William Colbert Steigers

William C. Steigers, a prominent St. Louis newspaperman, was a member of the Union Base Ball Club and was one of the organizers of the 1875 Brown Stockings.

Steigers was born in St. Louis on September 15, 1847 to Francis Ignatius and Sarah (Price) Steigers. Educated at the Wyman School and Christian Brothers College, he enlisted with the 8th Missouri Volunteers on September 15, 1862, his fifteenth birthday. Serving in the "armies of Grant and Sherman," Steigers took part in the battles of Arkansas Post, Chickasaw Bayou, and Port Hudson as well as the siege of Vicksburg. On July 5, 1863, a day after the fall of Vicksburg, he became seriously ill while travelling from Vicksburg to Jacksonville, Tennessee and spent three months in a hospital. Steigers was mustered out of the army on October 22, 1863 due to the illness and returned to St. Louis.

In April of 1863, W.C. Steigers began his career in the newspaper business with the St. Louis Evening Dispatch as a collector before rising to head the advertising department. In 1872, he became the advertising manager of the St. Louis Times before returning to the Dispatch in 1874. In December of 1878, the Post and the Dispatch merged to form the St. Louis Post-Dispatch with Steigers running the advertising department. A close associate of Joseph Pulitzer, Steigers was named vice-president and business manager of the Post in 1897.

Steigers was most likely not a member of the original antebellum Union Club. He was listed by E.H. Tobias as a member after the club reorganized in 1866. In 1875, he was involved in the organization of the Brown Stockings, serving on their board of directors as vice-president.

On September 4, 1896, while serving a short stint as advertising manager of the New York World, Steigers married Helen Martha Wadsworth. He passed away on May 25, 1923.

C. Orrick Bishop

Campbell Orrick Bishop, a prominate lawyer and judge in St. Louis, was a member and officer of the Union Base Ball Club as well as a member of the board of directors of the 1875 Brown Stockings.

Bishop was born in Union, Missouri on Decemer 28, 1842 to David H. and Sarah Lee (Lindsay) Bishop and graduated from St. Louis Central High School in 1858. After attending Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, he went to law school in Louisville, Kentucky, graduating and being admitted to the bar in 1867.

A partner in the Bishop & Rollins law firm in St. Louis, Bishop also served as assistant circuit attorney from 1883-1897 and again from 1901-1905. A close associate of Missouri Gov. Joseph Folk, he was named to the circuit court bench in March of 1905 and served as a judge until 1907. The highlight of his public career was his involvement with Folk and others in the 1902-1904 "Boodle Scandal," helping to ferret out corruption amongst the political and business class in Missouri. Ironically, one of those caught up in the scandal was Bishop's fellow Union Club member Charles Hunt Turner.

Bishop, who according to W.E. Kelsoe "used to play (baseball) a little," served as the secretary of the Union Club in the early 1870's and Kelsoe states that he was the "last president of the Unions." In 1875, he was a member of the board of directors of the newly formed Brown Stockings (along with, again, Charles Turner).

Bishop was also involved in the governing of the National Association in 1875 and the organization of the National League in late 1875 and 1876. When William Hulbert was trying to organize the League, according to Harold Seymour, "he traveled to St. Louis...to confer with Charles Fowle...and Campbell Orrick Bishop, an attorney who had played with the St. Louis Unions in the 1860's and then became Vice President of the Association and a member of its Judiciary Committee. Bishop drew up a constitution for a new league based upon a draft submitted to him by Hulbert."

A life-long bachelor, Bishop died on August 26, 1929.

An Index To The Dillon Family Oral History

Just to keep things organized and so that everyone can find the information once it goes off the first page, here's all the posts to the Dillon family oral history:

The Dillons of Mehlville Part 1
The Dillons of Mehlville Part 2
The Dillons of Mehlville Part 3
More Information On Packy Dillon

And once again I want to thank Lynn Dillon and the Dillon family for their help and cooperation in providing us with this information.

The Dillons Of Mehlville Part 3

The third and final part of the Dillon family oral history based on the recollections of Irene and Charles Wilson, the daughter and son-in-law of Packy Dillon.

