And He Was A Tough Guy Too

When Fred Dunlap was the captain of the Maroons, he had a problem with one of his players who, according to Al Spink, had "abused (Dunlap's) captaincy and threatened to beat him to death." Reaching a gentleman's agreement, Dunlap and the player decided to settle the dispute in a fight were blows to the face would be illegal because "(such) disfigurement would result in their being unable to appear in the next days game and render service to their club." They "(repaired) to a room accompanied by a friend each,...(stripped) to the waist and (fought) it out...The fight was a terrific one, but ended in a few minutes, Dunlap giving his opponent the worst beating a man ever received."

Dunlap was also involved in a fight with Curt Welch, "the toughest man on the St. Louis Browns". Dunlap "sent him back (to the Browns)...crushed and badly beaten." It's unclear whether this fight was a personal matter between the two men or simply a sporting contest between two tough guys.

Spink went on to write that "this great strength" that Dunlap displayed in fighting made him a "great batsman".

Fred Dunlap And The Business Of Baseball

In November of 1887, Fred Dunlap made a statement that today would sound rather reasonable but must have been fairly shocking at the time. Speaking about his contract demands, Dunlap said that "he had adopted baseball as a profession and he was in the business to make money..." While baseball players had been playing the game for money for well over twenty years by 1886, people had been listing their profession as "baseball player" on census forms since 1880, and countless players were making a living by playing the game, the idea that a baseball player was a craftsman making a living at his trade the same as a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker in many ways flew in the face of the conventional wisdom of the day.

In 1887, baseball was not very far removed from the days of the baseball club as a vehicle for social interaction and exercise. The game itself was still in the process of organizing itself into the business that would become Major League Baseball. The vast majority of players in the country either played simply for the love of the game without any financial compensation or played for a portion of the gate receipt rather than a contractual salary. The fawning, supportive press of the day portrayed the players as sportsmen/heroes rather than craftsmen engaged in a trade. But those involved in the game at the highest levels-the owners, operators, managers, and players-knew that they were involved in a business and knew that the goal of all of their machinations was to make money.

Fred Dunlap, who over the course of his life would show an astute business sense, understood the nature of the game as a business. As one of the best players in the game, he would press every advantage that he had to gain the financial upper hand over his employers. Throughout the 1880's, Dunlap would press these advantages to become the highest paid player in the game. His tactics would be described as "astounding" and "disturbing". When taken within the context of the reserve clause, the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players, the Brush Classification Plan, the Players' League, and the general struggle of baseball players for what John M. Ward would call their "rights", Dunlap becomes a fairly significant figure.

Dunlap seized control of his financial destiny in 1883 when Henry Lucas went looking for players for his St. Louis Maroons team in the fledgling Union Association. Dunlap, who had broke in with the National League's Cleveland team as a rookie sensation in 1880, was the best defensive second baseman in the game and one of the top players in the League. Initially brushing aside Lucas' offer, Dunlap eventually joined the Maroons after Lucas offered him a two year, $5,000 a year guaranteed contract. According to The Sporting News, Lucas paid Dunlap the $10,000 upfront.

Cleveland made a concerted effort, with the support of League President A.G. Mills, to get Dunlap back from the Maroons in the early part of 1884. Dunlap made it known that he was willing to return to the League-specifically, he wanted to join the New York League team-if he could get a guaranteed contract for $4,000 a year. Pressure was put on Cleveland to release Dunlap to New York but Mills killed the deal, fearing that Dunlap, in the process of the release, might end up with a club in the American Association. Dunlap, because of his signing with the UA, was eventually blacklisted from Organized Baseball although rumours persisted that Cleveland was still trying to get him back.

Things did not go well for Dunlop in St. Louis, in spite of the on-field success that both he and the Maroons enjoyed in 1884. While specifics of the problems are unknown, Lucas called Dunlap "the most ungrateful man I had ever seen" and told the New York Times that he and Dunlap "could not get along together". In December of 1885, the Maroons tried to sell Dunlap to the Philadelphia League team for $3,000. Supposedly, the deal had been agreed to and Lucas was only waiting for Philadelphia to pay him the money. For whatever reason, the deal fell threw and Dunlap resigned with St. Louis. On December 30, 1885, Dunlap's resigning made the front page of the New York Times.

