This Is A Good Question

During 1877 many charges of crooked umpiring were made, and it is worth while asking why it was, in view of these wholesale charges of fraudulent work in connection with umpiring in St. Louis and Louisville, especially in regard to mutual charges of corruption made by Umpire Devinney of Louisville and Manager McManus of St. Louis, in which, too, Umpire Burtis of St. Louis was mixed up, that the League Board of Directors made no effort to get at the truth, and failed to investigate a matter having such an important bearing on the future of the League Association.

-Mears Baseball Scrapbook, Volume 4, 1856-1907

The Appended Honorable Release

What do the St. Louis papers mean by announcing that Force, Blong, etc., have been or are to be expelled from the St. Louis Club, in the face of a fact like the one we give below, which has been sent to us by the Buffalo Club manager?  The fact we refer to is the appended "honorable release" from the St. Louis Club.  If no charges have been found true against Force, then the St. Louis journals and other Western papers have done him injustice.  Either the players who have been charged with crookedness are guilty or not guilty.  If they are guilty, put them out of the fraternity, as has been done in Louisville.  If not, then come out openly and say so, not through one member of the club, but over the signature of all of the directors.  The release in question is signed only by the club manager, who himself has been charged with crooked work by Devinney, and no satisfactory examination has been made of the case that we have heard of.  Will Messrs. Fowle and Bishop post us up on the facts?

Copy Of Release

Headquarters Brown Stockings B.B. Club,

St. Louis, Nov. 21, 1877.

Mr. E.R. Spaulding, Buffalo B.B. Association. - I take the pleasure of notifying you that Mr. D.W. Force has been honorably released by the St. Louis B.B. Association.  G. McManus, Manager.

-Mears Baseball Scrapbook, 1856-1907

I really don't want to get back into all of the culture of corruption stuff surrounding the Brown Stockings but this was too good to pass up.  My favorite part is when Chadwick (I assume) throws the whole McManus/Devinney thing back in their face.  That was a nice touch.   

The 1884 Maroons: P.H. Devinney Strikes Again

The Nationals, of Washington, and the St. Louis Unions played the thirteenth game of their championship series yesterday afternoon.  This fact, coupled with the fine weather, brought fully 3,000 persons to the Union Grounds.  The Nationals appeared in bright white and red uniforms and presented a much stronger team then that which visited here three months ago, and that they were beaten so badly yesterday was due mainly to a decision of Umpire Devinney in the second inning, he deciding Baker safe at hoe when he was plainly out.  The decision not only gave St. Louis a run, but filled the bases, and before the third man was retired six runs were secured.  This unfortunate happening robbed the game of all interest and the Nationals losing heart, never played ball afterward.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 10, 1884 

The 1884 Maroons: The Scorpion And The Frog

Yesterday's game between St. Louis and Kansas City Unions, with the first inning left out, was one of the prettiest contests of the year.  The visitors presented Barney McLaughlin as their pitcher.  He had ridden all the way from Reading, Pa., and when he appeared on the field he was feeling stiff and tired.  When he began pitching he showed great speed and in and out-curves of no ordinary degree, but did not have good command of the ball.  In addition, he was harshly dealt with by Umpire Devinney, who called balls that were delivered directly over the plate.  McLaughlin protested at first and then good naturedly stood in the box and laughed at the deal he was getting.  At the same time the crowd hissed vehemently.  After the visitors had retired in the first inning without scoring Dunlap led off for the St. Louis with one of his patent drives to center.  A moment later he was clearly caught napping by McLaughlin's throw to Cudworth, but Devinney decided "not out."  The crowd hissed Devinney for declaring him safe.  This seemed to rattle Devinney, and he commenced calling balls rapidly.  Shafer was the first to go to his base on balls.  Then Rowe hit safe to right, filling the bases.  Gleason, who came next, stood up without attempting to strike, and Devinney called seven balls in succession, Gleason went to first, while Dunlap walked home, the crowd in the meanwhile hissing Devinney, and calling to him to step down and out.  Quinn, the next batsman, hit to Davis, who picked up the ball, 

