The Diamond Became Distasteful To Him

Arthur Croft, who was well and favorably known to the older patrons of base ball throughout the country, died yesterday of pneumonia. As a first baseman he had few superiors, but it was a gentlemanly and genial member of the profession that he was most popular. He covered first base for the old Browns after Dehlman left them. In 1877 he was a member of the famous Indianapolis Club that won the National Association championship, and his fielding record for the year leads that of all the first baseman in the country. For a short time in the season of 1878 he was on the Troy nine. Returning home he joined Cuthbert's Co-operative Browns, which team he led in fielding, and was near the head of the batting record. In 1880 and 1881 he played with local semi-professional clubs. The first game played here in 1881 was between the Stanfords and the Browns, and the former, who had Croft on first, won the trophy. That was about the last game he played in. For some reason the diamond became distasteful to him and he could not be induced to return to it. After retiring from the ball field he entered the employ of the wholesale dry goods house of Rice, Stix & Co., and remained with them until the time of his death.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 17, 1884

Our Usual Disregard To Righteousness

St. Louis, with its usual disregard to righteousness, chose last Sunday as a proper time to open the base ball season. A picked nine, consisting of Pearce, Pike, Croft, Seward, Dolan, Loftus, Magner, J. and A. Blong, defeated the amateur Grand Avenues by 13 to 3.

-Chicago Tribune, February 18, 1877

Just a few thoughts:

• That's a pretty good picked nine.
• February seems a bit early to be opening the baseball season. Most likely a game was played simply because the weather was nice.
• Leave it to a Chicago paper to take a swipe at the morals of St. Louisians.

A Few Important Announcements

I will be giving a presentation on the history of 19th century St. Louis baseball on August 20th as part of a fundraiser for the Missouri Civil War Museum.

As the flyer for the event says, "Come support the MCWM and spend an enjoyable dinner and evening with baseball historian Jeff Kittel as he takes us back to the origins of baseball in St. Louis. Learn how the game first arrived in the Gateway City, the effects of the Civil War on the game, its involvement in Jefferson Barracks, and its ultimate survival and prosperity in becoming our nation's favorite pastime. If you love baseball, the Civil War, and/or Jefferson Barracks, you must attend this event! Tickets are only $15 per person. All proceeds benefit the Missouri Civil War Museum's building campaign. Reservations are required by August 15, 2009."

How can you pass up an evening listening to me prattle on about baseball? And it's for a good cause. In all honesty, I'm really excited about this and looking forward to it. It should be a great deal of fun. If you enjoy the blog, you'll certainly enjoy a more organized presentation of the material and I'm certain that I'll throw in some of the super secret stuff that I've been keeping to myself. Plus, I believe that the museum is going to be a great addition to the community and to the study of 19th century St. Louis history. They need our support.

For more information or to get your tickets, call the MCWM at 314-845-0541 or visit the museum's website. Or you can always email me at thisgameofgames@gmail.com. Hope to see you there.

Also of interest: I just got back from a day of going through the microfilm at the St. Louis Public Library and have found some rather interesting things. The information should find its way up on the blog starting Saturday, August 1st, and run through the next twelve days or so. I think the information I found should reshape the way we look at the game in St. Louis during Civil War era. Not that I'm building this up or anything.

A New Empire Club

The Empire Base Ball Club have organized for the season of 1884 with the following players: J. Yule, c.; W. Fitzgerald, p.; Dougherty, 1b.; T. Stack, 2b.; Tom Gorman, 3b.; R. Nagel, s.s.; W. Noole, l.f.; H. Heine, c.f.; J. Downey, r.f. All challenges should be addressed to T. Gorman, 1430 Market street.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 11, 1884

The Young Brennan Base Ball Club defeated the Empire Club after a hard fought contest by a score of 12 to 8. The features of the game were the work of the Brennan's battery and the batting of Hogan and Dean.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 28, 1884

To the best of my knowledge, the last active season of the Empire Club was 1877. All references between 1878 and 1883 that I've seen refer to the club in the past tense. This 1884 Empire Club is not the same club that existed from 1860 to 1877 and dominated the local St. Louis amateur baseball scene.