Packey Dillon married Martha Baggot while still playing professional ball and they begot children as follows: a pair of twin girls who died in infancy, Edward, Irene, Loyola, Arthur, Marie and Jerome-the last two born on the farm at Mehlville. After quitting baseball Packey engaged in the huckstering business running two wagons.

In 1887 they purchased the farm at Mehlville for $6800 from a Life Insurance Company which had foreclosed on the owner Emile Thomas, who had been the Sheriff of St. Louis and St. Louis County. The tract consists of approximately 34 Arpents the old Spanish deeds in that time being listed as Arpents, instead of acres as is now the case. Jerry’s father was 5 months old when the move to the Country was made. Truck farming was carried on by Patrick and his brother Edward who made his home with Patrick and Martha. As Edward, Arthur and Jerome grew up, they also went into farming. The Dillons often spoke of the fine fruits and berries produced on the place in the early days before spraying of the trees and the dusting of crops became necessary.

Packy died in 1902, at the age of 49, very suddenly, from a heart ailment. Packy went to the Sunday ball games to see the Browns play at every opportunity, going to his mother’s home for dinner, thence to the ball game. This was a long trip by horse and buggy to the end of carline and a long streetcar ride to his mothers, thence by street car to ball park...

Farming was carried on more or less until Edward’s death in 1943. Loyola passed away in 1945, and Marie the last survivor living on the farm disposed of the remainder of the farm of 8 1/2 acres and the home. There are now 18 houses in all on the old farm. Two streets intersect the place as now being laid out one being Dillon Drive which is paved according to County specifications. The other is Edward Avenue, which is temporarily paved and will be paved in like manner on the application of the majority of the residents on the street. Only a ½ acre remains in the hands of Irene. Two acres have been sold of the 2 ½ acres deeded to Irene by Jerry by suitclaim. 2 ½ claim acres remain of the old farm which are unimproved and when these are built on the place will be filled. Sewers are subsequently built, connecting with the St. Louis sewage system. Homes may be built on less than acres so it seems that persons now living on the place with plenty of elbow room may wake up some day and find themselves rather crowded in as much as no restrictions were imposed on lot buyers except those imposed by the County as a health measure on account of the use of septic tanks.

The writer failed to mention thus far that Alicia Mullen, formerly Mrs. John Dillon, died in 1907 the year of Rene’s marriage to the writer. (The lucky girl). The holdings of Mrs. Mullen had shrunk by this time to the houses on Locust Street and the three on Thomas Street and the 99 year lease on Olive Street amounting to about $32,000 on sale. The Dillon children all gave their part of their inheritance to the mother so as to lift the mortgage on the home (including Rene).

The Dillon Farm

Packy Dillon's farm in Mehlville, which he bought in 1887, was located at what is now the intersection of Dillon Drive and Edwards Road. Who Dillon Drive was named after is a little obvious (even for me). Edwards Road, one would assume, was named after Packy's son, Edward, who worked the Mehlville farm until his death in 1943.

The intersection of Dillon and Edwards is west of Jefferson Barracks and Lemay Ferry Road, south of Reavis Barracks Road, east of Interstate 55 and north of Lindbergh Blvd. In the map below, it's just south of Union Road County Park (follow the link to get the exact location).



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The Dillons Of Mehlville Part 2

More from the Dillon family oral history based on the recollections of Irene and Charles Wilson, the daughter and son-in-law of Packy Dillon.

After John Dillon’s death in 1870, the old residence on Locust Street was razed and two new brick houses (3 story) were erected being now Nos. 3026 and 3028. It is a coincidence that the writer worked in the auto business right across the street (Tate Motor Co) from the two houses which are still there. None of the male children carried on in the meat business after the father’s death. Patrick, Jerry’s grandfather, was sent to Notre Dame University but left before graduation to go into professional baseball. He was a catcher and played for the old St. Louis Blues which it is reported played the first professional game in St. Louis. Other clubs were the Covington Stars of Covington, Kentucky and the old St. Louis Browns. Edward, Packey’s brother, was sent to Medical College at Quincy, Illinois from where he graduated but did not enter the practice of medicine. Daughters Mary and Bridget went to Academies for girls. Bridget to St. Joseph’s Convent in Carondelet. The writer’s mother also attended St. Joseph’s Academy which was across the street from St. Mary and Joseph’s Church which Rene and I attend.

