A New Major League: The Origin of the American Association
A passage from Preston D. Orem’s booklet on the 1882 season
Before I return next week to my “Pictorial Chronology of Baseball in the 19th Century,” I’d like to present an account of how the National League came to be challenged by a rival in 1881–1882.The account is printed verbatim from a scarce yet invaluable set of ten booklets published by Preston D. Orem of Altadena, California in 1966–1967. Each of the ten spiral-bound copies was titled Baseball from the Newspaper Accounts and was devoted to a single year in baseball, from 1882 through 1891. This period coincides precisely with the tenure of the American Association, which Major League Baseball recognizes as the first of several big-league rivals to the National League, founded in 1876. (The others are the Union Association of 1884, the Players’ League of 1890, the American League of 1901 to date, and the Federal League of 1914–1915.)
I apologize in advance if my inability to locate the deceased author’s heirs to secure permission to reprint gives offense to any rightsholder; copyright law makes provision for fair use of “orphan works” and I have relied upon that understanding. Of course I invite any member of the Orem family to correct my view. In the absence of such correction, it is my intention to publish, over time,the entirety of Orem’s uniquely conceived opus.
Among the principal independent teams of the year 1881 were the St. Louis Browns, Cincinnati Reds, Metropolitans of New York, Atlantics of Brooklyn, Athletics of Philadelphia, and Eclipse of Louisville. The Browns and Metropolitans had enjoyed prosperous seasons; Cincinnati had drawn good crowds; the others well enough to encourage further operation.
With so many of the principal cities of the country not having clubs in the National League, the organization of a rival was inevitable. In fact, it seems strange it was not attempted sooner than it was. One reason probably was the fact that the National League was not especially prosperous and at times seemed upon the brink of disaster.
The Cincinnati League club of 1880 had a disastrous season and went into bankruptcy. Four hundred dollars being needed to satisfy a judgment arising out of a lumber bill, the money was put up by Justus Thorner, O. P. Caylor, Louis Kramer, John Price, George Herancourt, and V. H. Long. Aaron Stern later purchased the interest of Price in Cincinnati.
A Cincinnati team was organized in 1881 and played Sunday games mostly, traveling to St. Louis, Louisville, and Pittsburgh for games. Attendance, especially at St. Louis, was encouraging. Conceiving the idea of a second major league, Caylor and Thorner talked it over, then called a meeting at Pittsburgh for October 10, 1881. When the Cincinnati men, accompanied by Frank B. Wright, arrived at Pittsburgh, they found no one else at hand.
Determined nevertheless to organize the league they interested H. D. McKnight of Pittsburgh. After wiring other clubs for proxies, a meeting was held informally in the office of McKnight and a decision reached to call a meeting in Cincinnati on November 2, 1881.
The Cincinnati meeting was attended by Thorner, Caylor, and Long of Cincinnati; Lew Simmons and Charles Mason of the Athletics; J. H. Pank and J. W. Reccius of Eclipse of Louisville; H. D. McKnight of Alleghany of Pittsburgh; Chris Von der Ahe and D.S. Reid of St. Louis; William Barnie of the Atlantics of Brooklyn; Charlie Fulmer of the Philadelphia club.
Philadelphia was ruled out and the Athletics were admitted. The American Association of Base Ball clubs was organized with the other six clubs as members. The title of the St.Louis entry was “Sportsmen’s Park and Club Association, St. Louis Brown Stockings, St. Louis.”
Officers selected were: H. D. McKnight, president; J. H. Pank, vice-president; James A. Williams of Columbus, secretary. Williams had been the secretary of the old International Association, later the National Association, a minor league of the years 1877–1880.
The constitution of the American Association provided for the admission of additional clubs to membership from cities not already represented. A significant omission which was to greatly plague and weaken the Association in the future was the entire absence of any provision for continuation of membership. That is, any club was free to withdraw from the Association at any time. A club could be expelled for failure to play out its games or complete its schedule; for throwing games; allowing open betting or pool selling on the grounds; playing games with a disqualified club; use of an ineligible player, manager or umpire; failure to appear for a game without reasonable cause; failure to pay its dues to the Association, to pay the visiting club’s guarantee, to obey an order of the board of directors, or willful violation of the Association constitution or rules.
Club dues were fixed at $50 per year; the secretary was to receive a salary. Any director publishing information of a closed meeting without Association permission was subject to removal.
The visiting club’s guarantee was to be paid by the home club to the visitors before they left the grounds after the game in the form of cash or a certified check, the amount to be $65 per game.
Receipts of holiday games were to be equally divided between the home team and the visitors, there being no guarantee.