In August of 1886, Dunlap was sold to Detroit for a price reported to be between $4,000 and $5,000. Maroons' manager Gus Schmelz claimed that "Detroit paid more for Dunlap than was ever paid for a single player" and that "Dunlap has been dissatisfied with St. Louis all season, and that is one of the reason for his release." Reportedly, Dunlap was given a $2,500 bonus to accept the sale, on top of a salary of $6,000 that was the highest on a Detroit team that would win the League and World Series championships in 1887.

After their championship season, Detroit tried to sell Dunlap to Pittsburgh in November of 1887 for $4,000. Dunlap "astounded" Detroit by saying that he would not agree to the transfer unless he received half the sales price and a two year guaranteed contract at $5,000 a year. While in 1895 the Brooklyn Eagle would call Dunlap a player who knew how to drive a sharp bargain, at the time the Eastern press, in reaction to Dunlap's demands, called the player a "disorganizer and a disturbing element."

Dunlap had quite a bit to say about his demands and his potential transfer to Pittsburgh. While stipulating that he would agree to the transfer if "arrangements suitable to him were made", Dunlop told the New York Times that "I will not consult to be sold unless I can benefit by it...I want one half of the (sale) sum or you cannot do business with me...I am sick and tired of being sold without gaining anything by it, and it is about time that my bank account was benefited by these transfers...If (Detroit President) Stearns refuses to give me one-half of the money he procures for my release I will not agree to play in any city that he designates...(If) my requests are not complied with I will refuse to play baseball...and devote my time to business." Dunlap claimed that he had saved and invested enough money that he no longer needed to play baseball to make a living.

In a fascinating statement, Dunlap went on to say that the Detroit manager "will have to do one of three things-give me half of the money secured for my release, allow me to go where I please, or fulfill the contract made with me for next year." Dunlap had offered to release Detroit from their guaranteed contractual obligations to him if they allowed him to become a free agent and "go where I please". It was a radical statement for a baseball player to make ninety years before the Messersmith case and the advent of modern free agency.

Detroit and Pittsburgh eventually capitulated to Dunlap's demands and, on January 3, 1888, Dunlap was sold to Pittsburgh for $4,000. Dunlap received a $2,000 bonus and the two year, guaranteed contract. In the twilight of his career, and already plagued by the leg injuries that would end his playing days, Dunlap received a total of $12,000 over his final two full big league seasons.

Dunlap's actions in 1887/88 stand at the center of what Harold Seymour called "The Great Player Revolt". The Brotherhood was formed in 1885, partially in response to the restrictions of the reserve clause. The Classification Plan that would set maximum salaries for players was formulated in 1889. Finally, in 1890, the Players' League was formed, attempting a radical restructuring of the business of baseball. Ethan Lewis called the Players' League "a case of skilled laborers attempting to regain control over the sale of their product (baseball games) from the profit driven entrepreneurs who controlled the established major leagues. The Players' League was a...revolution...which enabled players to have more rights and options than the established major leagues permitted." Dunlap's actions are a forgotten part of this movement and a significant moment in the history of the business of baseball.

Fred Dunlap And 1884

Any discussion of Fred Dunlap must at some point address his 1884 season with the St. Louis Maroons. It was, without a doubt, a brilliant season and one of the most dominant seasons any player has ever had. The problem is, of course, that this season took place in the Union Association.

In 1884, Dunlap, according to Baseball Reference, hit .412 with an on base percentage of .448, a slugging percentage of .621, and an OPS+ of 258. He had 185 hits and scored 160 runs (setting a new major league record). He also had 39 doubles, 8 triples, and 13 home runs. He lead the UA in hitting, on base percentage, slugging percentage, runs, hits, total bases, home runs, OPS, OPS+, runs created, and extra base hits. He was also second in doubles and fourth in triples. All of this while being the best defensive player in the league and the captain of the team that won the league by twenty one games.