John’s wife, Alicia, after his death built the 3store stone front houses on Thomas Street at Glasgow Avenue. There resided with her daughter Mary Clark and Mary’s daughter, Sally. Here, at a later date Mrs. Dillon married a Dr. Mullen, a practicing physician, a widower. This proved a great match as Alicia was enamored of the dear doctor. He took good care of his wife’s financial affairs and the pair made an extensive trip to Europe and Japan, being away some two years.

Here I digress for a moment to state that neither John Dillon or his spouse could read or write. Both must have been shrewd individuals to amass what at that time was considered a considerable fortune. We know that Dillon engaged the leading lawyer of St. Louis to look after his legal affairs and to write his will. This lawyer was widely known as lawyer Haeussler. The good doctor died about 1894. He and Mrs. Mullen drove down to the Dillons place many times before his death, and he always enjoyed his visits.

We have around the house a copy of John Dillon’s will which at this time we are unable to locate to make a copy for this narrative. We remember that each of the children were left the sum of $10,000 and the widow $20,000 for her immediate needs, besides the property on Locust Street. There were 3 lots on the northeast corner of Carrison Avenue and Olive street which were left to Edward and one of the daughters. These lots were leased to parties who were to pay $900 per year for the duration of the lease.

The Dillons Of Mehlville Part 1

Here's a fantastic piece of oral history about the family of Packy Dillon. It's based on the recollections of Packy's daughter, Irene, and her husband Charles Wilson. It was compiled in December of 1956 by Wilson and I'm going to post what I think are the most relevant part.

John Dillon came to New York from Mitchellstown, County Cork, Ireland, about 1838 at the age of 17 years. He was employed by the proprietor of a meat market as a delivery boy. In making his deliveries, he met Alicia Donnelly, employed as a maid for a well to do family.

At the age of 19, he married Alicia, then aged 16. (Alicia came to this Country from Belfast, County Down, in the North of Ireland) It is not known how long this pair remained in New York, but they journeyed to New Orleans whether by rail, steamboat or sailing ship is not known. They must have had in mind a search for business opportunities. How long they remained in New Orleans Rene does not remember her grandmothers telling her. However, they came to St. Louis by steamboat landing here on Morgan Street around 19^th Street. The Dillons then rented a stall in Union Market located at Broadway to 6^th, Lucas to Morgan, the site of the present Union Market. Many St. Louisians now living, among them this writer, remember the old market as a place where the choicest meats, vegetables and game were on sale. At that time and for many years after all kinds of wild game was for sale, and was very plentiful, deer, bear, ducks, geese, quail, rabbits etc. in season.

The Locust Street property was adjacent to Camp Jackson during the Civil War. This camp was attacked by the Confederates, but how the skirmish came out the writer does not know (shame on him). The Dillons location was quite a way West of the district which extended from what is now East of 12^th Street and extending to somewhat West of Jefferson Avenue. The Dillons served practically all of the residents. He also had a contract to butcher cattle for the Army at Jefferson Barracks.

There was born to John and Alicia Dillon the following children-Steve, John, Patrick, James, Bridgett, Mamie and Edward. About 3 or 4 were born who died in infancy.

John was a large contributor to Mullanphy Hospital at its building. He was a patron of the sports, especially prize-fighting and made more than one trip to New Orleans, always by steamboat, to witness the big ones. He did not make this trip without wagering on the result and they say he was a good judge of fighters as he was of cattle. John was a prominent member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which is still in existence now but much diminished in membership. Rebe is in possession of a huge sash of green silk hand painted with the Hibernian emblem and reaching to the floor when slung across the shoulders, and which he wore at the head of the parade, always on a trusty and prancing steed.

It is told of John, that on occasion when a patron of a saloon made a disparaging remark about the Virgin Mary, John tossed the offender through the ornate mirror which adorned all swank saloons in those days. The damage, $500, was paid by Dillon. John had two brothers, both of whom went West from St. Louis, and it is supposed engaged in the cattle business. One of the brothers subsequently visited him in St. Louis and told that he had married a full-blooded squaw. Neither brother was heard from after this.