However, this new club may have had a connection to the Empires of old. As the Globe noted, the catcher for the new club was J. Yule and James Yule was a member of the old club. Not only was Yule a member, he was a core member of the first nine during the club's championship run, playing the outfield and serving as field captain from 1861 to 1863 and also in 1868.

James Yule was born in 1836 and would have been almost fifty years old in 1884. In 1876, he appeared in what was essentially an old-timers game and had most likely retired from the game. While it's unlikely that a forty-eight year old man was catching for a local amateur club in 1884, it can't be ruled out.

The bottom line is that this 1884 Empire Club is not the champion 1860-1877 Empire Club.

A Couple Of Good Stories From Gus Schmelz

Manager Schmelz has an inexhaustible fund of baseball anecdotes. In a reminiscent mood the other evening he told of some of the ludicrous things he had seen on the ball field. Probably the funniest of these occurred here in Washington in 1886. In that year Mr. Schmelz was managing the St. Louis Maroons for Henry V. Lucas, who had at that time more money than he could use. But the story is told best in Manager Schmelz's own words.

"The Maroons," Mr. Schmelz said, "were a great team, with Jack Glasscock, Jerry Denny, Fred Dunlap, Al McKinnon, George Myers, and a lot of others just about as good. We arrived in Washington to play the Nationals, and in the game during the afternoon Al McKinnon had reached first base and George Myers was at the bat. McKinnon started for second just as Myers hit the ball on the nose. Hines was playing center for Washington and when the ball was hit it did not look as if Paul would get anywhere near it. By the time McKinnon had turned second it began to look as though Hines might get the ball, so Dunlap, who was coaching at third, yelled for McKinnon to go back. Just then Paul reached for the ball, barely touching but not holding it. By this time Jerry Denny, who was coaching at first, was yelling for Myers, who had turned back in disgust when he thought Hines was going to get the ball, to go on. In the excitement of the moment and the yelling of the balance of the team, who had in the mean while rushed up to the lines, McKinnon started back to first, while Myers ran on around to third. The two men met near second and Myers tried to head McKinnon off and turn him back toward third, but Al, who had been rendered nearly frantic by the noise and coaching cries, thinking Myers was one of the enemy trying to block him, gave George a shove which landed him on his back and continued back toward first. Meyers scrambled to his feet and chased himself up to third.

"Hines had now secured the ball, but seeing one of the Maroons breaking for third while another was running still harder to get back to first, Paul didn't know what to do. Finally he ran in with the ball in his hands, accompanied by the whole Washington team. He found McKinnon, who should have been on third, safely perched on first while Meyers, who belonged on first, was wildly clutching third with both hands.

"Now ensued one of the funniest scenes ever witnessed on a ball field. Paul first went up and touched Meyers with the ball then he was dragged by his club mates over to first for he would not relinquish his hold on the ball to touch McKinnon. Then they changed their minds and dragged Paul back to third and made him touch Meyers again. Needless to say that by this time the procession back and forth across the diamond had been joined by all the Maroons, who had the Umpire in their midst, and were arguing and gesticulating as they dragged that official from one side of the diamond to the other. All this combined with the howls, yells and laughter of the audience, so confused the umpire that it was fully half an hour before he could give a decision and all that time the Senators determined to make sure of at least one man dragged Hines and the ball from third to first and first to third, touching first one man and then the other, according to the direction in which the umpire seemed to be inclined to give his decision. The Maroons, equally determined not to have either man declared out, dragged the poor umpire in the wake of the other procession. Taken altogether the scene was too funny to be described.