Dunlap lead the UA in hitting by 52 points. He lead in on base percentage by 51 points. He lead in slugging percentage by 120 points. He scored 30 more runs than anybody else in the league. Dunlap was far and away the best player in the Union Association in 1884.

At Alex Reisner.com, Dunlap's 1884 season is shown to be the most dominate season any player has ever had. No baseball player has ever risen so far above the mean as Dunlap did in 1884. I would argue that no professional athlete has ever dominated a league the way that Dunlap did in 1884.

But...

The UA wasn't much of a league and Bill James, in the Historical Baseball Abstract, has constructed a powerful argument that it shouldn't even be considered a major league. I have no reason not to accept James' argument and conclusions about the UA. It was a crappy little league with only one decent team and maybe a dozen players that could be considered of major league quality.

But Fred Dunlap dominated that league. He dominated the UA in a way that no other baseball player has ever dominated a baseball league. He wasn't just the best player in the league-he was far and away the best player in the league. He was the best hitter in the league. He was the best second baseman in the league. He was the best defensive player in the league. He captained the best team. He was essentially a man among boys.

It would be one thing if Dunlap had joined the Maroons in 1884 and just had a career year. You could look at it and say "Oh, that's a nice little year but it came in that crap little league that only lasted one year." But that's not what this season was. Dunlap's 1884 season is a great player dominating lesser competition. His season says as much about Dunlap as a player as it does about the UA as a league.

I think that's what needs to be stressed. Dunlap's 1884 season was a direct result of his talent. Yes, the numbers themselves are inflated by the quality of the league and Dunlap would never have been able to rise so far above the mean if he was playing in a better league but no other player in the UA did what Dunlap did in 1884. No other player in any league at any time was been able to do what Dunlap did in 1884. And while some may want to dismiss the UA, they shouldn't be allowed to dismiss what Dunlap accomplished.

How many players were capable of doing what Dunlap did? How many players could have dominated a league, any league, offensively and defensively? Fred Dunlap did that in 1884 and, regardless of circumstances, that should be respected.

Fred Dunlap's Defense

Fred Dunlap was considered, according to David Nemec, the best defensive second baseman of his time. He has been described as a "slick fielding" defender who had "great range". Through 2006, Dunlap was fifth among second basemen in career putouts, fourth in assists, fifth in total chances, and seventh in double plays. He once turned five double plays in one game.

Al Spink wrote that "Dunlap was the right size for a second baseman, being just a little above the medium height, and he was built so close to the ground that it was an easy task for him to get down quick and handle the meanest hit grounder or the poorest throw." While he had small hands and played in an era before gloves, Dunlap "could handle any sort of throw or hit." He was also ambidextrous and "could run and catch a badly thrown ball with his left as with his right hand."

Spink also wrote that Dunlap's arm was even better than his hands. "His aim was as accurate as the best rifle shot. And as he was accurate, so was he speedy as lightning." Dunlap earned the nickname "Sure Shot Fred" for his accurate throws.

"Dunlap swung the ball," wrote Spink in The National Game, "rather than threw it. This single motion game him a marked advantage...And there was no limit to the length of his low throws. He would run far out on the field after a fly ball and...shoot it home to head off the runner for the plate and with such fearful speed and accuracy that the ball seemed to sing as it flew."

Fred Dunlap And The Conventional Wisdom

The conventional wisdom regarding the best second basemen of the 19th century usually has Fred Dunlap well back of such players as Bid McPhee, Cupid Childs, Ross Barnes, and Hardy Richardson. While I'm not one to play "who's better than who" and I don't keep a list of my top 1000 players at each position, I will say that the idea that Hardy Richardson was better than Dunlap flies in the face of some basic evidence such as the fact that when the two men were on the same team, Dunlap was the starting second baseman. As to the others, I honestly couldn't tell you if they were better than Dunlap. But there are plenty of people who saw all these guys play and many of them believe that Dunlap was the best second baseman of his generation.