You Can Thank Me Later (With Video!)

I've been listening to the Watson Twins new CD Fire Songs obsessively the last couple of days and it definetely gets the TGOG seal of approval. I think it's out in stores at the end of the month. Anyway, I thought I'd go to YouTube and see if there's any video up of the new songs. Couldn't find any but I did find a nice clip of them performing a song from their last EP. Then I remembered that I hadn't posted any video on the blog in awhile and, Lord knows, I love to post video. So here's the Watson Twins and some other stuff I'm rather fond of. Enjoy.



The Watson Twins-Southern Manners



Gillian Welch-Annabelle



Lucinda Williams-Right In Time



Cowboy Junkies-Lost My Driving Wheel

The Becker Family And St. Louis Baseball

I found this interesting blog run by the great-grandson of Edward Becker which had some relevent pieces of information regarding Becker's ownership of the Browns/Perfectos/Cardinals (or, more rightly, the St. Louis National League Baseball Club). The site had the above picture of Becker and Frank Robison as well as a couple of quotes from the Globe-Democrat (which I'll post below). The most intriguing piece of information they presented was that Becker maintained his minority ownership of the team until 1917.

Edward C. Becker, St. Louis’ new baseball magnate, who is vice-president of the American Baseball and Athletic Exhibition Company of St. Louis, the organization which has gained league recognition as the successor of Sportsman’s Park and Club, returned to St. Louis last night from New York, where he was in attendance at the special meeting of the National League magnates, called for last Friday to settle the St. Louis muddle.

-From the Globe-Democrat, March 28, 1899

Never in the history of the sport, not even in the days of the old champion Brown Stockings, has the St. Louis public shown as much interest in baseball as it has evinced since Frank De Haas Robison and Edward C. Becker became joint owners of the local franchise and placed Patsy Tebeau and his crack team on the home diamond.

The parade, always a feature of the opening day, was started shortly before 10 o’clock. Following the Master of Ceremonies and the team was a long line of carriages. In the first vehicle were Frank DeHaas Robinson, Edward C. Becker and M. Stanley Robison. All along the line of march the party was cheered. Huge bouquets were presented Mr. Robison and Mr. Becker when passing Gaylord & Blessing’s.

-From the Globe-Democrat, April 15, 1899

Joe Gannon's Rather Bitter Cup Of Coffee

I came home from work last night and was randomly searching Find A Grave when I found the burial record and a grave photo for Joseph S. Gannon. According to Connie Nisinger, Gannon was a professional baseball player who pitched one game for the Browns on August 28, 1898. So being the person I am (easily distracted), I had to go and look up the box score for Gannon's one major league game (which is posted above).

That was one rough outing. Nine innings pitched, thirteen hits, five walks, thirteen runs, eleven earned, no K's. It kind of reminds me of Mike Parisi's first two big league starts (wait...am I really going to write that...it's a bit harsh-Gannon was actually better in his one start then Parisi was in either of his).

To top it off, Gannon went 0-3 at the plate. That's a bitter cup of coffee.

On the "comprehensive Joe Gannon baseball stats page" at Baseball Almanac, it's noted that Gannon was born on February 22, 1877 in St. Louis and died on March 19, 1931 in St. Louis. He's buried in Calvary Cemetery.

Peter Morris, over at his website, has a very nice piece on Gannon and notes that the first four hitters that Gannon faced in his only big league start were future Hall of Famers (and Baltimore had five future HoF's total in the lineup that day). That's a rough way to break into the big leagues. I seriously doubt Mike Parisi has faced five future Hall of Famers in his two starts.



Gannon's grave at Calvary Cemetery.

Joseph Charless Cabanne

Joseph Charless Cabanne, a member of the Union Club in the 1860's, was the founder of the St. Louis Dairy Company. The son of John Charless and Virginia E. (Carr) Cabanne and a member of the prominent Chouteau family, he was born in St. Louis on October 16, 1846. A graduate of the Christian Brothers Academy, Cabanne studied at "eastern colleges," most notably Flushing (N.Y.) Institute, before returning to St. Louis to start his business career.

