Redmond's Whereabouts Is Unknown

I'm back from my little sabbatical and feeling much refreshed. Hope you didn't miss me too much.

The following is from an article that appeared in the Milwaukee Journal in June of 1895 regarding former major league players:

(John) Peters is connected with the water department in St. Louis.

(Daniel) Morgan is a successful businessman in St. Louis.

(Billy) Redmond's whereabouts is unknown

Billy Redmond was actually dead. Based on Peter Morris' research, we now know that Redmond, who had been working in St. Louis as a bricklayer, died on either April 2 or 3, 1894 and was buried at St. Matthew's Cemetery in St. Louis. His last name, and that of the other family members buried near him, is spelled "Redmon" in the cemetery records and on the tombstones.

The Reds' Last Game

The St. Louis Reds play their last game of the season this afternoon at Compton Avenue Park with the Grand Avenue nine as opponents. Turn out in force and give the plucky Ponies a parting bumper.

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

About 500 people witnessed the game of ball played yesterday afternoon at the Red Stocking Park, between the St. Louis Reds and Solari's Grand Avenue team. The weather was delightful for the sport. It was expected that a real good, close and exciting game would be played, because the Grand Avenue lads have been playing a rattling good game this season, but the result proved otherwise. The professionals had no trouble in running off with their amateur opponents, and when the end of the ninth inning arrived, it was discovered that the Ponies had 28 runs to the Grands' 3. Galvin's pitching was too much of a good thing for the amateurs to get in on, and only one base hit was made off him in the entire game, and that one proved to be a three bagger, which was got in after two men were out and two strikes called. McKenna was the boy who did the business. In the first inning, Whalen made a double play all by himself. Morgan had made a base hit, and stolen to second base, when Croft sent a daisy-cutter towards second, which first gave "Lewis" a knock on the head and bounded into Whalen's palms, and as Morgan had started for third a double play was the result. During the game a fly was sent to right center, and Simpson, the right fielder of the Grands got under it, but failed to hold the ball which bounded at least ten feet towards center field, and was caught while "on the wing" by Smith, and this catch "brought down the house." The Grands were without the services of Zim, their regular pitcher, who is off East, and had he been on hand, the Grands think the game would have turned out a little different, but as the Grands failed to do anything in the batting line, it is hard to see just how the game could have gone differently. The Reds were disappointed in the game, as they really thought they had a nine who would make them work hard to get away with. The Reds did some tall batting, and got in on all the three pitchers the Grands put against them.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 30, 1876

This, to the best of my knowledge, is the last game played by the 1873-1876 incarnation of the Red Stockings.

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 First Perfect Game?

The game of the tournament began promptly at 3 o'clock, in the presence of 3,000 spectators, the contestants being the St. Louis Reds and Cass club, of Detroit. Not a member of the Michigan organization reached first base, and the Reds played without a single error. The Cass boys wanted to get one base hit to get even with the Mutuals in the morning, but failed. One base hit in two games was all that the Michiganders could get out of Morgan. The Reds secured thirteen safe hits, demoralizing their opponents and winning the game (by a score of 11-0)...

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 18, 1876

I was trying to run down some information on George Bradley's 1875 no-hitter yesterday and, as I usually do with things like this, I checked Peter Morris' A Game of Inches. Morris, of course, had some interesting things to say about the no-hitter and on the next page I noticed a reference to a perfect game that Pud Galvin pitched for the Reds on August 17, 1886. I figured I might as well check that out and see if I could find the box score in the Globe.

However, once I found the report of the game in the Globe, I noticed a few discrepancies between Morris' account and the contemporary game account. According to the "Special Dispatch to the Globe-Democrat," the pitcher for the Reds in the game against the Cass Club, and therefore the pitcher who threw the perfect game, was Pidge Morgan and not Pud Galvin. I also found a reference to a game in June of 1876 between the Stocks and the Reds where Galvin was playing the outfield for the Stocks club (and it was implied that he was also one of the club's pitchers) so it's possible that Galvin wasn't even on the Reds in August.