Al Spink called Dunlap "far and away the greatest second baseman that ever lived" and said that "of the great players of the olden times Fred Dunlap was considered by many the greatest." "(None of his contemporaries) could begin to compare with Dunlap in all around work or in covering the bag," he wrote in The National Game.

And Spink is not a lone voice in the wilderness. Stanley Robinson called Dunlap the greatest second baseman of his time and "perhaps the greatest player that ever lived." James Spaulding called Dunlap "the greatest second baseman who ever lived." Al Bauer, in 1886, called Dunlap "the best baseball player on the diamond." The Sporting News, at the same time, called Dunlap "the king pin of second basemen and the greatest fielder in America."

But Bill James doesn't think much of Dunlap as a player. He sees Dunlap's great 1884 season as illegitimate and goes so far as to say that Dunlap was "never a legitimate star" or that he was only a "minor star". The influence of James is wide and deep and, for those who know little or nothing about Dunlap and 19th century baseball, his word is the gospel truth. The Wikipedia article on Dunlap is an example of this. Just one paragraph long, the only reference that it sites is The Historical Baseball Abstract. It's final sentence, parroting James, claims that Dunlap "was never a star player in a full major league."

The problem is that James' assertion and the conventional wisdom can not be reconciled with the opinions of people like Spinks, Robinson, Spaulding, and Bauer. It can't be reconciled with the fact that Dunlap went to Detroit and took the starting second baseman's job from Richardson (James' choice for the best second baseman of the 1880's). It can't be reconciled with the fact that Dunlap's injuries and contract squabbles were front page news in the New York Times. It can't be reconciled with the fact that Dunlap was considered the best defensive player in the game. It can't be reconciled with the fact that Dunlap was the highest paid player on two championship teams. It can't be reconciled with the fact that he dominated the UA in a way that no professional athlete has ever dominated a league.

Fred Dunlap was a legitimate star in a legitimate league prior to 1884 and he was a legitimate star in a legitimate league after 1884. In fact there were very few players who had as much of an impact on baseball in the 1880's as Dunlap did. It's a shame that James and others don't recognize that.

Fred Dunlap And Frank Grant

Frank Grant, an African-American baseball player in the 1880's, played with Meriden in the Eastern League, Harrisburg in the Atlantic League, and Buffalo in the International League among other teams. Lawrence Hogan, in Shades of Glory, wrote that "a sportswriter referred to (Grant) as the 'Black Dunlap', a very flattering comparison to Fred Dunlap...considered the best-fielding big-league second baseman of his day." In 2006, Frank Grant was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Without judging Grant's qualifications for the Hall of Fame, it must be considered the height of irony that the "Black Dunlap" is in the Hall but the actual Dunlap isn't.

Fred Dunlap Appreciation Week

I'm officially declaring November 4-10 Fred Dunlap appreciation week here at TGOG. I finished the research yesterday and I would have had the giant Dunlap piece written by now if I hadn't gone out last night and sampled numerous hop-flavored beverages.

To tide us over until I get the piece finished, I leave you with something Dunlap-related to think about. Bill James, in the Historical Baseball Abstract, called Dunlap a "minor star" and said that he was "never a legitimate star in a legitimate league..." Stanley Robinson said that "(Dunlap) was not only the greatest second baseman, but take him in all departments of the game, he was perhaps the greatest player that ever lived." So either Dunlap was never a star at all or he was the greatest player of all time. Or maybe the truth lies somewhere in between.

