Postseason 1881, Emergence of a Second Major League

Entering the postseason of 1881, National League executives were looking to tighten the screws on their players. The main issues that provoked their wrath were drunken and disorderly players and contract jumping. Their solution was to formalize and strictly abide by a blacklist.

Along these lines, many ballplayers were in fact taking liberties, especially with the bottle. The standard reason for players being suspended or expelled for excessive drinking was listed as “general dissipation and insubordination.” It’s not hard to understand the many facets whereby heavy drinking and related actions/inactions could affect a team’s fortunes. There is really no issue here – excessive alcohol consumption is detrimental to athletic performance and team cohesiveness. Players who overindulge should expect to be reined in.

However, baseball owners took their own liberties with the blacklist – arbitrarily dispensing justice, broadening the scope of alleged offenses, controlling all aspects of adjudication and otherwise exerting their control over labor. The blacklist in conjunction with the reserve clause and the monopoly concept of Organized Baseball was a mighty powerful tool. A vindictive or ambivalent owner could end a baseball career with little to no effort. At times in baseball history, the players had little recourse against management. With the emergence of the American Association in 1882, some found it easier to find employment.

September 29, 1881

National League (NL) executives met in New York City on September 29, 1881. Via a resolution, they promised not to play against or to hire personnel from clubs that employed blacklisted personnel.

September 30, 1881

On the second day of league meetings, the owners adopted contract clauses allowing clubs to fine/punish a player for any conduct the club deemed detrimental to its interests – a broad and undefined scope. Future commissioner Kenesaw Landis would have similar powers – “in the best interest of baseball.” In 1881, however, each owner yielded such powers. Whether right or wrong, objective or subjective, vindictive or just, biased or fair, individual owners ruled their fiefdom. Only later would their actions be subjected to league scrutiny – perhaps well after the fact or not at all.

As the following excerpt makes clear, the owners were targeting those they deemed insubordinate and heavy drinkers.

New York Times 10/1/1881

The following were placed on the blacklist:

• Lew Brown
• Bill Crowley
• Buttercup Dickerson
• Mike Dorgan
• John Fox
• Emil Gross
• Sadie Houck
• Ed Nolan
• Lip Pike

It was a popular decision within the press, as noted by the following:

Chicago Tribune 10/2/1881

Also on the 30^th, the owners unilaterally decided that players assumed all risk for injury and illness – game-related or not – and must pay their own medical costs. An owner could release an injured player with minimal notice.

October 10, 1881

In September, Philadelphias (not the Athletics) manager Horace Phillips sent out postcards and telegrams to various independent club owners trying to interest them in forming a new league. Only Oliver Perry Caylor of Cincinnati responded. The pair met that month at a Philadelphia hotel. The next day they sent out a new round of telegrams informing their targets that a new league had formed and they had missed out – a bluff. It worked though sparking a meeting in Pittsburgh on October 10.

The October 10 meeting was hosted by H. Denny McKnight of Pittsburgh, a local businessman. McKnight and Phillips took a back seat as the discussions were led by Caylor, John Day (New York) and Chris von der Ahe (St. Louis). Another call-out to the independent clubs was initiated and a meeting was set for November 2. Day was elected president and von der Ahe vice president.

Along these lines:

• On October 15, McKnight organized the club that became the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. He would serve a president of the club.
• On October 8, Chris von der Ahe purchased the St. Louis Browns, an independent, semi-pro club, and its players.
• In October, Cincinnati signed Hick Carpenter, Will White and Charley Jones
• On November 5, Cincinnati signed three Akron players including future Hall of Famer Bid McPhee.