Upon the advice of an uncle, Cabanne founded the Mont Cabanne Dairy in 1868 on the family farm in what is now Forest Park and in 1882 he established the St. Louis Dairy Company. An innovative businessman, Cabanne was the first to introduce covered milk wagons, a creamery, the delivery of milk in bottles, and the selling of whole milk at a cheaper price than skim milk in St. Louis. By 1893, Cabanne "was one of the prominent business men of St. Louis."

An active member of the community, Cabanne was the first president of the Civics League. He was also a member of the Citizens' Industrial Association, the Missouri Athletic Club, the Amateur Athletic Club and, of course, the Union Base Ball Club of St. Louis.

In 1868, as he was launching his dairy business, Cabanne married Susan Mitchell, the daughter of Col. D.D. Mitchell. Their children included Joseph P. Cabanne, Virginia (Mrs. E.W. Little), Martha (Mrs. Robert J. Kayser), Susan (Mrs. J. Shepard Smith), Mary (Sister Mary Ambrose of the Visitation Convent), Fannie (Mrs. E. Lawrence Pearson) and Arthur Lee Cabanne.

On March 17, 1922, Cabanne, after being ill with pneumonia for several weeks, cut his throat with a straight razor and died.




The Cabanne House on Lindall Blvd. was built by Joseph Charless Cabanne just after he got married and stood on the family's farm property. In the mid 1870's, the house and part of the farm tract was purchased by the city of St. Louis and become the northeastern part of Forest Park.



Cabanne's grave at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.

Andrew Blong's Grave

Andrew F. Blong

Birth: 1850 Saint Louis

Death: May 27, 1909 Saint Louis

Blong was the former Police commissioner of St. Louis, and the brother of major league pitcher Joe Blong. He was involved in the management of the 1875 St. Louis Red Stockings. He was also a former member of the Police Board and the chairman of the Democratic City Central Committee. Appointed by Governor Stephens in 1901, his resignation was demanded by Governor Polk in 1909. A devoted baseball fan, he developed pneumonia as a result of catching a cold while watching a game at the American League Park in St. Louis.

The above photos and information come from Find A Grave as a result of the diligent work of Connie Nisinger.

A Statistical Look At The Early National League

A while back I put up a link to Walk Like a Sabermetrician. The reason for the link is that they're running a fascinating series on the early National League-taking a statistical look at the league from 1876 to 1881. Since they just posted the entry for the 1878 season, I thought this would be a good time to mention it.

Obviously, from my point of view, the most interesting entries were the ones for the 1876 and 1877 seasons when the Brown Stockings were playing in the NL. Specifically of interest was that they like John Clapp quite a bit and rate him as the best catcher in the league for both '76 and '77. The Browns had a much better season in 1876 than in '77 and that shows up in the analysis. The Browns placed Clapp, Joe Battin, and Lip Pike on the All-Star team for '76 and they felt it necessary to explain why they didn't place George Bradley on the team. Clapp again made the team for 1877 and was joined by Mike Dorgan, who they rate as the best rookie hitter in the league that year. Also of note, St. Louisan John Paul Peters made the All-Star team at shortstop for both seasons.

It's good stuff and I certainly recommend taking a look at it.

Person John Clapp

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More Information On Packy Dillon

Patrick Henry Dillon (Grandfather) Died long before writer's birth. Place of his birth unknown to me. What knowledge I have of him is gathered from revelations by his widow (Martha-my grandmother) and by his children, my Aunts and Uncles with whom I lived many years.

What is known is that Patrick Henry Dillon was for some time a student at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana but was asked to leave before graduation because of athletic professionalism. After leaving Notre Dame he played professional baseball for teams in Cincinnati, Covington and St. Louis as a catcher. Old newspaper articles which appear at the time of his death and preserved by his widow and others in the family indicated that he was considered a star ball player. His baseball career ending in St. Louis after which he purchased the farm in Mehlville, Mo. from a family named Thomas, descendants of General George Thomas of Civil War fame. The Thomas from whom he purchased the farm was reported to have been the Sheriff of St. Louis.