The Waltons

"The Walton nine held a meeting Wednesday evening, March 24, at Walton's express office, No. 212 North Sixth street every member being in attendance. Most of the players are old 'vets' in the business, and having played together for a long time they always play a good steady game of ball. Andy Kolley has covered first base for the past seven years. He played one season with Waite's Warriors. Genins is also an old timer and plays second base for all he is worth. He will be captain of the nine. Coffey is a regular veteran and one of the best fielders in the city. He will be placed in the left garden. Ehrhardt is a little daisy and has played with the Walton's for the last three years and will attend to all balls going in right field. Albrecht has played with several of the crack semi-professional clubs for several seasons past, and will cover third bag in his best style. Haber, the center fielder, is a lightening thrower and a good base runner. Reinagle, late of the Jacksonvilles and the St. Gotthardts, is to cover short and he knows how to do it right up to the handle. Healy, one of the speediest pitchers in town, will do the twirling. He has pitched several seasons, and is well known as one of the best amateur pitchers that ever occupied the box. Goodeli, late of the St. Gotthardts and Papins, will support Healy behind the bat in Bushong style. Dreckage the tenth man, late of Cincinnati, is a rattling all-around player, and will fill any gap that may occur at any time. This completes the nine, and they are ready for challenges."

-From The Sporting News, March 29, 1886

More On The Organization Of Amateur Clubs In 1886

"The amateur clubs of St. Louis will outdo themselves this year in the number and character of their players, clubs and leagues. The Amateur Park Association of clubs will, of course, be first in point of quality and general excellence. The League formed will be the first and only one ever formed in St. Louis on a solid basis. The players will all be required to sign regular contracts with the clubs they join, and should they break any of the rules they will be forever disbarred from taking part in a championship struggle, and also from playing in any St. Louis park: and, moreover, the members of all clubs belonging to the League will be prohibited from taking part in any game where any player under suspension from the League is engaged. This rule will have a tendency to make the sore-heads come to reasonable terms and will prevent all revolving from one club to the other as has been the case in the past, and always to the detriment of strictly amateur ball playing."

"The Business League profiting by past experience will no doubt make some iron-clad rules to prevent clubs from grabbing up such semi-professional players as may chance to be out of an engagement. In fact, all amateur organizations in St. Louis have made a careful study of the word amateur, and they intend to carry out the meaning to the letter. The right men are now at the helm, and, with proper encouragement, will bring out the latent qualities of who now are compelled to play second fiddle for the benefit of older players of reputation."

"The Amateur League will have the following clubs represented: Amateur Park Club, St. Gotthard's, Drummand's, Enterprise, St. Louis Amateur, West Ends, and Union Blues. This will make eight evenly matched teams, and the winners of the bunting will have many a hard fight before securing the trophy."

"The Business League will open the season with six clubs and will try and keep this number as they are anxious to finish the schedule, which would be impossible with more members. The clubs likely to be selected from the score of applicants are as follows: Crow, Hargadine & Co., Sam'l C. Davis & Co., St. Louis News Co., Wm. Barr Dry Goods Co., Rice, Stix, & Co., and Brown, Daughaday, & Co. This will insure good games, as all of the teams will be equal in playing strength, and the struggle for supremacy will be long and hard."

"In fact, from the present outlook, amateur base ball will be a feature in St. Louis this year, something it never has been before. The managers have the correct idea and have only to carry out the policy laid down at the recent meeting to meet with the success their efforts deserve."

-From The Sporting News, March 17, 1886

It's interesting to see the machinations of the smaller clubs in St. Louis as they organize for the season. Groups and leagues and associations are being formed as clubs compete for players, fans, money, and survival. These clubs are competing against not only each other but also the bigger clubs in St. Louis. In 1886, there was not only the Browns and the Maroons in St. Louis but also the Peach Pies, the Prickly Ash, and the Reds while just across the river were the Madisons of Edwardsville, the Alton Club, the Belliville Club, and the East St. Louis Club.

In the face of such competition, organization had to have been crucial for the clubs to survive. Reading between the lines of the above article and some of the other ones posted this week, it's clear that these clubs were in the habit of raiding each other for players. Revolving was obviously a major problem. Making and keeping a schedule also must have been difficult. Arranging games so that they were economically beneficial to both teams was also an issue.

The Sporting News, as an advocate of the game, was not only reporting on these undertakings but was actively encouraging them. They toted the beneficial nature of such organizations and chided the poor management that often stood in the way of achieving them.

