a good idea? Von der Ahe was willing to give up one quarter of the profits to rent four players for one year? It doesn't make a lot of sense.

The interesting thing about this is the financial information we get at the end. The implication is that the Browns were netting "at least $50,000" a year during the 1880's. For comparison's sake, it's known that the Browns only cleared $12,000 in 1896.

Now that I think about it, the Browns would only have to clear $16,000 on the year to break even on the deal and you would think they would have no problem doing that if they put a better product on the field. But it still seems extraordinarily shortsighted.

The Becker Family And St. Louis Baseball

I found this interesting blog run by the great-grandson of Edward Becker which had some relevent pieces of information regarding Becker's ownership of the Browns/Perfectos/Cardinals (or, more rightly, the St. Louis National League Baseball Club). The site had the above picture of Becker and Frank Robison as well as a couple of quotes from the Globe-Democrat (which I'll post below). The most intriguing piece of information they presented was that Becker maintained his minority ownership of the team until 1917.

Edward C. Becker, St. Louis’ new baseball magnate, who is vice-president of the American Baseball and Athletic Exhibition Company of St. Louis, the organization which has gained league recognition as the successor of Sportsman’s Park and Club, returned to St. Louis last night from New York, where he was in attendance at the special meeting of the National League magnates, called for last Friday to settle the St. Louis muddle.

-From the Globe-Democrat, March 28, 1899

Never in the history of the sport, not even in the days of the old champion Brown Stockings, has the St. Louis public shown as much interest in baseball as it has evinced since Frank De Haas Robison and Edward C. Becker became joint owners of the local franchise and placed Patsy Tebeau and his crack team on the home diamond.

The parade, always a feature of the opening day, was started shortly before 10 o’clock. Following the Master of Ceremonies and the team was a long line of carriages. In the first vehicle were Frank DeHaas Robinson, Edward C. Becker and M. Stanley Robison. All along the line of march the party was cheered. Huge bouquets were presented Mr. Robison and Mr. Becker when passing Gaylord & Blessing’s.

-From the Globe-Democrat, April 15, 1899

The New St. Louis Club

The action of the League in expelling the Sportsman’s Park and Club from the association and recognizing the new organization formed by Robison and Becker has aroused the greatest enthusiasm (in St. Louis) and the fans already see the pennant flying from the flagstaff at the ball grounds. The deal means the transfer to this city of the Cleveland Club in its entirety.

The new Browns will have Tebeau on first base, Childs at second, Cross at third and Wallace at short. The outfielders will be Burkett, Griffin, and Stenzel. O’Connor, Criger, Schrecongost and Clements will be the catchers and the pitching staff will consist of Young, Cuppy, Powell, Wilson, Bates, Jones and Hughey. Ed McKean will remain with the Cleveland team. So will Zimmer and Blake. The other St. Louis players, including Hill, Carsey, Sudhoff, Stivetts, Sugden, Tucker, Quinn, Harley, and Dowd will be transferred to the Forest City to fill the other places. Stanley Robison will be the president of the Cleveland Club.

It was leaked out that the new St. Louis Club was organized about a week ago when the following officers were elected: President Frank de Haas Robison, of Cleveland; vice president Edward C. Becker; Stanley Robison; secretary William Schofield. Mr. Becker will have no interest in the Cleveland Club. He is satisfied with his holdings in the local club, which are exactly equal with Robison. The statement already made that Mr. Robison holds a slight excess of stock, just enough to give him control, is not correct. Mr. Becker and Mr. Robison hold share and share alike in the new corporation…

Chris Von der Ahe does not propose to give up the fight for the possession of the Browns franchise. The publication on Sunday of the Rogers-Muckenfuss letter has convinced the boss that he is the victim of a conspiracy and he proposes to have the sale of the Sportsman’s Park and Club set aside, if possible. To-day he filed his notice of an appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court from the decision of Judge Spencer ordering the property sold to satisfy the creditors. Under this decree the property was sold, then later transferred to E.C. Becker, who in turn took into partnership Frank Robison, thus, it is said, confirming all that was admitted in the Rogers letter…

-From Sporting Life, April 1, 1899

St. Louis Is Expelled From The National League (And Then Readmitted)

When the League met late in the day…St. Louis had no delegate and no proxy, and here is where another piece of political strategy came into play. Mr. Muckenfuss was absent but Mr. Becker was in attendance. The latter, however, did not enter the meeting, as he claimed he had no right to do so, not being an officer of the club, although it subsequently developed that he might have entered had he been disposed to do so by virtue of authority delegated by Muckenfuss. In the position assumed by Mr. Becker, St. Louis was left without anyone to offer resignation, as had been the supposed programme and this apparently made expulsion necessary, if the St. Louis muddle were to be settled then and there.