Touched Third Base,

and then threw home to head Shafer off at the plate.  Devinney, to the surprise of all, declared Rowe safe at third and Shaffer out at home, when without doubt both men were retired.  Boyle then hit safe to center, and McLaughlin threw home to catch Rowe.  Baldwin jumped high and caught the ball, but Rowe scored.  Boyle then hit safe to center, and McLaughlin threw home to catch Rowe.  Baldwin jumped high and caught the ball, but Rowe scored.  Brennan, like Gleason, made no attempt to strike, and was sent to his base on balls, Gleason scoring on the decision, and the crowd hissing Devinney again.  Ryder, the next man, also stood still until sent to first on balls, and Quinn walked home.  Werder hit to Strief and was fielded out at first, while Boyle scored.  Dunlap hit safe to left and Brennan tallied, but Ryder, who tried to follow him home,

Slipped And Fell

after passing third and was caught between the plate and the bag.  Here were 6 runs, not one of which should have been scored.  The crowd, which had hissed Devinney all through the inning, called for his removal.  Manager Sullivan, getting excited, asked President Lucas to change Devinney at once and substitute Seward, who was in attendance, or he would take his men off the field.  The request was granted and Devinney retired without a word.  The 6 runs, however, took the life out of the game, and although the fielding was sharp on both sides during the balance of the contest, the visitors played with less spirit then they would otherwise have done.  But pretty plays on both sides partially made up for the one-sidedness of the contest...The play of the Kansas Citys warranted the good opinion already formed of them.  They play ball all the time, and, with a good pitcher like Black, whom they expect to-day, they will be able to make the pace warm for any club in the Union Association...

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 3, 1884


P.H. Devinney was as crooked as the day is long and I was surprised when I first saw that the UA had hired him to umpire games.  I'm surprised that anybody would give the guy a job in baseball after the 1877 scandals.  The folks in St. Louis were well aware of what Devinney had done in the past and, as their reaction in this game shows, they had little patience for his nonsense.

There are two great sentences in this piece.  The first: "Manager Sullivan, getting excited, asked President Lucas to change Devinney at once..."  I think that "getting excited" is a euphemism for "was really and completely pissed off."  The second sentence that I like is "...Devinney retired without a word."  Sure, why not?  His work was already done, the game was firmly decided for the Maroons in the first inning and the gamblers were assured of their money.

By the way, I think that, in what was a rather uninteresting season, this may be the most interesting game the Maroons played all season.  That's kind of sad because it wasn't interesting because of anything the players did on the field but, rather, the game stands out because of the crookedness of the umpire.

And if you didn't pick up on the reference in the post title, you might want to go back and reread Aesop.  Devinney is the scorpion and baseball is the frog.

Our Old Friend Dan Devinney

In Hooper's umpiring in yesterday's game at the Union Park his voice could not be heard in the stand, to the great dissatisfaction of the spectators.  As a result Hooper retired, and his place will be filled to-day by Dan DeVinney, who received his commission as a Union Association Umpire last night.

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

At Long Last

The long talked of opening of the St. Louis Athletic Association grounds will take place this afternoon when the new Union Base Ball Club will make its inaugural appearance, opposed to a team picked from the reserve force and the Lucas Amateurs. Yesterday afternoon the Unions played a practice game, and the way they made the leather fly opened the eyes of the thousand spectators who had taken the pains to visit the new grounds. In to-day's game the Unions will wear for the first time their regular uniform, the suits of which are made of white flannel trimmed with maroon, while the caps, belts and stockings are all maroon...Dan Devinney will umpire the game, which will be called at 3 o'clock sharp...

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 6, 1884

The Players Were All Out Practicing

The lovely weather of yesterday afternoon brought a great crowd to the Union Grounds. The players, attired in their dark blue uniforms, were all out practicing...

Dan Devinney will umpire Sunday's game between the Unions and Union Reserves...

The reporters' stand at the Union Grounds was put up yesterday, and is just large enough to accommodate the working members of the different dailies. Only working reporters need apply...

Superintendent Richards was at work all day on the diamond and base lines at the Union Grounds. The lines have been filled with a compost of clay and sand, and present a bounding, smooth and even surface...

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 4, 1884

Some General Thoughts On The 1877 Scandal

The gambling scandal that rocked the St. Louis Brown Stockings organization in 1877 and, combined with the clubs financial troubles, helped bring about their resignation from the League in December of 1877 was not one scandal or one event but rather several.  There are at least four components of the scandal that I can see:

-On August 1, 1877, umpire P.H. Devinney accuses George McManus of offering him money in exchange for favorable ball and strike calls.  Devinney also stated that Joe Blong encouraged him to accept the offer.  Both McManus and Blong denied the accusations.