One interesting note about the above article is the quote at the end about the status of amateur baseball in St. Louis. Al Spink, of all people, should have known better then to write something like that, given the tradition of 19th century amateur baseball in St. Louis. The "Golden Age" of St. Louis amateur baseball had certainly passed but it had passed only a scant eleven years previous to this article being written and certainly within the living memory of most of the readers of The Sporting News in 1886.

Trouble In Paradise

"There is talk of the amateur clubs of the city forming a combination for the purpose of establishing rates and guarantees in cases where they are asked to go out into the country and play the suburban clubs. It is believed that this is the only way to secure fair play at the hands of outside clubs. Heretofore the amateur teams have visited outside points on a guarantee barely sufficient to meet expenses. The majority of the suburban teams are composed largely of the best local players and could afford to give visiting teams a fair guarantee. Instead of doing this they only guarantee expenses and this leaves a big margin for themselves. They are thus enabled to engage all the good local players at a good salary, the latter naturally going with the team that makes the most money. As an example of this the Belliville Club last year engaged Peters, Oberbeck and a lot of other St. Louis players and paid them a good salary while the players of the teams visiting that point got nothing but their fare to Bellivelle and back. By combining it is believed this evil can be wiped out and St. Louis players who remain loyal to the local clubs will be enabled to earn as much money as those who play with the clubs in the adjacent towns."

-From The Sporting News, March 17, 1886

A Good Way To Spend An Evening

I just had an interesting evening. A friend of mine lives next door to the brother of Salty Parker. Parker was a baseball man who spent 58 years in the game as a player, coach, manager, scout, and instructor. In 1936, he got a cup of coffee with the Detroit Tigers.

His brother, who lives here in Granite City, has an autographed team ball from the San Francisco Giants, for whom Parker was the third base coach. Mays, McCovey, Marichal, Cepeda, et al. He wasn't sure exactly what year the ball was from and I helped identify it as a 1960 Giants team ball. It was pretty neat to hold that in my hand.

Parker, who devoted his whole life to baseball, is the kind of guy who helped make the game what it is. I've promised to put together a player profile on Salty Parker for his brother and when I finish it, I'm going to post it here. Although not 19th century related, I think it'll be a nice way to honor a baseball lifer.

The Southern Illinois League

From The Sporting News, March 17, 1886:

"Cairo, Ill., March 11.-Editor Sporting News:

The baseball season here will open up early in April. On April 26 there will be some eight thousand Odd Fellows in town. The Cairo manager will pay any two League or American Association Clubs a good big guarantee to come here and play on that day. As there will be any number of professional teams in the South at about this time, some of them will doubtless take up this offer. Duquoin wanted Cairo to join the contemplated Southern Illinois League, but the management here declined. Duquoin will have a good team this year, Moore of Cairo and other good players having gone there. Besides Duquoin the new association if formed will have Belleville, Nashville and East St. Louis in its ranks. The Paducah, Ky., Club which played such rattling games with Cairo a year ago, has gone under."

I'm still digging and trying to find out more information about the Southern Illinois League but I wanted to share this little article because it gives you a good sense of the state of baseball on the East Side and in Southern Illinois. It pretty much covers the major teams in the area except for Alton and Edwardsville and it's surprising that those two wouldn't be a part of an association of Southern Illinois clubs.

A 17 Strikeout Game On The East Side

"One of the most interesting games that may be expected this season was played (in Edwardsville, Illinois) last Sunday between the home team and the Eagles of St. Louis."

"The feature of the game was the battery of Dooms and Schultz of the Madisons, Dooms striking out 17 men."

"The home club could do nothing with the pitching of McGinniss, till the seventh inning, when they hit him so hard that they succeeded in scoring six runs, which they followed up in the eighth inning by securing two more and winning the game by 8-4."

"The McClean 'Green Diamonds' play here next Sunday."

