Ringers

A base ball game was played [in Cairo, Illinois] this afternoon which proved to be of considerable interest, not by reason of the scores recorded, but rather for the personnel of the visiting club.  The Cairo amateur nine have established an enviable reputation, and, while not prepared to contest with professionals, are capable of good work when pitted against other clubs of like character.  The Charleston, Mo., nine were represented as amateurs, and were invited on the Cairo field to-day to try honors with the home nine.  five hundred people witnessed the contest, which resulted in the Cairos being defeated by a score of 15 to 2.  Then the fact became publicly known that the visiting club were sailing under false colors, being mainly composed of professionals from abroad, including John Davis, reserve pitcher of the St. Louis Browns, who sustained the same position to-day, Krehmeyer, catcher, also of the Browns, and two others, Magner and McCaffrey, well known in base-ball circles.  A rugged fight was made by the Cairo Braves, but the St. Louis experts were too ponderous, and they went under with flags nailed defiantly to the mast-head.  In conversation with the St. Louis gentlemen to-night it was learned they were induced to come here under the impression that they were to contest a club into which a quartet of Chicago professionals had been smuggled, but upon going into the field they saw that they had been deceived, and to-night were not in the best of humor with the Charleston management.  The party left by rail for St. Louis not at all satisfied with the settlement for their services tendered by the Missouri club.  The Cairos take their defeat with the utmost good nature, and promises to even up in the near future.  Not much money changed hands on the result, as the talent imported by the visitors became known early.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 9, 1884


This is an absolutely fascinating story.  An amateur club from Charleston signed up John Davis, Harry McCaffery, John Magner and Charlie Krehmeyer for a no-account match against a local amateur club in Cairo.  Now, the Globe says that not much money changed hands but I'm having serious doubts about that.  Why else would you grab four currant or former major leaguers to play in an amateur match in Cairo?  I'm thinking somebody made some serious money betting on that game.   

There Was Some Talent On That Club

For two or three years before the country had become infected with the base-ball fever, the Globe-Democrat called attention to the fact that there was a nine in St. Louis which, if kept together, would prove as formidable as any in the country, and urged the citizens of St. Louis to give it such encouragement as would insure its permanency. This they refused to do, and the St. Louis Red Stockings were allowed to disband. That the merits of these gallant young players were not overrated, a glance at the great nines of the country will show. The St. Louis Red Stockings have contributed more brilliant players to the professional ranks than any other organization in the country. Johnny Peters, the first to go, was good enough to play short for the club that won the championship; Flint, Houtz and McSorley have aided the Indianapolis nine in achieving their numerous triumphs over League organizations, and the former is thought by many to rank with Clapp as the best catcher in the country; Galvin and Dolan have done more than their seven comrades to secure for the Alleghenies their series of extraordinary successes; Croft, engaged as a substitute for the St. Louis Brown Stockings, by his telling work soon secured a permanent position on the nine; Redmond, as Captain of the Memphis Red Stockings, has piloted that club to many a well deserved victory; Morgan's valuable services in the pitcher's position were snapped up by the Milwaukee professionals, while Magner and Gleason are gaining many friends by their fine work in Columbus and Minneapolis.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 2, 1877