-On August 24, 1877, Joe Blong and Joe Battin conspire with Chicago gamblers to throw the Brown Stockings' game against Chicago.  The next day they attempt to do the same but are put on notice that Brown Stocking management are aware of their activities when McGeary moves Blong off the mound after suspicious activities in the second inning.  The conspiracy to throw the games of August 24 and 25 does not come to light until William Spink reveals them in the Globe-Democrat on November 1, 1877, although the club was aware of what was happening before the start of the game on August 25.   

-On October 31, 1877, William Spink publishes information about the Louisville scandal in the Globe-Democrat.  The Brown Stockings were caught in an awkward position, having previously signed Devlin and Hall for the 1878 season, just as they were revealing the depths of their financial trouble to stockholders and attempting to raise funds to pay off their debts from the 1877 season.  The next day Spink publishes his expose on the events of August.  

-L.W. Burtis umpires numerous questionable games in St. Louis.  Burtis, who Spink claimed operated as the middleman between St. Louis players and Chicago gamblers in August of 1877, was accused by the Chicago papers of dishonesty in his umpiring.  Devinney accused him of betting on the Brown Stockings and using his position as an umpire to influence the games that he had bet on.  While not specifically a member of the Brown Stockings, the best that can be said is that the club had unknowingly allowed a crooked umpire into the League and access to their club.  

With all of these events exposing a culture of corruption surrounding the club, it's no wonder that the club's management (which was made up generally of honorable men of some standing in St. Louis) decided to resign from the League.  Combined with the financial difficulties of 1876 and 1877, the revelation of this corruption was a death blow.  All one has to do is read William Spinks' expose in the Globe on November 1, 1877 (which is an absolutely brilliant piece) and it's obvious that there was no way the Brown Stockings were going to survive into 1878.

A couple of more thoughts:

-While the Devinney accusation adds to the portrait of a corrupt ball club, there has to be some serious reservations about Devinney's veracity.  McGeary strenuously denied the accusations and his actions on August 25, when he moved Blong off the mound, support the idea that he was uninvolved in the corruption.  Also, after the 1877 season, the Chicago papers made some accusations against Devinney that were similar to those they made against Burtis.  So while the Devinney accusation is relevant and adds to the weight of evidence against the Brown Stockings, Devinney is not exactly a perfect witness.  

-For some time, I've been trying to figure out, from a historiographical point of view, why the Louisville scandal is better remembered than the St. Louis scandal.  I may be wrong but it's my understanding that the Louisville scandal is the substantially more famous or remembered event.  I assume it's because the events of the Louisville scandal had a major impact on the pennant race.  Also, I would think that Devlin's statements to the press had a drama to them that the denials of those involved in the St. Louis scandal lacked.  But the fact that the stories broke at almost the exact same time and were reasonably similar should have linked the two together in historical accounts.  I'm honestly surprised that we don't have "the Louisville/St. Louis scandal" rather than "the Louisville scandal...and, oh yeah, something happened in St. Louis too and baseball in general had a problem with gambling and throwing games."  Not a really big deal but it's kind of interesting.  I think, in the end, I'm just a bit upset because the 1877 Brown Stockings were as corrupt as any team in the nation and have never received their due.    

An Interview With George McManus

The following interesting interview took place between Mr. George McManus, Manager of the St. Louis Base Ball Club, and a reporter of the Indianapolis Sentinel on Thursday inst. Mr. McManus is expected home on Tuesday when the facts gleaned in relation to his accuser by the gentlemen who are investigating his career here will be laid before him. What course Manager McManus intends to pursue will probably soon be made public:

The Interview

Reporter. Is there any truth in the charges made by the Louisville papers against you?
Mr. McManus. They are without foundation, and there is not a word of truth in them.
Rep. Did Mr. Devinney meet you at the depot and accompany you in a hack to the hotel?
Mr. McM. Mr. Devinney met me at the depot and told me he could get me a hack very cheap. The price he named that would be asked being very reasonable, I accepted his offer. After three of my men had got into the hacks I asked Devinney if he was going up town. He said he was. I then told him the hack was crowded, but I would try and make room for him. He answered he would rather walk up. We then drove off, and he walked up town.
Rep. Did you see Devinney at the hotel?
Mr. McM. When I was going up to my room at the hotel, I saw Devinney on the elevator, and he followed me to my room. After I got to my room I proceeded to take a bath, and Devinney, after talking for a while, said that these two games would decide who carried off the pennant, and that he (Devinney) would like to see them go to St. Louis. I replied: "That is what we came here for." He then said:

"I Can Fix Them For You."