-from The Sporting News, May 17, 1886

Agate Type

I've been meaning to post a link to Agate Type for a while but keep forgetting to do it. I figured that anybody who liked this blog would definitely like Agate Type. It's a baseblog about " the negro leagues, latin american baseball, j-ball, the minors, the 19th century, and other hidden, overlooked, or unknown corners of baseball history". It's a very well done, well researched blog that I enjoy visiting and I think you will too.

Billy Motz Didn't Much Like Topeka

Below is a letter written to The Sporting News and published in its May 17, 1886 issue:


Topeka, Kan., May 10.-Editor, Sporting News:

With your kind permission I take the pleasure of letting you know how badly they did me in this town. They gave me no show to make a hit. I left St. Louis without any practice and came to Topeka and went in the box against the Kansas City League team. They made ten hits off me with no support in the field. I had a sore arm at the time and had to pitch the whole game. The fielders muffed everything that came their way. We had no team here at the time and had to pick up a lot of boys around town to make up the nine. This game resulted in my release, as it was my first and last. They gave me no chance to redeem myself against our equals in the Western League. Fahey of the Drummands came here to play, and was so disgusted with the town and the people in it, that he made up his mind to go home and he can tell you how they treated me.

William Motz

Jack Brennan In Trouble

"Bright and happy little Jack Brennan is in trouble. While on a toot recently little Jack happened into the Missouri Pacific yards, and believing that he had arrived at his own residence, tried to open the door of a freight car. About this time a railroad watchman came along, nabbed Jack, and preferred a charge of burglary against him. When last heard from he was resting uneasily in one of Jailor Siegemund's apartments."


-from The Sporting News, March 29, 1886

The Black Diamonds

These two stories appeared in the March 29, 1886 edition of The Sporting News addressing the orgin of the St. Louis Maroons' "Black Diamond" nickname:


"It was in the spirit of derision that the Eastern base ball players dubbed the St. Louis League team , 'the Black Diamonds,' alluding to the fact that many of their players had been black listed. The coming season each member of the Maroons will wear conspicuously upon his breast a symbol resembling a black diamond. When a rabble of disaffected peasants appeared with their petition before Queen Margaret of Nararre, she asked of her Minister, 'Who are these people?' 'Beggars, your Majesty,' was the reply. The word was taken up by the crowd. 'Beggars we are,' they shouted. As 'Beggars' they organized into the most powerful crusade ever known in Europe. With the rallying cry of 'Beggars' they shook the very throne of Queen Margaret and established their independence as a nation. The name 'Black Diamonds' was given in contempt, but it promises to become a terror to the enemy."


"Just before the Maroons leave on their first Eastern trip they will appear in their new gray uniforms, with a black diamond on the breast of every shirt. When the Maroons went East last year, some of the newspaper writers inimical to Mr. Lucas and his cause, called his team 'The Black Diamonds', intending to revive an ill feeling that had existed for some time before, and cast a dark cloud on his team. Mr. Lucas instead of getting wrathy laughed at the new appellation and adopted it for himself. The new uniform is to show the base ball world, that neither time nor tide can wipe out 'The Black Diamonds', and that they are to remain on deck for all time."

Scrappy Bill Joyce

"William Joyce, 'Scrappy Bill,' a born and bred in St. Louis player, finished his professional career as the third baseman, captain and manager of the New York Giants, Joyce in his day was one of the greatest of third basemen, and he was a great left-handed batsman. He commenced playing in the eighties with local teams of St. Louis and started from here on a professional career that ended at the very top of the ladder. He was known around the baseball circuit as 'Home-Run Bill.' He was one of the grandest ball players ever sent into the big leagues by St. Louis."

-from The National Game

Charlie Sweeney

Charlie Sweeney's name came up a few days ago when we were talking about the St. Louis Maroons. Somebody mentioned that he injured his arm in 1885 and this was a factor in the Maroon's poor showing in the NL. I tried to run this story down and, in the process, learned a bit about Sweeney.