Just as interesting, Morris mentions the first game of the Ionia tournament, played earlier on August 17th, between the Reds and the Mutuals of Jackson. Morris mentions that Galvin, before throwing the perfect game, pitched a no-hitter against the Mutuals. However, according to the game report, the Mutuals had one hit. Morris did mention that the Reds made three errors and the game report has them making two so Morris is correct that three men did reach base for the Mutuals in that game but the discrepancy is in how they reached base. But again, the Globe states that Morgan, rather than Galvin, was pitching.

The reason that this is significant is that Morris states that the August 17, 1876 perfect game against the Cass club was the "first perfect game known to have been pitched at any level" and credits Pud Galvin with throwing the first known perfect game in baseball history. His source appears to be an article in the Ionia Sentinel from August 25, 1876. However, according to the Globe, the pitcher in the game was Pidge Morgan rather than Pud Galvin and therefore, if the Globe's account is accurate, Morgan should be credited with throwing the first perfect game.

Update: In their August 22, 1876 issue, the Globe-Democrat corrects itself. The Globe states that "In the two games at Ionia, Mich., on the 17th, when the Mutual and Cass clubs were Chicagoed by the St. Louis Red Stockings, Galvin instead of Morgan did the pitching, as was stated, due to a telegraphic error."

Galvin was playing with the Stocks in 1876 but there were rumors floating around in March that he had signed with the Reds. On June 21, however, Galvin "signed articles of agreement" to play with the Reds for the remainder of the season. He was obviously on the team in August when the Reds played in the Michigan tournament and did indeed pitch a perfect game against the Cass club. Whether or not the game against the Mutuals was a no-hitter or not is still up in the air. In the end it all depends on which scorer's report you accept. Regardless, Galvin had one heck of a day in Ionia.

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 

Where Are They Now?

(John) Peters is connected with the water department in St. Louis.

(Daniel) Morgan is a successful businessman in St. Louis.

(Bill) Redmond's whereabouts is unknown.

-Milwaukee Journal, June 1895

Misc. Player Movement in 1878

A telegram from St. Louis to the Cincinnati Commercial says: "Joe Blong, pitcher of the St. Louis Browns in 1877, Charlie Houtz, the Indianapolis first baseman in 1876 and 1877, and George Baker, who is looked upon by many as the coming catcher of the country, to-day signed contracts to play with the Springfield (Mass.) Base-Ball Club, and will leave for the East to-morrow night. Baker is a splendid batsman, as well as a fine fielder. Daniel Morgan, who captained the Milwaukees last season, has rejoined that club, and left for Milwaukee to-night. This breaks up the St. Louis Brown Stockings for the present season, but they are to be reorganized by Mr. Charles Fowle, a prominent business-man, who is well known in League circles, and who intends placing the strongest possible team in the League next year."

-The Chicago Daily Tribune, May 26, 1878

The 1880 Brown Stockings Take The Field (And A Packy Dillon Sighting)

The faithful were on hand at the base ball park on Compton avenue, yesterday afternoon, to witness the opening of the season between the St. Louis Brown Stockings of last season, and the strongest picked nine that could be got together. All of Cuthbert's men were on hand but the best batsman of the lot, Croft, did not show up in time to participate. Cotton manned first in his stead. Dan Morgan, who is always equal to any emergency, cared for short field, and Jack Gleason, the best third baseman that St. Louis ever produced, filled that position. The picked men were of the best, including Trick McSorley, Billy Gleason, Redmond, Geer of the Cincinnatis, McCaffrey, and others who have made their mark in the professional arena. The contest was a beauty in every respect, but seven errors being indulged in during its progress. The batting of the Browns was very light, denoting their lack of practice, but their opponents, especially Redmond, made a very creditable display against the tricky McGinnes. Poor base-running cost the Browns a victory, several runs being sacrificed by bad judgement. Cunningham's batting was a feature of the game...

