19th Century St. Louis Baseball Clubs
by Jeffrey Kittel
The 1886 St. Louis Maroons
I put together this list of 19th century St. Louis baseball clubs about five years ago with help from my friend Steve Pona and although it doesn't reflect currant research and can hardly be considered comprehensive, it's a useful document. Taking a look at it now, I can say that it's lacking information about Civil War-era clubs, African-American clubs and Metro-East clubs.
“(It) would be an utter impossibility to publish all the games of the local clubs and therefore only such will be included in this record, with some few exceptions, as had a bearing upon the state championship and consequently the games between (St. Louis) clubs…must be restricted to such clubs as belonged to the State Association.” As E. H. Tobias wrote, it’s an “utter impossibility” to discover and list all the clubs that existed in St. Louis in the 19th century. Tobias is certainly one of the best available sources for information about these clubs. It’s entirely possible that a thorough search of contemporary St. Louis newspapers would reveal names of more clubs but there is no doubt that Tobias has mentioned the most prominent and important baseball clubs in St. Louis between 1860 and 1875.
A quick note on club names: While I refer to clubs such as the Empire or Union (or sometimes the Empires or Unions), the official name of such a club would be the Empire Base Ball Club of St. Louis or the Union Base Ball Club of St. Louis. The actual name of almost all of the clubs on this list would take this form.
Empire
Union
Cyclone
Commercial
Resolute
Morning Star
Hope
Olympic
The above were, according to Tobias, “Among the very first of regularly formed clubs in St. Louis…” Of the antebellum clubs, Merritt Griswold, in a letter to Al Spink written in 1911, mentions the Cyclones, Morning Stars, Empires, and Commercials as the first clubs in St. Louis. Griswold makes the claim that the Cyclone Club was the first organized baseball club in St. Louis and there is enough evidence backing up Griswold’s claims to take this seriously. Tobias claims that the Union Club was the first club in St. Louis, forming in 1859 (or 1860; the text is difficult to make out). There is no evidence backing up Tobias’ claim that I’m aware of and several factors that make it unlikely. Any claims that Jeremiah Fruin was the first person to bring baseball to St. Louis and that he formed the first club in the city are demonstratively false.
While there is a substantial amount of information about St. Louis baseball in the antebellum period, the history is still obscure. We know that baseball was being played by 1860 and that season was an active one. We also know that most of the clubs that had formed by the summer of 1860 disbanded due to the pressures of the Civil War. The only club that I’m aware of that was active during the war years is the Empires. That the Empires continued their baseball activities during the war years is rather remarkable and generally unique in baseball history. There are very few clubs that had formed in the late 1850’s that not only survived the outbreak of the war but were active during and after it.
Information on baseball activity prior to the fall of 1859 is difficult to come by. There is enough circumstantial evidence and vague references in the source material to believe that something was going on prior to the 1860 season. There were certainly bat and ball games being played in St. Louis prior to 1860-town ball, cricket, etc.-and there were organized clubs that played these games. But the best evidence to date suggests that the Regulation Game of baseball was not introduced in St. Louis until the fall of 1859 and that the first match games were not played until 1860.
The organization of the clubs listed above date to this period. Griswold came to St. Louis from Brooklyn in the fall of 1859 and, along with his co-worker Ed Bredell, formed the Cyclone Club. That winter, Griswold also published the rules of the game in the Missouri Democrat. In his letter to Spink, Griswold states that he found the Morning Star Club (whose members were mostly employees “of the firm of Ubsdell, Pierson & Co.”) playing town ball and convinced them to try the new game of baseball. The Union Club was formed by Asa Smith around the same time, possibly as early as 1859, and was made up of high school students. The Empires were organized at a meeting on April 16, 1860 and, according to Tobias, “was largely composed of men who had been connected with the old volunteer fire department…” It had the largest membership of all of the antebellum clubs, “(outnumbering) most all the other clubs put together…,” and was most likely founded by Joseph Hollenbeck, the first secretary and centerfielder of the club. The Commercial Club was made up of “young business men.”