"The most remarkable play I ever saw," continued Mr. Schmelz, "was made on the St. George grounds, Staten Island, when Erastus Wiman owned the Metropolitans. I was managing the Cincinnati team at the time. Jim Keenan, of Indianapolis, was the mainstay catcher of our aggregation, and he was the receiving end of the battery that day. A foul tip struck his hands, went straight up in the air, fell on top of his head (he had his cap on), rolled up against the edge of his mask and stayed there. Keenan reached up, picked the ball off the top of his head and the umpire declared the batter out."

-Washington Post, April 1, 1894

The King Of Second Base

Filed under "beating a dead horse":

Fred Dunlap has at last succumbed to the inducements of Nimick. The famous second baseman was visited by the Pittsburg magnate last Sunday, and the two held a conference in the Continental. Dunlap will not admit that he was agreed to play at a much lower figure than what he said he would. But it is true nevertheless. He clung to the last moment to the price of his salary last season, $5,000, but now the once "king second baseman" has fallen like all other big men of history. He is to get, so a good authority says, the sum of $3,500 for his season's work.

-Chicago Tribune, March 30, 1890

Fred Dunlap Signed

The King of Second Base Will Play With the Washington Team

...The terms of Fred Dunlap were accepted tonight, and he will play with the National Club, of Washington, next season.

-Washington Post, February 6, 1891

Charley Sweasey, Al Reach, Jimmy Wood, Ross Barnes, John Burdock and Fred Dunlap were the great second basemen of the past...

-Boston Daily Globe, November 1, 1891

Here we have Dunlap described as "famous," "the once 'king second baseman,'" "The King of Second Base," and one of "the great second basemen of the past" but, remember, he was never a legitimate star in a legitimate league.

He Was A Professional; He Played For Money

There's a really interesting article in the March 23, 1890 edition of the Chicago Tribune that lists the salaries of players who had jumped to the PL, with numbers taken from the 1890 Spalding Guide. Since Dunlap was, to put it mildly, motivated by money, I thought I'd list his salary numbers from 1882 to 1889:

• 1882: $1300
• 1883: no salary listed
• 1884: no salary listed
• 1885: no salary listed
• 1886: $4500
• 1887: $4500
• 1888: $7000
• 1889: $5000

In yesterday's post, I listed his 1884 salary as $3200 and his 1885 salary as $4000. I have no idea what he was making in 1883 but I seriously doubt it was more than $2000.

Dunlap's Contract

Fred Dunlap has determined to go to St. Louis. Last week he signed a two years' contract with Lucas, receiving for his first year $3,200 and $4,000 for the second year, the largest salary ever paid a ball player.-Philadelphia Item.

-Washington Post, March 16, 1884

Blong's Contract With The Brown Stockings

Blong was called in at the meeting last night, but declined to say anything of consequence. He expressed himself outside as totally indifferent to the action of the club, and well he might be, for he had in his pocket at the time a written contract for the year beginning November 1 with the St. Louis Base Ball Association at $1,500. That contract was executed at the Gibson House yesterday.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat (quoting the Cincinnati Enquirer), September 23, 1875

If I have all the dates lined up correctly, Blong was signed by the Brown Stockings on September 20, 1875. This was two days after the "incident" and the same day he was expelled from the Stars (but before he met with the club). Any speculation on my part that Blong had signed before the Stars/Ludlow game was wrong. However, it's still likely that Blong was talking to the Brown Stockings about a contract prior to the game.

And I'm Not Done With The Subject Just Yet

Just before the above game commenced, the St. Louis Brown Stockings, in full uniform, appeared on the field. They had gone to Cumminsville, to play the Blue Stockings, but it seems that the latter had made arrangements for the game to come off to-day. The game, however, is off, and the Browns will, we understand, play the Ludlows to-day, and the Reds to-morrow. After practicing a while on the Blue Stocking Grounds, during which Dehlman, first baseman, had the misfortune to lose his pocket book, containing a sum of money and a railroad ticket, which he would like to have returned, the Browns retired in disgust, and visited the grounds of the Reds, where they were provided with pleasant seats to witness the game. Cuthbert, the center-fielder, was pressed into service to umpire the game, and gave perfect satisfaction.-[Cincinnati Gazette]

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 20, 1875

I think this is a rather amusing story about Herman Dehlman and also gives you a different view of what life on the road was like for a club during the period. It appears that the Browns had scheduled the game with the Blue Stockings on September 16. Also note that there is no mention of a game with Philadelphia.