Packie Dillon showed up (at the game) yesterday. There was a time when Packie was regarded as the most graceful catcher in the country.

The Brown Stockings will be reorganized during the present week. Arthur Croft promises to be one of the number. such a team as McGinnes, Decker, Croft, McDonald, J. Gleason, Morgan, Cunningham, Cuthbert, Schenck, W. Gleason, Bowles and McSorley would be well-nigh invincible.

-The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 19, 1880

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 Reds First Big Win

If we accept E.H. Tobias' assertion that the Reds came into existence in 1873 (as I believe that the evidence suggests we should) then the Reds first big win against a St. Louis amateur power came on July 19, 1873 against the Turners. The Turner Base Ball Club had been in existence since at least 1869 and was a member of the State Base Ball Association. They challenged for the championship in 1872 and were able to take one game from the Empire Club. In 1873 they challenged the Empires again although they lost all three games to the champions. The Turners' reputation was such that when the Chicago White Stockings visited St. Louis in 1874 one of the teams that they played was the Turners.

Despite the Turners reputation as a top amateur team, the upstart Reds were actually favored in the first game between the two. On July 5, the two teams met and to the surprise of the Red Stocking faithful the Turners hung eleven runs on the new club in the third inning and went on to win the game 19-17. Tobias writes that Packy Dillon, the Reds' catcher, was suffering from a finger injury during the game that caused the Reds to shuffle their lineup to the teams' detriment.

The second game of the series between the two clubs took place on July 19. In what was described as "a splendid exhibition of cool, watchful playing," the Reds avenged their earlier defeat. Jumping out to a 7-0 lead, the Reds defeated the Turners 16-5 behind four runs by Billy Redmon and three each by John Paul Peters and center fielder Dean. Pidge Morgan pitched well, putting up goose eggs in six frames, and the Reds defense played outstandingly behind him, committing only "three or four" errors.

This was a significant victory for the Reds, establishing them as a power on the local baseball scene and validating the hype that had surrounded them entering the 1873 season. It also jump-started a successful season that saw the club take the Empires to a deciding fifth game in their championship series before falling to the defending champs.

More Graves

Art Croft's unmarked grave at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.


Pidge Morgan's unmarked grave at Calvary Cemetery.


Trick McSorley's grave at Calvary Cemetery.


All the photographs are from Find A Grave and were taken by Connie Nisinger.

A New Claimant For Popular Favor

The new club about which so much speculation had been indulged threw down the gauntlet at this time and defied the best clubs in the city, its first game being with the Champion Empires on May 25 (1873). This new claimant for popular favor and the State championship was composed entirely of St. Louis boys with perhaps a solitary exception. Its playing nine was composed of some ambitious and brilliant players whose careers in other clubs...had been successful enough to attract the favorable commendation of competent judges and also that of Mr. Thomas McNeary, the organizer of the Red Stocking Club, and he certainly succeded in launching a very strong aggregation, one that was destined to become an important factor not only in local but in outside baseball, for in the course of time a number of these players were drafted from this club by out and out professional organizations where they distinguished themselves in no unworthy manner.

The playing of the Reds (in their first game) gave plenty of evidence that there was no lack of good material in the nine but as yet it suffered for want of practice and when it had that and the players had become more familiar with each other's play there was great promise of a superior club. Dillon showed the elements of a great catcher. He faced hot ones unflinchingly, was adept at taking fly tips, but was weak on passing balls. "Pidge" Morgan proved a general utility man, besides holding down third base at the opening of the game he then went into short field and also pitched for two innings. Dean at first acquitted himself well up to the fifth inning when he was sorely troubled by the sun shining on his face. The others did good and creditable work.