The Sullivan Benefit

The benefit game for Tom Sullivan was played at the Union Grounds last Sunday afternoon, and there was an immense crowd in attendance. It was the biggest success in the way of a benefit scored in this country, and great credit is due for the able manner in which John T. Magner managed the affair. Tom Sullivan's friends were there in a body, and we noticed among the gathering the Sheehans, the Cullinanes, the Caseys, the McCafferys, the Lyons, the O'Neills, the Sullivans, the Hunts, the Fitzgeralds and all the rest of the Kerry Patch gang. The game between the Vets and the Peach Pies brought to the memory of the oldest inhabitant the days when base ball in St. Louis was in its infancy. In the veteran team appeared Joe Chambers, who did the pitching for the Empires twenty years ago. It is needless to say that his curves were lambasted terribly. At short field was John T. Magner, looking like Falstaff, with "good round bell," not as reliable though as when the great fielder of the St. Louis Reds of '76 and the Browns of '81. At third was Pidge Morgan who has not been seen on the field these many years, but looking like the old Dan and playing as earnestly as ever. At second was Packie Dillon, who with Morgan, played with the St. Louis Reds of '74 and '76. At left was (Ned) Cuthbert, once the prince of left fielders, running as lively as ever and capturing everything within reach, but not hitting the ball as hard as in the olden time. At right was (George) Seward, who with Cuthbert played with the Browns of '74, which was just twelve years ago. At center was Dean Simpson, the pitcher of the old Evansville club; while at first was Casey of the old Quincy's. Last but not least was Harry McCaffery, whose catching was not as effective as of old and, to cap the climax, there was Dan Devinney, of the old Louisville Brownstocking memory, officiating as umpire. Is it any wonder these old Vets failed to make a hit off Silch. They lost track of the ball long years ago. The Peach Pies on the other hand had a picnic with Chambers, while their fielding was unusually sharp and brilliant. The outfield had little or nothing to do. They played four new men who did splendidly, and proved themselves acquisitions. For the Vets, Cuthbert at left carried off the honors, making some beautiful catches of hard hit balls, particularly one from Black's bat, which was a liner, and good for two bases, which he headed off and spoiled a good hit. McCaffrey behind the bat and Dillon at second base also did well. Ingraham caught Silch splendidly for the Peach Pies and Black, Bouchard and Drissel all did good fielding. There was no mule race. The gentleman who had promised to furnish the mules brought out but one animal and it was like the Vets, too old to run. The sprint races were also postponed. The sprinters were afraid the time they would make effect them in the handicaps of May 30, and for that reason they refused to run...

From a financial standpoint the benefit was also a huge success. Mr. Magner alone sold $300 worth of tickets. The gate receipts were $500. Lew Simmons, of the Athletic Club, sent $39, te contribution of himself and players. Harry Wright sent $20. The Detroits also purchased a lot of tickets. Mr Magner desires to return thanks to Jack Sheehan, the Cullinane boys, Danny Lyons and all others who assisted him in making the benefit a success. Over $900 was realized in all, which will set Tom up in business.

-The Sporting News, May 10, 1886


I've written about Sullivan's troubles and the benefit game before and finally stumbled across the TSN article. I have to admit that, for some reason, this game ranks very high among all the historical games that I would have liked to have seen. You can have Ruth's called shot and Merkle's boner and the Homer in the Gloamin' and all that-I'll take a nice little exhibition game on a Sunday afternoon at the Union Grounds in 1886.

The Browns Of The Interregnum

(The) original Brown Stocking Club which first represented St. Louis in the National League...died in 1878 when the news came that Hall, Devlin, Nicholls, and Craver had been expelled from the Louisville Club for crookedness. This announcement was a death blow to the St. Louis Brown Stockings Club of that year by reason of the fact that Devlin and Hall, two of the expelled players, had signed with St. Louis for the following season. In 1879 St. Louis had no baseball to speak of. In 1880 a nine called the St. Louis Browns, under the management of the veteran Cuthbert, played games on the co-operative plan and furnished patrons with the only base ball that was going that year. That nine included Cuthbert, Shenck, Decker, McDonald, Croft, McGinnis, Pearce, Bowles, Cunningham and Morgan. This team played twenty-one games, losing but one, and that to the Louisville Reds, a semi-professional organization, by a score of 14 to 8. Its success in fact led to the organization of what is now known as the Sportsman's Park and Club Association, a company which was really organized for the purpose of refitting the present Sportsman's Park for baseball purposes. After the park had been fully equipped the Brown Stockings of the previous year were asked to reorganize and take possession of it. This they did with a nine which included the Gleason brothers, Baker, Seward, McCaffory, McSorley, McGinnis, Magner, McDonald, Gault and Cuthbert. This nine, like that of the previous year, played great ball, and the famous Akron team was the only nine it met that year that proved too much for it. It was so successful, in fact, that in the fall of 1881 steps were taken to put a professional team in the then talked of American Association.