On Neutral Ground (or It's About Frakkin' Time)

It's like we finally get to New Brunswick and instead of finding a White Castle we find a Burger Shack. For those who don't know what that means, all I can say is: Let's burn it down, Pookie!

The following detailed account of the Brown Stockings' game with the Philadelphias, on Wednesday, is clipped from the Cincinnati Commercial:

The seventh game of the championship series between the Philadelphia Club and the Brown Stockings, of St. Louis, was played at Ludlow Park yesterday, in the presence of about 600 spectators. It was a necessity with both clubs to play the game, as the season is drawing to a close, and the clubs entered for the the whip pennant have too many games yet to play to permit of their passing a day in idleness, or in playing semi-amateur clubs, such as the Stars and Ludlows. As a pecuniary speculation the affair was a failure, but as an exhibition of the beauties of the "National Lunacy" it was considerable of a success.

The St. Louis team was as strong a one as the club can muster. Seward was the only substitute in the list, and he fielded and batted up to the highest standard. The Philadelphia nine was also composed of the picked players of the club, and every man at the outset of the game was in his home position. Mr. Mack, of the Star Club, was chosen umpire, and called play at 3: 40 p.m., with the Philadelphias at the bat, they having lost the toss.

The Quakers opened the play in a style that augured well for their success. Murnan and McGeary, the first two strikers, made clean hits for bases, and were each in turn thrown out while attempting to steal second. The throwing of Miller and the skill with which Battin handled the ball are deserving of special note, as the men who were put out in this manner are among the best runners and base stealers in the profession. Their failure to play this point had a very dampening effect on their comrades, and proportionately elated the Browns.

When the St. Louis nine went to the bat, Pike made his base on an error of Murnan after Cuthbert had been retired. Base hits by Battin and Pearce followed, and Pike scored his run, being helped to it by Addy's failure to stop Pearce's hit for a single base. Bradley drove a hot grounder to Fulmer, who failed to stop it, as also did McMullen at center field, these errors giving two more runs to St. Louis. There the tally stopped, however, and no runs were scored on either side in the following inning. In the third inning the Philadelphias got their third blinder, while on a one-base hit by Pearce, and a two-baser by Bradley, two runs were added to the St. Louis score, completing their total for the game. Neither of these runs was earned, as McGeary's carelessness gave Pearce a life at second base on a hit that Addy fielded in promptly enough to have nabbed him had McGeary been quick enough in putting the ball on to Dickey.

The Philadelphias failed to score until the ninth inning. In the fourth inning, Addy was left on third base, and in the seventh inning Meyerle was thrown out at home base while attempting to run in on Miller's throw to Battin to catch Fulmer, who, as a substitute for Snyder, was stealing to second. Meyerle's hit in this inning sent the ball over center field fence, but he was restricted to one base on it. In the ninth inning McGeary made a good base hit to left field, and got second on a wild return of the ball by Cuthbert. A passed ball gave him third, and he came in at Addy's expense, that tricky player hitting to right field and being thrown out at first by Battin.

There were some very clever plays in this game. Battin and Miller, of the St. Louis Club, guarded their positions splendidly, and while Miller's throws were made quickly and accurately, Battin was always on hand to hold them, and it was like walking into a man trap for a Philadelphia player to endeavor to steal to second base. Battin's fielding record in this game is a most remarkable one. Pearce also played well both in the field and at the bat, and displayed his usual excellent judgment in directing his men in their plays.