November 2, 1881

At a meeting in Cincinnati on November 2, the American Association of Base Ball Clubs (AA) was formed. A constitution and rules were adopted. Those present at the two-day meeting include:

• Pittsburgh (McKnight)
• Brooklyn Atlantics (Billy Barnie)
• Louisville (J.T. Park, William Jackson Jr. and manager Bill Recius)
• Columbus (J.A. Williams)
• Philadelphia Athletics (Al Reach and H.B. Reed)
• Philadelphias (Charles “Chick” Fulmer, attended by proxy)
• St. Louis (Chris von der Ahe and David Reid)
• Cincinnati (O.P. Caylor, Justus Julius Thorner and Victor Long)
• New York Metropolitans (Jim Mutrie and W.S. Appleton)
• Boston (Louis Mahn)

New York, Philadelphia and Cincinnati entries had previously been expelled by the National League and the cities were still unrepesented in the league in 1881. Thorner was the owner of the ousted Cincinnati NL franchise.

Day, who had been elected president of the new endeavor in October, failed to show. The other New York representatives were antagonistic towards all proposals and refused to committ to the new league. They were asked to leave until they decided to committ.

The AA adopted much of the National League’s playing rules and constitution with a few modifications:

• Promised to pay players for 15 days after their release (NL paid 10 days)
• Decided that the standings would be determined by winning percentage (not the highest win total), a first in baseball history
• They remained noncommital on the reserve clause issue

November 3, 1881

On the second day of the AA meetings, McKnight was elected league president. The new league decided on several issues which differed with the NL:

• To play contests on Sundays
• To sell liquor during the games – one of the Cincinnati backers, Justice Thorner, was a brewer
• To set admission price at 25¢ compared the NL’s price of 50¢
• To guarantee visiting clubs a minimum of $65 for allotted expenses (NL allotted 15¢ per paid admission)

The AA also:

• Had hopes of including the New York Metropolitans, one of the strongest independent clubs in the nation
• Had hopes that the Metropolitans would also bring a club into the organization from Newark, New Jersey
• Vowed to be strict with heavy drinkers
• Talked of joining the NL in governing baseball
• Decided not to honor the National League’s reserve clause
• Merged the two Philadelphia franchises

Trouble was evident between the Philadelphia teams and the Brooklyn and New York teams. This may account, in part, for the fact that neither New York nor Brooklyn ultimately joined the new league.

Problems between the leagues

Issues developed between the two leagues almost immediately, as it was bound to happen. The Metropolitan officials were such instigators. Upon leaving the AA meetings, John Day traveled to Chicago and met with National League president William Hulbert to inform him of the happenings. Mutrie arose from the meeting declaring his intention not to join the AA. (The Metropolitans’ financial backers like John B. Day would eventually place a team in each league in 1883. The Mets would enter the AA and Day would purchase the heart of the Troy club, relocate them and name the new franchise the New York Giants.)

Hulbert was also upset that Cincinnati had already signed Charley Jones, a NL blacklisted player. Jones, a former National League player in Cincinnati, was expelled from Boston for insubordination in 1880. He wouldn’t play for either the NL or AA in 1882, but would join Cincinnati in the AA in 1883.

Chicago Tribune 11/6/1881

It’s clear from the Tribune excerpt that Hulbert and the NL meant to act harshly and vindictively towards its players. In this and other cases, they swore that they would not field or pay men like Jones and they were equally adamant that Jones never receive payment from another organization in the profession, nationwide. In essence, they wanted to wield the full weight of a monopoly (Organized Baseball) against its labor – a popular business method of the robber barons of the era.

Washington Post 11/22/1881

December 7, 1881

The National League met for their formal winter meetings on December 7 in Chicago. NL president Hulbert, a Windy City resident, was already feeling ill with heart trouble, a disease that would take his life before Opening Day.

Among the meeting details:

• They formally adopted the blacklist
• They amended the league constitution
• They refused the appeal of blacklisted players Charley Jones and Phil Baker. Baker’s sin was jumping back to his club, the Washington Nationals of the National Association, after agreeing to sign with Providence for the 1881 season; though, it seems that he never found a spot on Providence’s roster.

December 8, 1881

On the second day of NL meetings, executives handled several internal matters:

• Vowed to only field one team from each city and not to play other clubs from league cities
• Made adjustments to several playing rules – a year occurrence
• Increased and further defined the powers and duties of umpires
• Named the umpires for the upcoming season

December 9, 1881

On the third day of NL meetings more internal matters were handled:

• Re-election of Hulbert
• Blacklist affirmed
• Decisions made on team uniforms

As of February 1882, players are now required to carry and stow their own uniforms and bats on road trips. They must also purchase, maintain and launder two complete sets of uniforms. The new outfit includes a white linen tie which must be worn on the field of play.