After ending his baseball career, Patrick Dillon is said to have operated a huckstering business in St. Louis having several wagons, teams and various employees. As related to me by his widow, Martha, he died at less than 50 years of age at the home of his mother in St. Louis on a Sunday afternoon in 1903 or 04 after attending a baseball game in St. Louis and taking dinner at his mother's home. His remains are buried in Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis.

Martha Dillon Nee Baggett (Grandmother) Following the death of my father while I was very young I went to live with Martha Dillon, her sons and daughters on the family farm in Mehlville, Mo. There I lived until marrying in December 1936 and moving to Washington, D.C. It was said by Martha that her father was a medical doctor who served with the Union Army in the War Between The States and was killed at the Battle of The Wilderness near Fredericksburg, Va. Martha indicated she had been born in Cincinnati, Ohio. I have no recollection that she ever mentioned her mother, or where or to what degree she had been educated. It was clear to me that she never advanced beyond elementary grades but was an avid reader and a competent writer. She told me she came to St. Louis as a young girl and worked for a time for Bemis Bag Company a commercial house of much significance in St. Louis for many years until supplanted by the Memorial Arch and the Jefferson Memorial Waterfront Park, on the banks of the Mississippi. Martha told me that she was 16 when she married Patrick Henry Dillon at a time when he was playing professional baseball and sometimes traveled with him to other cities where his team was playing. Patrick Henry and Martha begat Irene, Loyola, and Marie (Daughters) and Edward, Arthur, and Jerome (sons). Arthur Patrick Dillon was my father. I grew from a very early age to maturity on the Dillon farm in Mehlville with Martha and her sons and daughters all of whom lived at home except Irene who had married Charles Harold Wilson and lived in St. Louis. It was said that Patrick & Martha begat two other children who died in infancy shortly after their birth.

The above information comes from Jerome A. Dillon, the grandson of Packy Dillon. Some of the information as related by Mr. Dillon doesn't mesh with what we know about Packy. Certainly, his version of Packy's death contradicts the obituary from yesterday's post and I have no evidence that he ever played for a club in Cincinnati. But that's the nature of oral history.

This information was compiled in 1982 and the human memory is a frail thing. So while Mr. Dillon may be mistaken in a few details the important thing is how he's able to place Packy Dillon within the contexts of his family and his time. Things like Dillon going to a ballgame in St. Louis and then having dinner at his mother's house or Martha Dillon traveling with the team are fascinating and help to create a more three dimensional picture of someone who we know so very little about. It's in the reminiscences of the Dillon family that Packy Dillon comes alive for us.

Again, I have to thank Lynn Dillon and the Dillon family for sharing this information with me. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to post the recollections of Irene Dillon Wilson, the daughter of Packy Dillon.

Packy Dillon's Obituary

Old Ballplayer Dead

Heart Disease Claims a Victim in Patrick Dillon

Patrick Dillon, a member of the old St. Louis Browns when that team won the baseball championship of America, died suddenly Sunday afternoon within a few minutes after a lengthy discussion with his wife about the sudden death of John W. Mackay, the capitalist at London, about a week ago. Mr. and Mrs. Dillon made their home at Mehlville, in the southern part of St. Louis county, for many years and it was there that the end came. They had just completed their midday meal and were sitting at the table conversing. Mr. Dillon remarked about the suddenness of the end of so active a life as that of Mr. Mackay and a few minutes later he fell from his chair and died. Dr. Will, who had been treating him for the past several years, pronounced the cause of death heart disease.

Mr. Dillon had led what might be called a strenuous life and three years ago he became alarmed at the condition of his heart. He had a physician attend him ever since but at no stage was his condition considered serious. Only a few days before his death he had a plunge bath with a number of friends in a neighborhood pond. For probably three months he had been ailing to the extent that he had been under the care of Dr. Will. Despite this fact his sudden death was a great surprise to his physician as well as to his relatives. In the morning while his children were away from home, he had assisted his wife in her household duties and seemed unusually cheerful.

The funeral will be held from the home of the deceased's mother, Mrs. E. Mullen, 1401 Glasgow avenue, to-day, to St. Bridget's church. The deceased was 49 years old and leaves a wife and several children.