Charles J. Sweeney was born in San Fransisco in 1863 and, as a youth, played on local Bay area teams. In 1883, Harry Wright brought Sweeney and Sandy Nava from California to Providence to play for the Grays.

In 1884, Sweeney was splitting time on the mound with Hoss Radbourne. On June 7, he struck out 19 batters in a 2-1 victory over Boston, a record that would stand for 102 years. On July 22, Sweeney was getting shelled by Philadelphia and Wright replaced him on the mound with right fielder Cyclone Miller. Unhappy about being relieved and refusing to play the outfield, Sweeney stormed off the field, leaving his team a man down. The Grays finished the game while playing with only eight men and lost to the lowly Quakers 10-6. It is unclear if Sweeney was released by Providence at this point but his career with the Grays was over. Radbourne, shouldering the pitching load for the rest of the season, won 26 of his next 27 starts and the Grays stormed to the pennant.

A week later, Sweeney was starting for Henry Lucas' Black Diamonds. The Maroons' roster had been raided by both the NL and the AA and Lucas took a great deal of glee in "stealing" Sweeney from Providence. "There is," he said, "(a) great pleasure in going into the enemy's camp, capturing their guns and using them on your own side." Sweeney would go 24-7 with a 1.83 ERA for the Maroons and would finish the year at 41-15 in 60 starts with a 1.70 ERA.

In 1885, with the Black Diamonds now in the National League, Sweeney suffered through an injury-plagued campaign. Suffering a shoulder injury early in the season, Sweeney was 4-2 (including a win at Providence on May 13th) before getting shelled in back to back starts. He didn't pitch again for almost three weeks and was ineffective when he returned. After a loss to Buffalo on August 28th, Sweeney made only three more starts for the Maroons and finished the season 11-21 in only 35 starts with an ERA of 3.93.

Sweeney's 1886 season was not any better. Making only eleven starts for the Maroons, he went 5-6 with a 4.16 ERA before being released by the team in June. Catching on with the Stars of Syracuse in early July, Sweeney made only two ineffective starts before being let go. He next showed up back in San Francisco pitching for the Altas and being treated as a returning hero by his hometown fans.

Attempting a big league comeback in 1887, Sweeney made only three starts for the Blues of Cleveland. After going 0-3 with an ERA of 8.25, Sweeney's major league career was over. He finished with a career mark of 64-52 and an ERA of 2.87.

Sweeney certainly appeared to be a difficult character to deal with. Besides the incident in Providence, he was involved in a "vicious fight" with teammate Emmett Seery in 1886. While it's unknown what prompted the fight, all of the Maroons sided with Seery and The Sporting Life referred to Sweeney as a "whiskey-guzzling cowardly nincompoop".

A more serious incident occurred in 1894 when Sweeney shot a man named Con MacManus in a bar in San Francisco. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to prison, where he died of consumption in 1902.

Turn The Hoodlums Out

"A clique and rabble have taken possession of the Union Grounds recently and have been trying to discourage the home teams by calling the individual players ill names and hissing and hooting at them without good cause or reason."

"This clique and rabble is composed mostly of hoodlums who belong to the rock pile and who have no right to mingle among decent people. Our advice to the manager of the Union Grounds is to spot these geese and hoodlums and fire them into the street where they belong. No decent man would be guilty of such conduct and there is no place in the ball park for hoodlums or hoodlumism."

"It is an ill bird that befouls its own nest. It's a blackguard and hoodlum that cries down the local team and hurls curses and threats at the players who are working faithfully and honestly for the good name of St. Louis."

"If management have not police enough to keep order then put on a special force and direct your men to knock down and drag out every loafer who is found using indecent language and cursing the home or visiting players."

"In the theaters hissing was suppressed some time ago and the man who would make himself obnoxious to his fellow auditors by using ill language in a temple of Thespis would fare badly. Let the same law be carried out in the ball parks and let every sore head be fired into the street where he belongs or else slapped into the cooler and prosecuted for disturbing the peace."

"These are plain words but in our mind they fit the case, and the planner the better."

-from The Sporting News, May 17, 1886