All contracts were to be made upon forms furnished by the Association. The clubs would file them with the secretary of the Association who would certify the documents, list them upon his records and re turn them to the club. Substitutes might be used for not to exceed five consecutive games without a written contract.
Any player who should sign a contract with two or more clubs was subject to expulsion. A released player might sign with another club on release. Unless released at his own request, fault or disability, a player dropped would be entitled to a half month’s salary.
No Association club might sign a player expelled or suspended by another Association club. This rule was also made applicable to the list of players blacklisted by the [National] League for dishonesty or drunkenness before March 15, 1882. But any player added to the League blacklist after that date might appeal to the board of directors of the Association for a clearance.
The maximum penalty for drunkenness, insubordination, dishonorable or disreputable conduct, was fixed at suspension for the balance of the season, plus the entire following season.
The Alleghany club of Pittsburgh was organized on October 15, 1881, with H. D. McKnight as president and Ed C. Hetzel as secretary. A fund was to be raised of at least $5,000 to finance the team.
The Eclipse club of Louisville for the year 1881 included John Reccius as pitcher; Crotty as catcher; McLaughlin, Fred Pfeffer, Sommer and Pete Browning in the infield; and “Chicken” Wolf, Barkalow and Zimmerman in the outfield. The substitute was John Dyler. Sommer signed with Cincinnati for 1882, Fred Pfeffer with the Troy Leaguers, Browning, Reccius and Wolf became members of the 1882 Louisville club, Crotty played a few games, John Dyler was the non-playing manager.
On November 19th, St. Louis announced the engagement of Ned Cuthbert as playing manager; Dave Reid would handle the business end.
The Cincinnati club met on November 16th, elected Justus Thorner president, Victor H. Long vice-president, George Herancourt, secretary and treasurer.
The Athletics had been a modest success on a cooperative basis in 1881. The owners themselves had gone out to Oakdale Park and repaired the decrepit stands sufficiently for use. A set of second hand uniforms was acquired.
On December 3rd, the Athletics were “reorganizing” with a “cooperative” management of Charlie Mason, who had played with the Philadelphia Centennials in 1875; Billy Sharsig, known as a theatrical manager; and Charlie Fulmer, well known ballplayer. Lew Simmons, who had played with the Athletics of 1866, had been engaged as manager. At the time, Fulmer was acting manager of a troupe that was playing “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” around Long Island. When Charlie learned that an initial investment of $200 was required from him in the “reorganization” he was not inclined to make the investment. So Lew Simmons became the third owner and before long was wearing big diamonds. Headquarters were located at 135 North 8th Street. Oakdale Park was to be enlarged and leveled; the pavilion rebuilt of fresh materials and “of a size to accommodate the expected crowds.” The Athletics were completing their team with George “Jumbo” Latham as first baseman and captain.
Among the players signed by the Athletics was John “Dasher” Troy who had played a few games with Detroit in 1881. Then Troy “jumped” back to Detroit. When the Athletics complained to that club the following somewhat “contemptuous” communication was received:
Mr. Lew Simmons — Sir: I am in receipt of your favor of the 18th inst. and would say that Mr. Troy has very correctly informed you that he has been signed to play with the Detroit Ball Club, and I will also add he will so play the forthcoming season. I do not know anything about your association, or about your claim that Mr. Troy has previously signed with you; if he wronged you in any respect, of course, as you say, you may expel him, and have the courts open to you for redress. I request that in any proceedings you make take against him, you will make this club party to the proceedings. Very truly yours, W.G. Thompson.
Secretary Williams of the American Association stated that each club in the association, the visiting team receiving only a $65 guarantee, must support itself from receipts of home games, whereas the National League which operated on the percentage plan, visiting clubs receiving 40% of the receipts, was “the retreat of indigent clubs, where the rich clubs support the poor ones.”
President McKnight of the Association issued a lengthy statement to the press in which he stated that it was hard to comprehend the assurance of men who insisted that no other clubs but theirs should exist except as League “hangers on” although the six clubs which were members of the Association represented a population of 2,370, 000 by the 1880 census, as compared with eight League clubs representing a population of 1,516,000. McKnight quoted League president [William A.] Hulbert as stating on November 27, 1881, that he could not see how “one association of baseball clubs could hurt another.” Yet now the League was stealing Association players.
During January, 1882, Sam Wise, who had signed with Cincinnati of the Association, broke his contract by signing with Boston of the League.
Late in the same month Bill Barnie, representative of the Atlantics at the Association meet, was doubtful as to whether the Brooklynites would remain in the Association as some objections were being made by the owners of the Atlantics with respect to the $65 guarantee in lieu of a percentage division of gate receipts.