-From The Sporting News, October 11, 1886


Al Spink had much to do with the Interregnum Browns and wrote the following in The National Game:

At this time my brother William Spink was the sporting editor of the Globe-Democrat and I held that sort of position on the then Missouri Republican, now the St. Louis Republic. After the failure to land a professional team in St. Louis in 1878 we did our best and worked together to replace the game here on a substantial footing.

But the baseball-loving public, disgusted at the way they had lost the splendid team they had hoped for, would have none of it.

Out of the remnant of the old St. Louis professional team we organized a nine that included holdover veterans like Dickey Pearce, Edgar Cuthbert, Lipman Pike, Mike McGeary, Joe Blong, Arthur Croft, Charles Houtz, Tom Sullivan, Packie Dillon, Danny Morgan and others.

This team played games on Sundays sometimes at Grand Avenue Park, now Sportsman's, and sometimes at the Reds' Park on Compton avenue, to which Shakespeare would have termed a beggardly array of empty benches. One day in the summer of 1878 we went to the pains of bringing the Indianapolis Browns here, a team that had won the championship of the International Association and that included in its ranks such famous players as the "only" Flint and the "only" Nolan.

But this team and our picked nine of professionals did not take in enough money at the gate at its initial game to pay the street car fares of the twelve players on the Mound City bob-tailed cars from the park back to their hotel quarters downtown.

The season of 1879 was as unfruitful of results as that of the season which preceded it. A picked up team of left-over professionals was again organized, called the St. Louis Browns and it stood ready to play any team of players that happened on Sundays to drop into Grand Avenue Park. During the close of the season of 1879 the game showed signs of returning to life, and with my brother William, I again set out to reconstruct the old edifice and bring it back to its own.

Together we brought about the meeting which at the close of the season of 1880 led to the organization of the Sportsman's Park and Club Association, an organization effected for the purpose of fitting up Grand Avenue Park for baseball purposes. This organization included Chris Von der Ahe, president; John W. Peckington, vice president; W. W. Judy, treasurer; and A. H. Spink, secretary.

The Grand Avenue Park, which at this time contained a weather beaten grandstand and a lot of rotten benches, was torn away and in its place was erected a new covered stand and an open "bleachers."

Sitting out in the field early in the spring of 1881 before the new grandstand was completed, I organized the St. Louis Browns of that year, Edgar Cuthbert, the only one of the old professionals still remaining in the city assisting me in the selection of a nine which included George Baker and George Seward, catchers; George McGinnis, pitcher; Edward Gault, first base; Hugh McDonald and Dan Morgan, second base; Jack Gleason, third base; William Gleason, short field; Harry McCaffrey, center field; Edgar Cuthbert, left field; and John T. Magner, right field.

It was agreed as we all sat there on the green sward that we would work together to build up the sport and each player promised to be prompt at each game, to do his level best at all times and to take for his pay just as small a percentage of the gate receipts as the general welfare of the park and its owners would allow.

On Sunday, May 22, 1882, these grounds were really opened with an exhibition game between the newly organized St. Louis Browns and the St. Louis Reds. The Reds won by 2 to 1...

Despite the good attendance at this opening game between the Reds and Browns the outlook seemed cold and bleak, for St. Louis stood badly then in the eyes of the outside world.

More On The Sullivan Benefit

From the Sporting News, March 29, 1886:

"A Benefit For Tom Sullivan

John T. Magner, the well known ex-professional, is getting up a benefit game for Tom Sullivan, who recently had the fingers of his right hand amputated. It will take place at Union Park some time in the near future, Mr. Lucas having tendered the use of his grounds for that purpose. Mr. Magner says that Ed Cuthbert, Charles Houtz, Harry McCaffery and several other old professionals have promised to assist him in getting up the benefit, which promises to be a veritable bumper."

