The Second Nine Of The Baltic Club

Local Editor Missouri Republican - Sir:  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 [by a score of 33-14.]

-Missouri Republican, June 5, 1863


Again, I'm talking about the fact that there was more baseball going on in St. Louis during the Civil War than I previously believed.  Here we see the Baltics, who were one of the antebellum clubs, still playing in 1863 and fielding two active nines.  In fact, just above this notice was a report of another game played between the two clubs that resulted in a victory for the Independents.  I haven't sat down and put a list together but, if I did, I'm reasonably certain that the number of clubs, adult and junior, that were active during the 1861-1864 period exceeded the number that were active during 1859-1860 period.  Not all of those clubs were active during the entire period but there were a substantial number of clubs and a substantial number of games being played as the war was going on.

Also of interest here is that the above notice was sent to the paper by the secretary of the Baltic Club, Shepard Barclay.  Barclay also was the field captain and pitcher for the Baltic's second nine that day.  After the war, Barclay would play for the St. Louis University and Union clubs but at this point he was a fifteen year old kid.  It probably says something about the nature of baseball in Civil War St. Louis that a fifteen year old held such a prominent position in what was, at that time, one of the oldest active baseball clubs in the city.

Note:  I see that I posted the box score to this game earlier this year, when I was first going through the Civil War era papers, but I think it's worth noting again, in light of the fact that I'm drawing different conclusions based on the evidence.  After almost two thousand posts and six years of blogging, it gets tough to remember sometimes what I've posted what I've not posted.            

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.

Al Pierce

At the Stocks' Park yesterday afternoon, the Black Stockings defeated the Independents-both strong colored clubs-by a score of 18 to 14. Al Pierce did not strive with the brilliancy of a Wright at short.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 29, 1876

Al Pierce, I believe, was playing with the Independents and most likely was the club's manager as well. He's a rather interesting gentleman who was an outstanding athlete and had the reputation as a successful gambler. It's unique that the Globe would mention him by name, regardless of the derogatory nature of the reference.

I think it says something about his status in the community that he's mentioned in a newspaper which, to a great extent, ignored black baseball and black athletes. The reference to Pierce, without any other information other than that he was playing short, leads one to believe that he was well-known in St. Louis.

Edit: Brilliant reader James Brunson corrected me in the comments. Pierce was playing for the Black Stockings. The Independents were a Kansas City club. Much thanks to James. And, again, I make no apologies for stealing Joe Posnanski's shtick (but I like to credit him because he's the best baseball writer in the business).