-E. H. Tobias, writing in The Sporting News, January 4, 1896


Tobias' claim that the Reds first took the field in 1873 is contradicted by Al Spink in The National Game. Spink wrote that "(early) in the sixties Thomas McNeary leased a piece of ground at Compton avenue and the Missouri Pacific Railway tracks. He fitted it up for baseball purposes...Upon this field he placed a team which he called the St. Louis Reds..."

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.

Commie's First Game With The Browns

I've been skimming through a biography of Charles Comiskey written by G.W. Axelson and published in 1919. Axelson allowed Comiskey to tell much of the story in his own words and, in that sense, the book is almost an autobiography. The year of publication is certainly interesting but it's probably a coincidence.

One of the things in the book that grabbed my attention was an account of Comiskey's first game as a Brown. Axelson writes that "(the) team which took the field in 1882, with Ed Cuthbert as manager, had some good players in its lineup but it did not compare with those which followed. Before the regular season opened in the spring exhibition games were played..." He then gives a box score for the game that the Browns played in St. Louis against the Standards, "the first game in which Comiskey appeared in a St. Louis Browns' uniform".

That, in and of itself, is rather interesting but the best part is who was playing in the game for the Standards: Pidge Morgan, Art Croft, Charlie Hautz, and Packy Dillon. It seems that in 1882 the Standards had almost half of the starting nine of the 1875 Reds.

I find this information significant for a couple of reasons. First, the guys playing for the Standards (including Frank Decker and Eddie Hogan) identifies the Standards as a St. Louis team. While it was assumed that the Browns would be playing a local team to tune up for the season, the fact that the Standards were stocked with St. Louis baseball players pretty much confirms it. I had never heard of the Standards before but I feel comfortable adding them to my list of 19th century St. Louis baseball teams (which I'll post one of these days).

The second reason I'm excited about this information is because we just don't know that much about some of the guys on the 1875 Reds, especially Dillon and Morgan. Any piece of information about them or any reference to them that I find always adds to the record. Information about these guys is so scarce that if I find a paragraph about them it's like hitting the motherload.

Before I read this book, I knew that Packy Dillon had pretty much retired from baseball by 1886 but I couldn't tell you much about his career after 1877. Now I know that he was still playing baseball in 1882. Also, this information probably means that he was still living in St. Louis in 1882. That adds quite a bit to what we know about Dillon.

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".

Don't Mess With The Reds

Al Spink, in the National Game, tells an interesting story about the St. Louis Red Stockings.

According to Spink, the Reds made a trip to Chicago in 1874 to play a few games. On the train trip home, Andy Blong was carrying a large amount of cash with him-the Reds' share of the gate receipts from the games they had just played. Blong, during the long ride back to St. Louis, met several gentlemen who engaged him in a game of three card monte. During this "game", Blong proceeded to loss all of the Reds' money.

Going back to the train car where the Reds' players were, Blong told them what had just happened to him and the money. Taking their bats, the Reds went to the car where the grifters were operating and, blocking the entrance and exit, threatened to beat the men to death unless they got the money back.

"The monte men," wrote Spink, "gave up willingly and the St. Louis boys came home with money in their pockets and much richer in experience than when they started."

This story is interesting for several reasons. First, it sheds some light on Andy Blong's role with the Reds. Spink identifies Blong, who would represent the Reds at the NA's convention in 1875, as the team's "manager" and is another source that puts Blong in the Reds management structure. Second, the story certainly adds some color to our knowledge about the players on the Reds. Several of the 1875 Reds, such as Packy Dillon, Joe Blong, Trick McSorley, Pidge Morgan, and Billy Redmon, were playing for the team in 1874. This story tells us more than a little about the character of these men. Lastly, the story raises questions about the status of the team. Prior to 1875, St. Louis was supposedly a bastion of amateur baseball. The Reds are normally described as a local amateur team that "went pro" in 1875. Spink's statement that the players "came home with money in their pockets" is the first hint I've ever come across that contradicts this conventional wisdom.

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.