The first mention of the Olympics by Tobias was in reference to a June 7, 1866 game against the Unions.
The first mention of a game by the Hope Club was a June 20, 1867 match against the Unions.
Excelsior-Mentioned by Tobias “as being one of the ante-bellum organizations…” Evidence suggests that they were another town ball club that switched to playing baseball.
Laclede -The Laclede Club was mentioned by Al Spink, in The National Game, as one of the early opponents of the Empires. It’s unclear if the club was active in the antebellum period. Tobias states that the club was made up of master mechanics and describes them as one of the “early” clubs.
Baltic
Liberty
Atlantic
Magenta
Columbus
O.K.
These clubs (along with the Resolute and Hope clubs) were mentioned by Tobias as taking part in a torchlight parade in 1865 honoring the Empire Club, who were returning from the first road trip by a St. Louis club.
Pickwick-Played a game against the Unions on May 9, 1867.
Magnolia-Played matches against the Olympics and Unions in 1867 and were a club “located in the Southern portion of the city.”
Sherman-A club founded by Louis Schrader in 1867 and named after Gen. Sherman; “existed only for a year or so…”
Star-Another club founded by Schrader and another “short lived” club.
Turner-Schrader’s third attempt at starting a baseball club; William Medart also was involved in the original organization of the club; the club was composed, as the name suggests, largely of lathe or machine operators; “one of the strongest” clubs in the city, according to Tobias.
Aetna-Another club that Schrader belonged to.
When writing about the founding of the Missouri State Association of Base Ball Clubs, Tobias notes that there were “quite a number of clubs organized in the interior cities and towns” of Missouri. He also mentions that sixteen St. Louis clubs attended the “preliminary meeting” founding the State Association. Sadly, he doesn’t name all of those clubs.
Veto-Tobias writes that the Empire Clubs’ anniversary game was played in 1868 “on the grounds of the Veto Club…”
Athletic-first mentioned by Tobias as having a club member on the State Association Judiciary Committee in 1868
Mutual-played a game against the Union Club on September 24, 1868
Union, Jr.
National
Battle
The above clubs were mentioned as having been defeated by the Union Club in 1868. The Union, Jr. was the junior nine of the Union Club. Most of the prominent 19th century clubs would, besides having multiple nines for the parent club, also have a junior club made up of younger players. The junior players would sometimes “graduate” to the parent club or sometimes split off and form their own independent club.
Active
Lone Star
St. Louis
Eckford
All the above clubs were mentioned by Tobias as intending to compete for the championship in 1869. The Lone Stars were a club “located in the Southern portion of the city.”
Olympic (ii)-In 1869, the Union Jr.’s broke away from their parent organization and formed the Olympic Club taking up the name after the old Olympic Club had broken up.
Rowena
Missouri
Haymaker
Buckeye
All of the above clubs were mentioned as being represented at one or more meetings of the State Association in 1869.
Washington University-first mentioned by Tobias as playing a match against the Unions on June 2, 1870; the club, composed of college students, was certainly active before this and probably as early as 1866.
St. Louis University-mentioned playing the Unions on June 25, 1870; again the club was likely active immediately following the end of the Civil War.
Bill Kelsoe, in A Newspaper Man’s Motion-Picture of the City, mentions that the nickname of the Wash U club was “the Olympics” and that SLU’s nickname was “the Pickwicks.” The rivalry between the two clubs was great and Kelsoe relates that Shepard Barclay, a former chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court and member of the Union Club, told him that his fondest moment was when he pitched SLU to a victory over Wash U in a game on May 23, 1867.
Olympics of Carondelet-played a game against the Unions on July 30, 1870; this is the fourth team that used the Olympic moniker (including the original Olympics, the Union, Jr./Olympics, and Wash U).