On January 28th Holbert, who had accepted $50 in advance money from the Alleghanies, signed with Troy of the League.
The Athletics were to be uniformed in drab color pants, caps and shirts, red stockings and neckties. They had awarded a contract for a grandstand to be 200 feet long, seating 1,500 in its three sections. The chairs of their season ticket holders were to have cane seats; a separate section would be provided for ladies and their escorts. The reporters’ stand located upon the top of the pavilion would accommodate twenty. A special meeting of the American Association was held at the Continental Hotel, Philadelphia, on March 13, 1882. The following representatives of member clubs and other interested clubs were present: H.D. McKnight of Alleghany; Pank of Eclipse; Von der Ahe and Reid of St. Louis; Thorner and Caylor of Cincinnati; Fulmer and Simmons of the Athletics; Barnie and A.B. Rankin of the Atlantics; H. C. Myers and C. C. Waite of Baltimore; James Mutrie of the Metropolitans of New York; Fergy Malone of Atlantic City; J. Sheldon of the Alfred Merrills of Camden, New Jersey.
It was decided that each club should have one vote. The delegates went into a closed session for the purpose of voting upon club admissions. Whereupon, the resignation of the Atlantics was accepted and the Baltimore club admitted to membership.
The cases of contract breakers Troy, Wise and Holbert were considered. A decision was made not to expel the players but to make a test case of the Wise matter at Association expense.
Simmons and Pank were elected directors to succeed Fulmer and Barnie, no longer eligible for the board.
A motion to adopt the League blacklist of players was defeated. A schedule was adopted and the Mahn ball selected. A list of approved umpires was promulgated. The policy of umpires traveling with visiting clubs being considered undesirable, the selection of the umpires from the approved list was left entirely up to the home clubs, who were also to pay the officials.
The objections of the St. Louis and Cincinnati clubs to the rule adopted at the earlier meeting, prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages in the ball parks, were granted without an objection and the rule abrogated, after the two clubs pointed out that their bars would represent a net profit per season of four to five thousand dollars to each club.
The following rules, among others, were adopted by the directors.
Damaged balls not fit for play were to be replaced at once. If a lost ball was not found after a five minute search, a replacement would be had.
No substitutions were allowable during a game except in cases of an injury to a player or his illness.
The pitching box was fixed as a space four feet wide and six feet long, fifty feet distant from the home plate. The pitcher was required to deliver the ball with his pitching arm perpendicular and his pitching hand below his waist.
A batter was allowed three strikes and walked on seven balls. He could not take his base if hit by the pitcher, this counting the same as a foul ball, never a strike.
A foul caught upon the first bound was an out as was a foul ball or foul tip caught by the catcher.
The catcher stood some distance behind the plate as long as the bags were untenanted, moving up only with men on base.
The single umpire stationed himself behind the plate at all times.
Upon stepping up to the plate the batter could signify to the umpire his choice of a high or a low ball but could not change the selection during his time at bat. And if he failed to specify the type of ball desired before a ball had been legally delivered he forfeited the option of a selection. A “high” ball was a ball delivered over the plate higher than the belt of a batsman but no higher than his shoulder. A “low” ball was a ball delivered over the plate not higher than the batsman’s belt nor lower than his knee. Thus, to constitute a called strike, the ball must not only be over the plate but at the height specified by the batsman.
The foregoing rules were similar to those of the National League.
Louisville uniforms were of light gray material with red trimmings on gray caps and red stockings.
The uniform selected by the St. Louis Browns was pure white pants and shirts with the old time brown stockings and caps.
Cincinnati was to appear in perhaps the gaudiest set of uniforms ever designed before or since for a professional ball team. All of the players were to wear red stockings and white pants but shirts and caps of different colors were assigned as follows, the shirts being of heavy silk: Sny der, captain and catcher, scarlet; White, pitcher, sky blue; Rowe, first base, red and white; McPhee, second base, black and yellow; Fulmer, shortstop, maroon; Carpenter, third base, gray and white; Sommer, left field, white; Kemmler, center field, red and black; Stearns, right field, gray; Macullar, utility, brown. McCormick, the change pitcher and extra man, who was signed later, was appropriately assigned the color green. Those of two colors had alternate stripes running up and down. “In the words of the saw, they must be seen to be appreciated.”
Although the League and the Association were “feuding” over the three “contract jumpers” all parties wanted to play interleague exhibition games to derive the revenue which these contests would bring, badly needed by most of the clubs.