The debate upon Mr. Hart’s motion to expel the St. Louis Base Ball Association, in accordance with the recommendation of the directors, and to admit the new American Base Ball and Athletic Exhibition Company was long and bitter and a show of hands proved Colonel Rogers to be left alone to bear the burden of argument, cajolery and denunciation. Mr. Hart, in support of his motion, stated that the expulsion of the St. Louis Club was only a matter of justice to the League and to its law abiding members and that it was also essential to the successful and satisfactory settlement of the St. Louis question. He furthermore now favored such a course because the situation no longer invited judicial interference. Mr. Brush took the ground that the move was the safest for the League and the best for those who proposed to operate base ball in St. Louis, who would thus be protected against unfair harassment for debts contracted in other ventures by Mr. Von der Ahe. Mr. Robison also made the same plea and stated that Mr. Becker agreed with him in this view. Mr. Becker was called before the meeting and stated that he was decidedly in favor of the step, he having made a satisfactory arrangement with Mr. Robison regarding the new club and the disposition of the Cleveland team. All of the other delegates expressed similar views except Colonel Rodgers…

Finally, however, partly from exhaustion and partly in compliance with the pleas of Soden and Young, (Rodgers) yielded and consented to make the vote for expulsion unanimous…This done, the old St. Louis Club was expelled and the new club admitted by unanimous vote, after a long and exhausting session.

-From Sporting Life, April 1, 1899

There's a lot going on here besides the settlement of the St. Louis "muddle" and I'm not sure that I understand it completely. There seems to be a great deal of political intrigue among various League factions-owner vs. owner, East vs. West, etc-that's difficult to sort through. What the reason for it all is I can't begin to guess. We have lots of egos and lots of money in the same room and that's always going to lead to infighting and turf wars.

In the end though, I'll leave it to others to sort that out because I'm not all that interested in the politics of the National League at the turn of the century except in how it effects baseball in St. Louis. In this case, we have the final brushing aside of the remnants of the Von der Ahe regime, the approval of the Becker/Robison scheme, and the advent of a new era of St. Louis baseball.

For all intents and purposes, the history of 19th century baseball in St. Louis ends at this League meeting in March of 1899.

The St. Louis Muddle Has At Last Been Settled

The St. Louis muddle has at last been settled and settled just as Sporting Life, with its usual perspicuity and inside knowledge, said it would be settled. Mr. E.C. Becker purchased from the creditors syndicate the franchise and other property of the club. The consideration is not named but from the fact that Frank R. Tate, representing a local syndicate, offered $35,000 cash and agreed to pay the league dues…the price is thought to be about $40,000.

On Friday evening the creditors met and decided to get rid of their white elephant. Telegrams were sent to the League magnates asking how they would vote to receive the purchaser of the Browns in the League. Becker received a dispatch from John Rogers of Philadelphia, in answer to one sent assuring, assuring him that either he or Mr. Robison would be satisfactory. With this assurance that they could deliver the goods to a person satisfactory to the League, the creditors at once closed the deal.

The sale carries with it all the stands and property now in Sportsman’s Park, 15 year lease on the grounds and the following ball players: Pitchers Hill, Hughey, Carsey, Sudhoff, Stivetts, catchers Clements and Sugden, first baseman Tucker, second baseman Quinn, third baseman L. Cross, left fielder Harley, centre fielder Stenzel, right fielder Dowd.

On Friday evening also the American Base Ball and Athletic Exhibition Company of St. Louis was incorporated with a capital of $100,000. Becker holds 996 of the 1000 shares. The four other shares are held by brokers’ clerks in order to form a directory…The corporation is formed for the purposes of conducting the base ball club and general athletic enterprises. It is understood Mr. Becker will put in bowling alleys and the essentials for other forms of amusement.

Like a full-fledged magnate, Mr. Becker believes in being mysterious and declines to see newspaper men. To his friends, however, he denies emphatically that he has formed any alliance with Frank De H. Robison, or any other League magnate, and his investigations into the expense of conducting the team…all point to an apparent intention to conduct the team himself. Opposed to this, however, were a full crop of rumors that the purchase was not made until an understanding had been reached by which Mr. Robison and Mr. Becker were to pool issues.

- From Sporting Life, March 25, 1899

To Be A Fly On The Wall

This is a picture of a National League owners meeting in 1897. In the back row is Edward Becker (far left), Chris Von der Ahe (second from left), and Frank De Hass Robison (fourth from left). In 1899, Becker, one of Von der Ahe's many creditors, would buy the Browns out of receivership and then sell the majority interest to Robison and his brother Stanley.

Von der Ahe had almost sold the Browns to Frank Robison prior to the 1898 season but the deal fell through because Robison would not allow Von der Ahe to keep the beer concessions at Sportsman's Park. In March of 1899, after Becker had purchased the Browns, Von der Ahe was quoted as saying "I don't care who got the property, just so that...Robison did not."

Every Day Is Ladies Day

The question has been asked a thousand times: "Will there be ladies' day at the park this year?" When the question was put to President Frank Robison this morning he said: "Every day is ladies' day at League Park. I don't believe in the old time 'ladies' day' because of the elements it attracts but I believe in having ladies in the grand stands at every game and for that reason I want to announce that the extra charge for admission to the grand stand does not apply to the fair sex. I hope the young gentlemen of St. Louis will make a note of this and we hope to have a fine display of spring bonnets back of the home plate every day."

-From Sporting Life, April 29, 1899

Is it just me or was the new regime a bunch of prigs?