St. Louis Junior-“A new organization, named St. Louis Junior, was composed entirely of Mechanics, formerly connected with the Atlantic, Jr., and they located (in 1871) on the old Veto grounds, near the Pacific machine shops, with Joe Blong, president.” I’ve seen a reference to the possibility that Packy Dillon also played for the St. Louis, Jr.’s and if this is true there’s an argument to be made that this is the club that would evolve into the Red Stockings.
Atlantic, Jr.-see above note.
Pacific-mentioned as holding elections for officers in 1871.
Varieties-“a new club…that had been but recently organized (in 1871) and having for its foundation five seceeders from the Atlantic Club…”
Rival-played a game against the Empire Club on August 4, 1872 and Tobias described them as having been “lately organized.”
Dodd, Brown & Co.
Crow, McCreery & Co.
Sam. C. Davis & Co.
“In the latter part of (the 1872) season base ball received quite an impetus through the inauguration of the early closing movement among mercantile and other business houses on Saturday afternoons, whereby the employees of a number of these firms were brought into organized clubs named after the firms by whom they were employed such as the (ones listed above). In those clubs some fine base ball talent was developed…” On the 1873 season, Tobias wrote that “(the) Mercantile community also took a deeper interest and more wide spread participation in the game and so numerous were the matches played by the representatives of business concerns that it will be impossible in this history to do more than give such games the briefest passing notice.” There is no telling how many clubs liked this existed in St. Louis in the 19th century and, along with minor clubs that weren’t part of the State Association or didn’t compete for the championship, it makes the task of putting together a comprehensive list of 19th century St. Louis baseball clubs an impossibility.
Red Stockings-first competed for the championship in 1873; competed for the national professional championship in 1875
Stoddards-“an entirely new club of young representatives of the solid families of the city” who first began play in 1873
Modocs-played a game against the Atlantics on July 13, 1873
Niagara-first mentioned playing a game against the Turners on July 20, 1873
Mackerel
Western
Emmett
Marble City
Forest City
Oxford
J.B. Sickle & Co.
Burns & Deguan
Benton
Erie
Miami
All of the above were mentioned by Tobias as having played games in August of 1873
National-“A new club entered the base ball fraternity (in 1874)…under the name of National and was composed of players from the former Independent, Olympic, Commercial, Eckford, Union and Rowena teams.”
Independent-see above note.
Gymnasium-members of the Gymnasium Club played as a part of picked nine in a game against the Westerns of Keokuk on June 27, 1874
Artisan-members of the Artisan Club were at a special meeting of St. Louis clubs in 1874 that met upon the death of Asa Smith
Lone Stars of Collinsille-played a game against the Niagara Club on July 19, 1874.
Jackson-“organized from ‘Home Bitters’ (in 1874)…”
Home Bitters-see above note
Peerless-“On July 28 (1874), the Union Club defeated the Peerless at Grand Avenue Park…The latter club though young was already known as a club making low scores and playing brilliantly.”
Stocks-“The Stocks, as their name implies, was made up of livestock men, most of them residing in ‘Butcher Town’ north of Easton and west of Vandeventer avenue.” First mention playing a game on July 29, 1874.
White Stockings-“(A) consolidator of players from the Rowena and Jackson Clubs” who first played in 1874.
Brown Stockings-the National Association club made up of Eastern professional players that began play in 1875; moved to the National League in 1876 and disbanded after the 1877 season; remnants of the team would form an independent professional team in 1878, also called the Brown Stockings; two years later Chris Von der Ahe would become involved with the club and, by 1882, would have the team playing in the American Association.