I must admit that I've been looking for Packy Dillon's obituary for a long time and to finally get a hold of it is something that's given me a great deal of pleasure. I have to acknowledge the efforts of Lynn Dillon and the Dillon family in digging through their family albums, scrapbooks, and archives in order to furnish me with a great deal of information on Packy Dillon and his family. They really can't be thanked enough-especially Lynn, who has gone out of her way to help me. Good people all around.

A couple of notes about the obit:

-Which newspaper it appeared in and the date it appeared is unknown. Based on information in the obituary, specifically the reference to the death of John W. Mackay, it can be dated to late July 1902 which meshes with the information we have regarding Patrick H. Dillon's date of death (July 27, 1902).

-Dillon, of course, never played for the Four Time Champion Browns but I think this is the first reference that we have to Patrick H. Dillon being a baseball player. The Dillon family oral history, which I'll be posting this week, also has references to Dillon playing professional baseball and specifically mentions St. Louis and Covington, Ky. I feel that this is the confirmation that we need to state emphatically that Patrick H. Dillon was Packy Dillon the baseball player. The evidence up to this point, while strong, was basically circumstantial. The material provided by the Dillon family, combined with what we already know, makes the case.

Becker Holds The Majority Of The Stock

As The Sporting News goes to press, the stockholders of Sportsman's Park and Club are holding their annual meeting for the election of five directors, puruant to a warrant issued by Justice of the Peace Henry S. Harmon, at the request of E.C. Becker and B.S. Muckenfuss, two of the stockholders. The majority of the stock is held and will be voted by Mr. E.C. Becker, who acquired it from Chris Von der Ahe to secure advances. Neither Chris or any of his retainers will be elected to the Board and thus Von der Ahe will be without any claim to recognition from the League, should he attempt to represent the local club at the meeting.

-From The Sporting News, February 25, 1899

I've been trying to figure out what exactly happened to the Browns in 1898/1899 for awhile now and I still don't think I have the thing figured out properly. Most general accounts say that the Robisons purchased the club after Von der Ahe went bankrupt and while that's a nice summary, it's not remotely close to what happened.

The problem is that there are at least three story-lines converging here. First, you have the financial collapse of Von der Ahe. This is something that was building for several years and came to a head in the summer of 1898. Second, you have the political machinations of the National League. There was a group of owners attempting to contract teams and establish a more "stable" eight team league. The "St. Louis situation" was caught up in this and a solution to the St. Louis problem, acceptable to League magnates, became central in how the League would be structured in 1899. Third, you had the Becker/Muckenfuss/Robison cabal taking control of the Browns and restructuring the organization. Of course, saying that there was a cabal is an oversimplification and glosses over the relationship between Becker, Muckenfuss, and Von der Ahe and the long-held desire of Frank Robison to get involved in the St. Louis market (and to escape difficulties in Cleveland). On top of all of that, you have the courts involved. To say the situation was muddled is an understatement.

Did You Miss Me?

I'm back.

My internet connection was down pretty much all week long and I obviously wasn't able to work on TGOG. I must admit to having had serious blog withdrawal and terrible pangs of guilt over not being able to post. While life without the internet is certainly livable, it's rather remarkable how much we've come to rely on it. It was certainly a weird week. Let's try never to let this happen again.

Now back to 19th century baseball in St. Louis...

Gratz A. Moses

"(Philadelphia-born physician Simon Gratz) Moses had moved to St. Louis in the early 1840s and practiced medicine at his residence at 22 North Eighth Street. Dr. Gratz A. Moses (probably the son of S. Gratz Moses) served as a physician with the Confederate army. The elder Moses may have returned to Philadelphia for the duration of the war; he died in St. Louis in 1897. The younger Moses also returned to St. Louis after the war and built a successful practice; he died there in 1901."

-From Civil War St. Louis

In this post, I talked about Simon Gratz Moses and speculated that he was the Gratz Moses who played with the Cyclones. The point of the post was that S. Gratz Moses was probably too old to be a playing member of the Cyclones but how many Gratz Moses could there be in St. Louis in 1860?

Based on the information in Civil War St. Louis, it appears that there were at least two. E.H. Tobias identifies the Cyclone Moses as "Dr. Gratz Moses" and Gratz A. Moses was certainly a doctor. Also, if he was the son of S. Gratz Moses, he most likely would have been in his twenties at the time of the Civil War which would fit the age demographic of the rest of the club.