Te best playing done on the Philadelphia side was done by Meyerle, Snyder and McGeary. Snyder caught without an error, although the pitching at times was quite irregular. Fulmer played poorly at short field, and in the fourth inning was transferred to third base, where he rendered a better account of himself. After this inning McGeary played at short and Meyerle at second base. Addy had one error at right field, but played a lively, skillful game. The victory was the fifth to be placed to the credit of the St. Louis Club, although the Philadelphias in one of the two games of the series in which they were successful, scored sixteen runs against nine consecutive whitewashes of their opponents.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 24, 1875

The final score to this rather odd game was 5-1 in favor of the Brown Stockings.

So the first two batters get on for Philadelphia but are both thrown out trying to steal and then later Bob Addy gets a hit and drives in a run only to be thrown out at first. That's a good bit of strangeness. I don't think I've ever seen the first two batters of a game get on and then thrown out stealing.

Also, we have the Commercial's take on why the game was played in Ludlow: "It was a necessity with both clubs to play the game, as the season is drawing to a close, and the clubs entered for the the whip pennant have too many games yet to play to permit of their passing a day in idleness, or in playing semi-amateur clubs, such as the Stars and Ludlows." The game had to be played because the season was almost over and a club couldn't be wasting their time playing the Stars and the Luds. But wasn't that exactly what St. Louis and Philadelphia were doing? It's kind of a non-explanation. It doesn't address why specifically St. Louis and Philadelphia were playing in Ludlow on September 22, 1875 but rather generally addresses the idea that they needed to play. The game was played because it was necessary to play the game.

What was Philadelphia doing in Cincinnati? We know the Brown Stockings were there wasting their time playing the Stars and the Luds. Did they arrange to meet in the city and play? Was the game arranged before the Brown Stockings left St. Louis? Was the game arranged at the last minute as a matter of convenience?

I think after a week's worth of posts on the topic I may have more questions then when I started looking into this. But that's life. And I was going to post the "Burn it down, Pookie!" clip for you but decided that, besides being NSFW, it was seriously inappropriate at a family-friendly blog like TGOG. But here's the link. Just don't play it around the children.

And Here's Where It Gets A Little Interesting

The Globe reported on September 21, 1875 that the Brown Stockings were "expected home from their Cincinnati trip tomorrow." No mention of Philadelphia or a game on the 22nd.

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Whites were playing Hartford in Cincinnati on the 21st and winning 13-8. Also, they played Chicago in Cincinnati on September 23, winning 5-0. Philadelphia played three league games in Cincinnati in three days against three different opponents. So I think it's safe to say that the Philadelphia club was the impetus behind the league games in the Cincinnati area.

The question I have is whether or not the game between the Brown Stockings and Philadelphia was scheduled before the two clubs arrived in Cincinnati. I don't think that it's totally clear. There is no advance mention of the game between the two clubs while the paper does mention the upcoming games with the Stars and Luds. Is it possible that the two clubs happened to me in Cincinnati at the same time and decided to get in a championship game while they had the chance? More research is certainly needed and I don't have easy access to the necessary newspapers in Cincinnati and Philadelphia. It would be interesting to see if the papers in those cities mentioned the game in advance.

However, the game doesn't fit the scheduled pattern of the Brown Stockings' league games. It stand out like a sore thumb. It's possible that the club had scheduled some games against local teams in Cincinnati during a lull in the league schedule and Philadelphia, for whatever reason, had scheduled some games in the area as well towards the end of the Brown Stockings visit. Once the two clubs realised that they were both in town, maybe they decided to arrange a match. One possible reason the game was played in Ludlow rather than in Cincinnati (like Philadelphia's games on September 21 and 23) is that it was arranged at the last minute and the Luds' grounds was the only available park.

Tomorrow: The long awaited, heavily anticipated and certain to disappoint post on the Brown Stockings/Philadelphia game in Ludlow, Kentucky.