Elephants-mentioned as a “prominent club that still existed in 1875 under the old amateur organization”
Besides the Elephants, Tobias mentions the Empire, Rowena, Atlantic, Olympic, Nationals, Niagara and Haymakers as the prominent amateur clubs still playing in 1875. There were questions as to whether any of the amateur clubs would be able to survive the presence of two professional teams in the city in 1875. “Many amateur clubs disorganized but the Empire and a few others determined to hold fast for the season at least.” While he was talking specifically about the Empire Club, Tobias could have been talking about the entire era of 19th century amateur baseball when he wrote that “(as) the season (of 1875) advanced it was made apparent that the famous old Empire Club was in its declining days…with the exception of an occasional spurt recalling its former glory, its record was that of a sick old man with the grip of death on his vitals.”
Grand Avenues-a club organized in 1875 by August Solari; played its home games at the Grand Avenue Park; on the board of directors of the club that year was Chris Von der Ahe, later to become famous as the owner of the St. Louis Browns.
Cote Brilliants-first mentioned playing a game against the Haymakers on August 21, 1875.
19th century St. Louis baseball clubs not mentioned by Tobias:
The Sporting News of March 17, 1886 mentions the Amateur League of St. Louis which contained the following teams:
St. Gotthard
Drummand
Enterprise
St. Louis Amateur
West Ends
Union Blues
It also mentions the Business League which had six teams:
Crow
Hargadine & Co.
St. Louis News Co.
Wm. Barr Dry Goods Co.
Rice, Stix, & Co.
Brown, Daughaday, & Co.
The sixth team was the previously mentioned Sam. C. Davis & Co.
In a different article of the same issue of TSN, the Southern Illinois League and two east side teams are mentioned:
Belleville
East St. Louis
The St. Louis Baseball League was founded in 1889, lasted one season, and was composed of five local teams among whom one (the Reds) has already been mentioned:
Sultan Bitters
Jolly Nine
Home Comfort
Dimmicks
A game played in Edwardsville, Il, between the Eagles of St. Louis and the Madisons, the prominent Edwardsville team, was reported in TSN on March 17, 1886.
On October 17, 1886, the Madisons played “the Rescues, of North St. Louis” in Edwardsville.
Al Spink, in The National Game, while writing about Patsy Tebeau mentions that Tebeau, who grew up in St. Louis, learned his craft playing for the Peach Pies and the Shamrocks. This would have been in the very late 1870’s or early 1880’s.
In 1886 there were clubs in St. Louis called the Prickly Ash, the Waltons, the Jacksonvilles, and the Papins and there was also a club playing in Alton, Il.
A St. Louis club called the Standards are mentioned in G.W. Axelson’s biography of Charlie Comiskey as playing baseball in 1882.
Special mention also must be made of the Blue Stockings, an African-American baseball team that was active in St. Louis as early as 1875.
A quick note on club names: While I refer to clubs such as the Empire or Union (or sometimes the Empires or Unions), the official name of such a club would be the Empire Base Ball Club of St. Louis or the Union Base Ball Club of St. Louis. The actual name of almost all of the clubs on this list would take this form.
Empire
Union
Cyclone
Commercial
Resolute
Morning Star
Hope
Olympic
The above were, according to Tobias, “Among the very first of regularly formed clubs in St. Louis…” Of the antebellum clubs, Merritt Griswold, in a letter to Al Spink written in 1911, mentions the Cyclones, Morning Stars, Empires, and Commercials as the first clubs in St. Louis. Griswold makes the claim that the Cyclone Club was the first organized baseball club in St. Louis and there is enough evidence backing up Griswold’s claims to take this seriously. Tobias claims that the Union Club was the first club in St. Louis, forming in 1859 (or 1860; the text is difficult to make out). There is no evidence backing up Tobias’ claim that I’m aware of and several factors that make it unlikely. Any claims that Jeremiah Fruin was the first person to bring baseball to St. Louis and that he formed the first club in the city are demonstratively false.
While there is a substantial amount of information about St. Louis baseball in the antebellum period, the history is still obscure. We know that baseball was being played by 1860 and that season was an active one. We also know that most of the clubs that had formed by the summer of 1860 disbanded due to the pressures of the Civil War. The only club that I’m aware of that was active during the war years is the Empires. That the Empires continued their baseball activities during the war years is rather remarkable and generally unique in baseball history. There are very few clubs that had formed in the late 1850’s that not only survived the outbreak of the war but were active during and after it.