I replied: "You have not nerve enough to give a visiting club a square deal." He said: "I had nerve enough to give the two Boston games to Louisville." I then told him I had him where I wanted him, and if there was an unfair decision made, I would fix him so he would never umpire another game. He answered: "You will, will you?" and left the room.
Rep. While in your room did you offer Devinney $250 to give the games to St. Louis?
Mr. McM. I did not offer him a cent, and could not have offered that amount, as I did not have more than $30 with me.
Rep. Then his statement that you showed him a $100 bill as an inducement is false?
Mr. McM. It is in every regard.

Mr. McManus also stated that in the first game played at Louisville this season, Devinney told Arthur Croft that Chapman told him, before the game commenced, that Louisville must have the two games, and must be given every close decision.

Mr. McManus stated that he thought Chapman was at the bottom of the whole matter. He thought he had a grudge against him because he had engaged Devlin and Snyder.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 5, 1877


For more background on the charges that Dan Devinney was making against McManus, Mike McGeary, and Joe Blong, see this post.

A McManus Denial

Manager George McManus, of the St. Louis Base-ball Club, denies under oath that he attempted to bribe Umpire D.H. Devinney in Louisville. Devinney makes affidavit that he did attempt to bribe him, and the Louisville Courier-Journal says that the people of that city are inclined to believe that the latter has truth on his side.

-The New York Times, August 8, 1877

Devinney's Testimony

The St. Louis Times gives the following as the statement of Devinney, the umpire at Louisville, concerning an attempt made by McManus, the manger of the St. Louis Browns, to bribe him: "When I lived in St. Louis two years ago I was employed by the St. Louis management to take the Browns through a course of gymnasium practice. I am intimately acquainted with most all of the Brown Stocking players, and went to the Fourteenth Street Depot to meet them on the 10:50 train Tuesday morning. McManus came to me and said: 'I want to see you at the hotel' and wished me to ride up with him in his hack. I declined and walked up to the Louisville Hotel where I met him in the lobby. He asked me to his room, where he first treated me to a nice cigar. He then told me that if I would do the square thing for the Browns and wanted to make anything he would give me $250. If I would throw the two games to be played with the Louisville in their (the Browns) favor and if I would do the same thing in the two games to be played by the Browns in Louisville later in the season, he would give me $400, or $100 for each game. He said: 'I will give you $50 on the grounds after the first game and the rest at the hotel at night.' To accomplish all this he stated that all strikes must be called off Blong that were possible; that Devlin should be dealt with very strictly as regards called balls, so as to work him and the rest of the nine up so as to throw all the points in the Browns favor. McGeary, so McManus stated, was afraid of me, and so left him to do all the talking. McManus then took out a $100 bill and showed it to me, asking if it was not a big pile. I said, 'Yes, about as big as I've seen for some time.' He said: 'You might as well make it and come back to St. Louis well fixed; you can come there next year; I'll get you in as League Umpire and see that you are well taken care of.' I did not commit myself either one way or the other and after some further talk he said, 'Well, I expect you had better leave me now, Champman may catch you here, and it would not be safe for him to see you.' I did not come to any understanding with him. As I left he remarked, 'You do as I tell you and everything will be all right. All it requires is a little cheek.' After coming from McManus' room I meet Blong in the hotel rotunda, who said to me, 'Burtis is quite a sport and bets his money on the Browns. He told me to tell you that he had his money up on them in the Louisville games, and for you to do the fair thing by St. Louis' which simply amounted to my doing the unfair thing toward Louisville. I am willing to make a sworn affidavit to anything I have stated. The Louisville people have treated me so kindly that I did not have the heart to give them away, although to a poor man the temptation in the shape of so much money was very great."

-The New York Times, August 6, 1877


Devinney, one would assume, is P.H. Devinney, who David Nemec lists in The Great Encyclopedia of 19th Century Major League Baseball as a National League umpire in 1877. Of course, Joe Blong and Mike McGeary would get into a great deal of trouble over allegations of throwing games against the White Stockings later in the month. The irony of this situation is that the alleged victims of the fix was the Louisville club who were rather familiar with the culture of gambling and game-fixing.