Certainly Gratz A. Moses is a much better candidate for being the Cyclone Moses than S. Gratz Moses.

Another Look At The Browns' Debt

President Von der Ahe, of the St. Louis Base Ball Club, last week elected his Board of Directors. Of course, the stock holders went through the form of an election, but as Mr. Chris Von der Ahe owns about seven-eighths of the stock the election was merely a matter of courtesy. Anyhow the following directors were elected for the ensuing year or rather as long as they do what is right with the great base ball interests of Mr. Von der Ahe: Chris Von der Ahe, J.W. Peckington, Charles Higgins, Benjamin Steward Muckenfuss and Edward Becker...

Next week a meeting will be held and a statement will be made regarding the business done during last year in horse racing and base ball. It is stated that the Browns cleared $12,000 on the season.

Von der Ahe acknowledges that there was only one year in all his experience as a magnate in which he lost money on base ball. That was during the Brotherhood year. And in the future he promises to stick entirely to base ball and become a pillar in the church. This change in Chris' temperament is accounted for by an interview which appeared in the "Republic" the other day, in which a director of the St. Louis Club says:

"We buried about $40,000 in the chutes, which, all stories to the contrary, paid us about 25 per cent on the investment. That leaves us still $30,000 in the hole on the chute question. Then we paid Fred Foster $42,000 for his interest in that track and we lost some money running races in opposition to the other tracks. Oh, we had a mazy time of it when we went against the racing game. I think that we will make money out of the chutes, and we have it fixed so that we will not lose another cent on the race track, so I think we have gotten over our worst days."

It is hoped that this is true and that the St. Louis Club will use some of its profits in the future purchasing new players.

-From Sporting Life, January 23, 1897

Some notes:

-Based on this information, we can say that Von der Ahe still had complete control of the Browns going into the 1897 season, controlling "seven-eights of the stock" and that Edward Becker was already on board as a minority stockholder. Becker, within the next year and a half, would come to control eighty-five percent of the stock and rest control of the team from Von der Ahe.

-The Browns were a profitable organization from a baseball perspective. The financial difficulties that pushed the team into receivership were a result of outside economic interests rather than a failure of the Browns to make money.

-Based on the information from the Republic, it looks like Von der Ahe over-expanded between 1892 and 1896 (the new ballpark, the racetrack, etc) and was unable to generate enough cash flow to cover the debt that he took on in that expansion. In January of 1898, the total liabilities of the club would be listed as $58,718 and most of that was what was owed on the ballpark bonds and money lent to the club by Becker in an attempt to keep Von der Ahe afloat. A total debt of $127,000 was listed for the corporation itself and that included the investments in the racetrack and the chutes as well as the debts of the club. If my math is correct (and assuming the chutes brought in another $10,000 in 1897), the investments in the ballpark, the racetrack, and the chutes alone were responsible for more than seventy percent of the corporations' debt. Becker's loans to the club (which were a direct result of Von der Ahe's over-expansion) amounted to about ten percent of the debt.

A First-Class Police Officer

Long John Healey makes a first-class police officer. Captain O'Malley shows his confidence in him by keeping him on the toughest beat in the city and the Egyptian makes the evil-doers keep in line, or treats them to a ride in the patrol wagon. John is in splendid condition physically. He says that he is satisfied with his position, but his friends declare that he is growing restive as reporting time approaches and that they will be surprised if he does not return to the game. He spends an hour or more each day in the gymnasium at the Four Courts and he is considered one of the best athletes on the force. His arm is all right and in two weeks preparation he could pitch as good ball as he ever did. Jack Kirby, another old Maroon pitcher, is walking a West End beat. Sergeant Cal Watson, who has charge of the district in which Healey is stationed, was once a professional ball player. It is announced that there will be a game in the spring between teams representing the police and fire departments. Tom Dolan, Jack and Bill Gleason and other retired ball players are firemen, and good ones too. The proceeds of the game will be devoted to charity.

-From Sporting Life, February 6, 1897

Person Tom Dolan

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