Information on baseball activity prior to the fall of 1859 is difficult to come by. There is enough circumstantial evidence and vague references in the source material to believe that something was going on prior to the 1860 season. There were certainly bat and ball games being played in St. Louis prior to 1860-town ball, cricket, etc.-and there were organized clubs that played these games. But the best evidence to date suggests that the Regulation Game of baseball was not introduced in St. Louis until the fall of 1859 and that the first match games were not played until 1860.
The organization of the clubs listed above date to this period. Griswold came to St. Louis from Brooklyn in the fall of 1859 and, along with his co-worker Ed Bredell, formed the Cyclone Club. That winter, Griswold also published the rules of the game in the Missouri Democrat. In his letter to Spink, Griswold states that he found the Morning Star Club (whose members were mostly employees “of the firm of Ubsdell, Pierson & Co.”) playing town ball and convinced them to try the new game of baseball. The Union Club was formed by Asa Smith around the same time, possibly as early as 1859, and was made up of high school students. The Empires were organized at a meeting on April 16, 1860 and, according to Tobias, “was largely composed of men who had been connected with the old volunteer fire department…” It had the largest membership of all of the antebellum clubs, “(outnumbering) most all the other clubs put together…,” and was most likely founded by Joseph Hollenbeck, the first secretary and centerfielder of the club. The Commercial Club was made up of “young business men.”
The first mention of the Olympics by Tobias was in reference to a June 7, 1866 game against the Unions.
The first mention of a game by the Hope Club was a June 20, 1867 match against the Unions.
Excelsior-Mentioned by Tobias “as being one of the ante-bellum organizations…” Evidence suggests that they were another town ball club that switched to playing baseball.
Laclede -The Laclede Club was mentioned by Al Spink, in The National Game, as one of the early opponents of the Empires. It’s unclear if the club was active in the antebellum period. Tobias states that the club was made up of master mechanics and describes them as one of the “early” clubs.
Baltic
Liberty
Atlantic
Magenta
Columbus
O.K.
These clubs (along with the Resolute and Hope clubs) were mentioned by Tobias as taking part in a torchlight parade in 1865 honoring the Empire Club, who were returning from the first road trip by a St. Louis club.
Pickwick-Played a game against the Unions on May 9, 1867.
Magnolia-Played matches against the Olympics and Unions in 1867 and were a club “located in the Southern portion of the city.”
Sherman-A club founded by Louis Schrader in 1867 and named after Gen. Sherman; “existed only for a year or so…”
Star-Another club founded by Schrader and another “short lived” club.
Turner-Schrader’s third attempt at starting a baseball club; William Medart also was involved in the original organization of the club; the club was composed, as the name suggests, largely of lathe or machine operators; “one of the strongest” clubs in the city, according to Tobias.
Aetna-Another club that Schrader belonged to.
When writing about the founding of the Missouri State Association of Base Ball Clubs, Tobias notes that there were “quite a number of clubs organized in the interior cities and towns” of Missouri. He also mentions that sixteen St. Louis clubs attended the “preliminary meeting” founding the State Association. Sadly, he doesn’t name all of those clubs.
Veto-Tobias writes that the Empire Clubs’ anniversary game was played in 1868 “on the grounds of the Veto Club…”
Athletic-first mentioned by Tobias as having a club member on the State Association Judiciary Committee in 1868
Mutual-played a game against the Union Club on September 24, 1868
Union, Jr.
National
Battle
The above clubs were mentioned as having been defeated by the Union Club in 1868. The Union, Jr. was the junior nine of the Union Club. Most of the prominent 19th century clubs would, besides having multiple nines for the parent club, also have a junior club made up of younger players. The junior players would sometimes “graduate” to the parent club or sometimes split off and form their own independent club.