The Brown Stockings In Kentucky (or Play Harder And With Less Errors)

This is starting to remind me of The Monster At The End Of This Book, which, by the way, was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. Let's see if we can move this along.

The Brown Stockings came to the Cincinnati area, as we've seen, on September 15, 1875 and played the Covington Stars, winning 12-8. Right around this time they signed Joe Blong to a contract for 1876, possibly leading to Blong's "incident" during the Stars/Ludlow exhibition a few days later. On September 17, they played the Luds, winning 27-6. The next day, the Brown Stockings played the Cincinnati Red Stockings:

The Cincinnati Commercial thus describes the unsatisfactory finish of Saturday's game between St. Louis and Cincinnati:

Ninth Inning-Clark went out at first, Sweasy on a fly to the pitcher, and Nichols out at first.

Browns-The game now stood 12 to 9 in favor of the Reds, and a half inning yet to be played by the Browns. Pike, with a safe hit, reached first. Battin struck a fly to right field, which was taken by Wardell very close to the ground. The umpire decided it out, and Pike, who had run to second, was declared out at first. The Browns declared that the ball had not been fairly caught, but picked up. The question was noisily quarreled over by the two clubs, and a crowd of spectators who had rushed in. The umpire holding to his decision, the Captain of the Browns refused to finish the game, and so it ended, the umpire deciding the result to be 9 to 0 in favor of the Reds. It was an unfortunate termination. The Browns, of course, claim that they were unfairly used by the umpire, but there is another side on that claim. Had the Browns paid less attention to the cheers of the crowd for the Cincinnati Club, taken less to heart the decisions of the umpire against them, and played harder and with less errors, it is not at all unlikely that they would have come out winners. But if, under these circumstances, they had played the game out and been beaten in the end, they would stand in a better light before the base ball public than they now do.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 21, 1875

Dickey Pearce stated later that the reason the Browns left the field was that they thought there were three outs and the game was over. I'm not sure that that's believable.

To wrap this up, on September 20 the Brown Stockings made a trip to Louisville to play the Joe Ellick and the Eagles, winning 11-3. Also, on the same day, Philadelphia arrived in Cincinnati and defeated the Reds (Cincinnati, not St. Louis) by a score of 6-5.

Dillon Injured (Again)

Packie Dillon, of the Stars, was so seriously hurt on Tuesday, that he had to be taken home in a carriage.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 17, 1875

Dillon had a tough season. To add insult to injury (literally), Dillon was hurt in the game against his old teammates on the Reds.

And, yes, I'm really going to get to the Browns/Philadelphia game in Ludlow on September 22 but I want to build up a bit of dramatic tension first.

Interfering Considerably

Another interesting aspect to the Brown Stockings trip to Cincinnati and their game against Philadelphia in Ludlow (which, I promise, I'm getting to) is that the Reds happened to be in the area at the same time. All quotes come from the September 16, 1875 edition of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

The Ludlows still maintain their reputation for quarreling on the ball-field, as the following extract from an account of their game with the St. Louis Reds, on Monday, will demonstrate:

It was clear to the unprejudiced eye that Warner and Doescher had quarreled, but what the misunderstanding could be about, was less easy to determine. Some conjectured that it was on account of the double play in the previous inning which Warner had been instrumental in making, and which only a fortunate muff had enabled him to make. By the persons sitting nearest the parties as they sat on the bench awaiting their turn at the bat, the difficulty is interpreted to have been about the respective batting qualities of the two. Warner is somewhat proud of his reputation as the safest man at the bat of the whole nine. He seems to have grown irritated at the chaff of his companion, and to have taken umbrage at language such as he and other members habitually used towards each other. He suddenly made some statement. Doescher retorted as quickly, but with a smile, "You are a liar." The words were no sooner uttered than they were greeted with a blow that landed on Doescher's nose. The fight was on instantly, but was stopped by the intervention of Jones and other players. Warner walked off the field with a torn shirt, and refused to reappear.