Detroit made a gesture of appearing to “release” [Dasher] Troy without actually doing so, then “reinstated” him after the close of the exhibition season, a device loudly condemned by the management of the Athletics. Cincinnati occupied grounds on Bank Street. No beer, liquor or cigars were to be sold in the grand stand, to which ladies were especially invited, nor was smoking allowed there. The 25 cent section was divided from the rest of the grounds by a fence between it and the grand stand and pavilion, admission being 50 cents to the grand stand and 35 cents to the pavilion. Complimentary tickets were entirely barred except to members of the press.
Opening of the exhibition season in Cincinnati saw a bitter cold day but 800 “cranks” were out with their hands in their overcoat pockets to witness a very creditable showing by the home nine against the Cleveland Leaguers who were held to a 4 to 2 victory. It was said: Cleveland made more fuss, did more kicking and howled longer and louder than if the game had been the deciding one in a league championship race. George Washington Bradley, Cleveland pitcher, the “eminent bully,” consumed fifteen minutes at one time with his vile abuse and persistent cussedness. This was in the Cincinnati half of the first inning. With two men already on base, Snyder was walked on seven balls, filling the bases. Bradley then made the silly contention that Association rules called for eight balls. Snyder finally to get the game going again agreed to eight balls provided this rule would remain in force throughout the game. Snyder came back to bat but the two baserunners would not return to first and second. This caused further argument but the game finally resumed. “Unfortunately there was no penalty or redress available for Bradley’s blackguardism. Umpire Reilly was compelled to take the vile abuse just as he would from one of the denizens of Cat Row. Had it been a League game, he might have been fined $100.”
The Reds had engaged three private policemen to guard the fence against “jumpers,” a necessary precaution in 1882. The cute unies the Reds wore were greatly admired. “Will White’s sky blue suit makes him look like a dizzy blonde. The new parti-colored uniforms are all a novelty well worth seeing. Carpenter’s uniform of gray and white is not as pretty as some of the rest, but then Hickory looks well in any color.” It was said by the roguish reporter that “Snyder’s favorite song is from Patience. “He sings:
When I first put on the uniform
I said as I tucked in the shirt
It’s one out of ten
That all the wo-men
With with me now will want to flirt
For red has a charm for the fair
And I’ve plenty of that to spare.
The next day, the Cincinnati Commercial apologized to its readers. “That portrait alongside the baseball column was generally mistaken for a likeness of George Bradley. It was, however, an excellent photograph of the dead outlaw and desperado Jesse James. Bradley still survives.”
On April 10th 500 turned out in a “cold stiff wind” to see Detroit beat the Eclipse nine at Louisville, 4 to 3. The famous Pete Browning received an ovation when he first came to bat and the “Gladiator” responded with a hit. Detroit then won two more games quite easily.
Detroit opened the St. Louis interleague season on April 12th by defeating the Browns.
In all, 21 spring exhibition games were played between the two leagues and resulted in a clean sweep for the National League whose clubs scored 225 runs to 80 for the Association.
Louisville visited St. Louis for a Sunday exhibition. The great and especial feature was the phenomenal second base play of the Louisville “brag” man, Pete Browning. He performed wonders “and it was doubtful if such fielding was ever surpassed in St. Louis.” Umpire McGee was badly used by the crowd. “Although not free from faults there was no warrant for the behavior of some of the hoodlums present.”
Late in April Von der Ahe received from New York “a very curious implement, the mortars used by the Japs in firing their day fire works, which will be a feature at Sportsmens’ Park during the season. This is a cannon-shaped affair made of bamboo and strongly wrapped with steel wire. It will be put on exhibition at some prominent point at the park.”
Alfred H. Spink and his brother William had formed a team in St. Louis in 1881, finding a backer in Chris Von der Ahe, native of Germany and proprietor of a delicatessen. The Spinks later stepped out, soon to found The Sporting News. The independent Browns, operated on a cooperative basis with an original capital of about $5,000, made a profit of $25,000 in 1881. Next year considerable improvements were made at the ball park including “magnificent seats set apart for ladies and their escorts” in the new reserved seat pavilion. Chris became noted for his generosity, impulsiveness and lack of mastery of the English language. For instance when he was told that a player had been released by three clubs he said “Dot is right, a rolling moss never catches a stone.” He also often invented proverbs such as “he that waits gets nothing” for “everything comes to him who waits.”
The Association started with very modest salaries. Shappert, Walker and Fusselbach were the best paid St. Louis players at $100 per month. Captain Snyder of Cincinnati received $1,100 for the season. Other player salaries were about in line with these, many players drawing from $85 to $125 per month.