March 13, 1882

American Association officials met on March 13, 1882 in Philadelphia. The Brooklyn Atlantics with Opening Day pending still had not secured any players nor a field to play on. They resigned from the league and were replaced by Baltimore. The teams for the inaugural season would be:

• Baltimore Orioles
• Cincinnati Red Stockings
• Louisville Eclipse
• Philadelphia Athletics
• Pittsburgh Alleghenys
• St. Louis Brown Stockings

Per the New York Times:

An amendment to the constitution providing for the admission of members unjustly expelled from other organizations, but excluding those properly expelled, was adopted.

The preceding his ambiguous and open to interpretation. Basically, AA executives would judge each player on a case-by-case basis and make an individual assessment.

March 14, 1882

On the second day of meetings, the AA:

• Set their schedule of games
• Altered several playing rules

They also adjudicated the case of Dasher Troy who had signed with the Philadelphia Athletics but instead rejoined Detroit in the NL. The AA decided against adding Troy and, thus, they initiated their own blacklist. Troy returned to Detroit for the 1882 season. The National League had also lured Sam Wise away from the AA.

April 10, 1882

National League president William Hulbert passed away. Boston president Arthur Soden is temporarily inserted into the vacant slot. In December, A.G. Mills will assume the role.

May 2, 1882

First American Association games

Post Script

February 17, 1883

A joint meeting of the National League, American Association and Northwestern League took place in New York City on February 17, 1883. The principles included:

• American Association – Lew Simmons (Philadelphia), Billy Barnie (Baltimore) and O.P. Caylor (Cincinnati)
• National League – Soden (Boston), Mills and John Day (New York)
• Northwestern League – Elias Matter (Grand Rapids)

The pressing topic was the advantage players were taking of the current hostilities between the leagues. Players were jumping at will from team to team seeking the best deal. The officials drafted the Tripartite Agreement – basically a new National Agreement – that bound the leagues to each other and assured mutual respect for each other’s reserve roster.

Disputed players were assigned:

• New York (NL) relinquished John Reilly to Cincinnati (AA)
• Buck Ewing, Pete Gillespie and Mickey Welch had each signed with Cincinnati (AA) and New York (NL). Cincinnati ceded their rights to the three men, two of which became Hall of Famers.
• Frank Ringo and John Coleman signed with both Philadelphia (NL) and Peoria (NoL). Peoria relinquished their claim to both.
• ? Wesley to St. Louis (AA)
• Jim Whitney to Boston (NL)
• Hoss Radbourn to Providence (NL)
• Charlie Bennett to Detroit (NL)
• Pud Galvin to Buffalo (NL)
• Ned Williamson to Chicago (NL)
• Buttercup Dickerson to Pittsburgh (AA)
• Jerry Denny to Providence (NL)
• Sam Wise to Boston (NL)

Also three blacklisted players were reinstated:

• Philip Baker (to Baltimore-AA)
• Joe Gerhardt (to Louisville-AA)
• Charley Jones (to Cincinnati-AA)

Other agreements include:

• The reserve roster was expanded to include eleven names per team (previously it was 5).
• A flexible salary cap was established at $1000. It’s flexible because individual managers could pay a player more if they chose. So in essense, was there really a cap?
• The salary cap issue immediately caused dismay among the players. The players further realize the shift in power as the top three leagues monopolized –

Chicago Tribune 2/19/1883

After the 1891 season, the NL and AA merged to form the National League and American Association of Baseball Clubs. The formal name was quickly pared by most to the “National League.”

SOURCE LIST

• Baseballlibrary.com
• Chicago Tribune, 1881-1883
• Nemec, David. The Beer and Whiskey League: The Illustrated History of the American Association – Baseball’s Renegade Major League. New York: Lyons and Burford, Publishers, 1994.
• New York Times, 1881-1882
• Washington Post, 1881-1882

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