Fantastic story. Made me thing of Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent. The Reds, by the way, beat the Luds 8-1.

The next day the Reds played the Stars, losing 8-5:

Oran, of the Reds, played right field magnificently, and drew forth the applause of every spectator by a grand running catch, taken single-handed, and then throwing to second base, putting out his man. Houtz, at first base, and Collins in left field, played elegantly, neither one making an error in the game.

The Stars were behind in their score until the ninth inning, when, by a combination of brilliant batting and good luck, they added six to their runs, putting them ahead, and winning the game amidst the wildest huzzas.

You really can't beat a combination of brilliant batting and good luck.

The Brown Stockings came to town the next day and played the Stars. The Globe had this to say:

The Browns have hopped over to Cincinnati, and yesterday played the Stars, thereby interfering considerably with the gate receipts of the St. Louis Reds in their game with the Cincinnatis.

This is not to imply that the Brown Stockings specifically planned to go to Cincinnati at the same time as the Reds and steal their box office but we are still looking for reasons why the club was in the area and spite can be added to the possibilities. Not to take the idea too seriously but there was a rivalry between the Brown Stockings and the Reds, as much in the front office as on the field. McNeary had been involved in the organization of the Brown Stockings until such time as it was apparent that the club was going to play its home games at the Grand Avenue grounds rather than on Compton Avenue. Brown Stocking management could not have been pleased with McNeary's decision to place the Reds in the NA and their refusal to schedule more than two games against the upstarts is, I believe, evidence of this. Both clubs probably believed that the other had negatively affected their finances.

So we can consider the possibility that the Brown Stockings, with some time on their hands, travelled to Cincinnati on the heals of the Reds simply to cut into their box office. It's a bit far fetched but, considering the relationship between the two clubs, not out of the question.

Note: Weren't we talking at some point about players making one-handed outfield catches and the rarity of such things? Can't remember but Oran's catch is an obvious example of such a thing and it was remarked upon in several different papers. I would argue that the fact that it was remarked upon in all game accounts I've come across and the brilliancy of the play was universally noted would mean that one-handed outfield catches were still rather rare.

There Is No Such Thing As Coincidence, Just The Illusion Of Coincidence

After returning from an eighteen game Eastern road trip, the Brown Stockings played thirteen of fourteen games at home, interrupted only by the game they played against Philadelphia in Ludlow on September 22, 1875. But that's not really what I want to talk about at the moment. Don't despair; I'll be getting to that game shortly.

If one looks at the schedule, the Brown Stockings were at home from August 12, when they played the Athletics, through September 13, when they played Hartford. They had the game against Philadelphia on September 22 and then returned home to play Philadelphia three more times at home, starting on September 27. The pertinent question is what was the club doing on those eight days when they didn't have a championship game scheduled?

By September 15, the Brown Stockings were in the Cincinnati area playing baseball and they remained there through the 22nd. But, again, this isn't what I want to write about. This post isn't really about the Brown Stockings. This is actually a post about Joe Blong.

Follow along:

-The Brown Stockings arrive in the Cincinnati area by September 15 and play a game against the Stars which they win 12-8 (and which was umpired by Charlie Sweasy).

-On September 18, the Stars play the Ludlows in an exhibition game and lose 7-5 to their rivals. Joe Blong is suspended after the game. Rumors fly that Blong had "sold" the game and/or was drunk during the game.

-Blong is expelled from the club on September 20 and there are reports that he had already signed a contract with the Brown Stockings for the 1876 season. During his hearing, Blong is rather defiant towards the trustees of the club and one explanation for this is that he has a contract for $1,500 from the Brown Stockings for next season.