Active
Lone Star
St. Louis
Eckford
All the above clubs were mentioned by Tobias as intending to compete for the championship in 1869. The Lone Stars were a club “located in the Southern portion of the city.”
Olympic (ii)-In 1869, the Union Jr.’s broke away from their parent organization and formed the Olympic Club taking up the name after the old Olympic Club had broken up.
Rowena
Missouri
Haymaker
Buckeye
All of the above clubs were mentioned as being represented at one or more meetings of the State Association in 1869.
Washington University-first mentioned by Tobias as playing a match against the Unions on June 2, 1870; the club, composed of college students, was certainly active before this and probably as early as 1866.
St. Louis University-mentioned playing the Unions on June 25, 1870; again the club was likely active immediately following the end of the Civil War.
Bill Kelsoe, in A Newspaper Man’s Motion-Picture of the City, mentions that the nickname of the Wash U club was “the Olympics” and that SLU’s nickname was “the Pickwicks.” The rivalry between the two clubs was great and Kelsoe relates that Shepard Barclay, a former chief justice of the Missouri Supreme Court and member of the Union Club, told him that his fondest moment was when he pitched SLU to a victory over Wash U in a game on May 23, 1867.
Olympics of Carondelet-played a game against the Unions on July 30, 1870; this is the fourth team that used the Olympic moniker (including the original Olympics, the Union, Jr./Olympics, and Wash U).
St. Louis Junior-“A new organization, named St. Louis Junior, was composed entirely of Mechanics, formerly connected with the Atlantic, Jr., and they located (in 1871) on the old Veto grounds, near the Pacific machine shops, with Joe Blong, president.” I’ve seen a reference to the possibility that Packy Dillon also played for the St. Louis, Jr.’s and if this is true there’s an argument to be made that this is the club that would evolve into the Red Stockings.
Atlantic, Jr.-see above note.
Pacific-mentioned as holding elections for officers in 1871.
Varieties-“a new club…that had been but recently organized (in 1871) and having for its foundation five seceeders from the Atlantic Club…”
Rival-played a game against the Empire Club on August 4, 1872 and Tobias described them as having been “lately organized.”
Dodd, Brown & Co.
Crow, McCreery & Co.
Sam. C. Davis & Co.
“In the latter part of (the 1872) season base ball received quite an impetus through the inauguration of the early closing movement among mercantile and other business houses on Saturday afternoons, whereby the employees of a number of these firms were brought into organized clubs named after the firms by whom they were employed such as the (ones listed above). In those clubs some fine base ball talent was developed…” On the 1873 season, Tobias wrote that “(the) Mercantile community also took a deeper interest and more wide spread participation in the game and so numerous were the matches played by the representatives of business concerns that it will be impossible in this history to do more than give such games the briefest passing notice.” There is no telling how many clubs liked this existed in St. Louis in the 19th century and, along with minor clubs that weren’t part of the State Association or didn’t compete for the championship, it makes the task of putting together a comprehensive list of 19th century St. Louis baseball clubs an impossibility.
Red Stockings-first competed for the championship in 1873; competed for the national professional championship in 1875
Stoddards-“an entirely new club of young representatives of the solid families of the city” who first began play in 1873
Modocs-played a game against the Atlantics on July 13, 1873
Niagara-first mentioned playing a game against the Turners on July 20, 1873
Mackerel
Western
Emmett
Marble City
Forest City
Oxford
J.B. Sickle & Co.
Burns & Deguan
Benton
Erie
Miami
All of the above were mentioned by Tobias as having played games in August of 1873
National-“A new club entered the base ball fraternity (in 1874)…under the name of National and was composed of players from the former Independent, Olympic, Commercial, Eckford, Union and Rowena teams.”
Independent-see above note.