Note that this Sporting News article states that Sullivan lost the fingers of his right which contradicts Al Spink's claim that Sullivan had both of his hands amputated. Also, they say this happened "recently" which gives further evidence to the idea that Sullivan's injury happened in the winter of 1875/76.

For The Benefit Of Mr. Sullivan

Al Spink, in The National Game, tells a sad tale about Tom Sullivan, a catcher for the Reds in the late 1870's and early 1880's. Sullivan was a "genial, kindly lad without an enemy in the world" and, according to Spink, one of the best catchers St. Louis ever produced.

One cold winter night after his playing days were over, Sullivan was walking from the Kerry Patch neighborhood to the St. Louis Poor House to visit a friend. During the course of the journey, Sullivan's hands were frostbitten and, a few days later, doctors were forced to amputate them. "Thus," wrote Spink, "the lad who was one of the first to catch the speediest delivery close to the bat and who was rated for his skill as a receiver, thrower, and batsman was left a hopeless cripple and his scores of friends in the 'Patch' always referred to him as 'Poor Tom.'"

While Spink doesn't give a date for Sullivan's accident, it's likely that it happened sometime in the winter of 1885/6. This assumption is based on the fact that on May 8, 1886, a benefit game was held for Sullivan. The game, which according to the Sporting News was played before an "immense crowd", was a contest between the Peach Pies and a team of St. Louis baseball veterans. Playing for the vets were some of Sullivan's old teammates on the Reds, including John Magner, Pidge Morgan, and Packy Dillon. The benefit raised over $900 for Sullivan, including $560 in gate receipts, $89 sent by other teams, and $20 sent by Harry Wright.

Tom Sullivan passed away in 1909.

The Reds Get Their Revenge

The Reds ended their tumultuous 1875 season with a four game series against the Stocks. Playing at the Compton Avenue Park, the two teams met on four Sunday afternoons in October. The Stocks, bidding to become the unofficial champions of St. Louis, defeated the Reds in the first game, upset the Empires on October 10th, and then beat the Reds again in the second game of the series.

The Stockyard nine was on a roll when they met the Reds for the third time on October 24th. But the Red Stockings, "chagrined at the double defeat" and playing before a crowd of more than 2,000 people, jumped on their rivals and took a quick 4-0 lead. The rout was on and the Reds took the third game by a score of 12-2.

On October 31st, the two teams met for the final game of the series. The game was a barn burner. The Stocks were leading 5-3 after two innings when the Reds scored one in the third and five in the fourth to go ahead 9-5. Coming back, the Stockyards scored three in the bottom of the fifth to cut their deficit to one run. The Reds immediately answered back in the top of the sixth with two more runs to put the game away. The final score was 13-9. In their final game of the season, the Reds managed to half the series and regain a bit of their pride.

The Reds nine, in these final games of 1875, was, due to the turmoil of the summer, a bit different than the nine that competed in the NA. The team consisted of Charlie Houtz (1b), Art Croft (2b), Dan Collins (3b), Billy Redmon (ss), John Magner (LF), Tom Loftus (CF), Tom Oran (RF), and a battery of Silver Flint (C) and Pidge Morgan (P). In game two of the series, Croft pitched in place of Morgan, who was home with his pregnant wife. In that game, Welch played 2b in place of Croft and "the substitute" Roe replaced Loftus in center field. The Globe-Democrat singled Welch out for poor play in game two and wrote that his fielding "lost the game".

The Reds Invade The Great White North

In the September 20, 1886 issue of The Sporting News, John Magner states that "the old Reds" played a game in London, Ontario against a team called the Tecumsehs. While he doesn't give a date for the game, Magner does say that Art Croft was still playing with the team at the time. Since Magner joined the Reds in 1876 and played for Cincinnati in 1879 and Croft was playing for the Brown Stockings in 1877, Indianapolis in 1878, and a co-op Browns team in 1880, the game was most likely played either in 1876 or in the early 1880's. Magner gives neither the date nor the score of the game