So we now know how Blong signed with the Brown Stockings for 1876. The Brown Stockings were in the area playing baseball and actually had a game against the Stars in which Blong pitched. One can assume that the contract was offered to Blong sometime between September 15 and September 20 and that this contract colored Blong's view of his service with the Stars. It's possible that Blong already had a contract with the Brown Stockings before the Ludlow exhibition game and, if this is true, his behavior in the game should be interpreted in that context. Blong was a St. Louis native, had arranged to play with one of the top clubs in the country for the following season in his home town and was already fixed on his future rather than on endeavours in Covington. He had no loyalty to Covington or the Stars and probably couldn't care less about the rivalry with Ludlow. Blong was headed back home to play baseball at the highest level and, as far as he was concerned, the Stars could go pound sand.

It's arguable that the Brown Stockings' trip to the Cincinnati area lead directly to Blong's blow up with Covington and the beginning of his reputation as a crooked ballplayer.

Abandonment

To add to his other troubles, it is now rumored that Joe Ellick, captain of that nine, has abandoned them to accept a position with the Eagles of Louisville. It certainly is to be hoped that the association will take such cases in hand and deal with them severely, which they, no doubt, will in all the cases where the jumpers come under their discipline...Your correspondent has been credibly informed that in the case of Blong, he was released by McNeary before joining the Covington Stars. Both (Ellick) and McSorley are absent with the club on a trip through Ohio, but both will, no doubt, have something to say in defense of their action...

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 15, 1875

I really like the use of the word "abandoned" to describe Ellick, Blong, et al. leaving the Reds in 1875. It seems fitting.

The two most interesting things in this piece is that Ellick was "captain of that nine" after Sweasy and that Blong is "credibly" reported to have secured his release from the club before joining Covington. I think that little facts like Ellick serving as captain adds needed detail to what we already understand about the broad picture while there are still questions about how Blong left the Reds.

And if you can't tell, I'm working my way (in my own meandering style) up to the Brown Stockings' September 22 game against Philadelphia in Ludlow, Kentucky.

The Pioneer Baseball Era In St. Louis And The Civil War

I have an article up at the Missouri Civil War Museum, entitled The Pioneer Baseball Era in St. Louis and the Civil War. The piece discusses the origins of baseball in antebellum St. Louis and the effects of the Civil War on the games development in the city, as well as attempting to put these developments in a national context. Follow the link and give it a read if you have the time. It's a more organized presentation of a great deal of the information that I've posted here as well as a reflection of my thinking after working on the Pioneer Project (whose publication sadly seems to have been pushed back to Spring of 2011).

I should also take this opportunity to thank John Maurath from the museum for his work on the article. John edited the overly long piece, added a preface and note about Al Spink, and also placed the pictures into the article. He did a great job with it and I'm very appreciative of his time and effort. While you

Al Spink Testifies

Alfred H. Spink, formerly secretary of the Browns, and at present a sporting writer on one of the local dailies, was the first witness called. He testified to the organization of the St. Louis Baseball association by himself, his brother, the late William Spink, and William Pennoyer. This organization, according to Mr. Spink, formed the St. Louis Browns during the season of 1881 and their games were played on the grounds of Sportsman's Park and club on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. The St. Louis Baseball association, said Mr. Spink later on, had a contract with Sportsman's Park and club whereby they got 90 per cent of the gross gate receipts, the corporation getting 10 per cent of the gate, reserved seats were sold, and all other privileges, such as sale of score cards, etc. When the season of 1881 had been completed he and his associates turned over their baseball interests to Von der Ahe, who continued the arrangements with Sportsman's Park and club.

-Chicago Daily Tribune, January 19, 1899

Spink was testifying in the suit brought by the Missouri Valley Trust Company against the Sportsman's Park and Club Association. Von der Ahe was arguing that his baseball club and the Sportsman's Park and Club Association were two separate entities in an attempt to stop the seizure of the ball club. He eventually lost that argument but as a result of the suit we have Spink's testimony about the founding of the Browns.

Reds/Star Ad From 1875

This ad for a June 14, 1875 game between the Reds and Stars was sent to me by Cam Miller. Much thanks.