Gymnasium-members of the Gymnasium Club played as a part of picked nine in a game against the Westerns of Keokuk on June 27, 1874
Artisan-members of the Artisan Club were at a special meeting of St. Louis clubs in 1874 that met upon the death of Asa Smith
Lone Stars of Collinsille-played a game against the Niagara Club on July 19, 1874.
Jackson-“organized from ‘Home Bitters’ (in 1874)…”
Home Bitters-see above note
Peerless-“On July 28 (1874), the Union Club defeated the Peerless at Grand Avenue Park…The latter club though young was already known as a club making low scores and playing brilliantly.”
Stocks-“The Stocks, as their name implies, was made up of livestock men, most of them residing in ‘Butcher Town’ north of Easton and west of Vandeventer avenue.” First mention playing a game on July 29, 1874.
White Stockings-“(A) consolidator of players from the Rowena and Jackson Clubs” who first played in 1874.
Brown Stockings-the National Association club made up of Eastern professional players that began play in 1875; moved to the National League in 1876 and disbanded after the 1877 season; remnants of the team would form an independent professional team in 1878, also called the Brown Stockings; two years later Chris Von der Ahe would become involved with the club and, by 1882, would have the team playing in the American Association.
Elephants-mentioned as a “prominent club that still existed in 1875 under the old amateur organization”
Besides the Elephants, Tobias mentions the Empire, Rowena, Atlantic, Olympic, Nationals, Niagara and Haymakers as the prominent amateur clubs still playing in 1875. There were questions as to whether any of the amateur clubs would be able to survive the presence of two professional teams in the city in 1875. “Many amateur clubs disorganized but the Empire and a few others determined to hold fast for the season at least.” While he was talking specifically about the Empire Club, Tobias could have been talking about the entire era of 19th century amateur baseball when he wrote that “(as) the season (of 1875) advanced it was made apparent that the famous old Empire Club was in its declining days…with the exception of an occasional spurt recalling its former glory, its record was that of a sick old man with the grip of death on his vitals.”
Grand Avenues-a club organized in 1875 by August Solari; played its home games at the Grand Avenue Park; on the board of directors of the club that year was Chris Von der Ahe, later to become famous as the owner of the St. Louis Browns.
Cote Brilliants-first mentioned playing a game against the Haymakers on August 21, 1875.
19th century St. Louis baseball clubs not mentioned by Tobias:
The Sporting News of March 17, 1886 mentions the Amateur League of St. Louis which contained the following teams:
St. Gotthard
Drummand
Enterprise
St. Louis Amateur
West Ends
Union Blues
It also mentions the Business League which had six teams:
Crow
Hargadine & Co.
St. Louis News Co.
Wm. Barr Dry Goods Co.
Rice, Stix, & Co.
Brown, Daughaday, & Co.
The sixth team was the previously mentioned Sam. C. Davis & Co.
In a different article of the same issue of TSN, the Southern Illinois League and two east side teams are mentioned:
Belleville
East St. Louis
The St. Louis Baseball League was founded in 1889, lasted one season, and was composed of five local teams among whom one (the Reds) has already been mentioned:
Sultan Bitters
Jolly Nine
Home Comfort
Dimmicks
A game played in Edwardsville, Il, between the Eagles of St. Louis and the Madisons, the prominent Edwardsville team, was reported in TSN on March 17, 1886.
On October 17, 1886, the Madisons played “the Rescues, of North St. Louis” in Edwardsville.
Al Spink, in The National Game, while writing about Patsy Tebeau mentions that Tebeau, who grew up in St. Louis, learned his craft playing for the Peach Pies and the Shamrocks. This would have been in the very late 1870’s or early 1880’s.
In 1886 there were clubs in St. Louis called the Prickly Ash, the Waltons, the Jacksonvilles, and the Papins and there was also a club playing in Alton, Il.
A St. Louis club called the Standards are mentioned in G.W. Axelson’s biography of Charlie Comiskey as playing baseball in 1882.
Special mention also must be made of the Blue Stockings, an African-American baseball team that was active in St. Louis as early as 1875.
