President Von der Ahe returned home from the League meeting highly elated over the results of his trip.  He thinks that [Lou] Bierbauer and [Bill] Hutchinson will prove of great aid to the team.  

Chris' Claims.

In speaking of the [Duke] Esper case Chris said: "I never waived claim to Esper, but instead went after him the minute I heard of his release.  The claims of a National League club are always first respected in a case of this kind.  Mark my words, Esper will play with the St. Louis team this year or not play at all.  I paid Pittsburg $1500 for Bierbauer, and I think that he will be worth that much to me.  He is a fine fielder, and while only a fair sticker, has always been regarded as batting opportunely.  Bierbauer will be placed on second base, with Hartman on third and Cross at short.  Dowd, Sullivan and Turner will constitute the outfield.  Either Connor or Douglass will cover first base, and the battery men are plenty strong enough."

-Sporting Life, March 20, 1897  

More hard luck for President Von der Ahe.  Part of the stabling of his Sportsman's Park took fire Sunday night.  Race track, base ball park, shoot the chutes and summer garden came within an ace of being swept off the face of the earth.  The firemen managed to confine the flames to the stables.  The stables were insured for $2500, but the policies ran out two weeks ago.  The loss to the St. Louis president is about $1500.  

​-Sporting Life, February 27, 1897

Stanley Robison, vice president of the Cleveland Baseball Club, passed through [St. Louis] on Friday, en route from Hot Springs to Cleveland.  Robison said that the League clubs would have to come to the aid of Von der Ahe.  He added that four of the Eastern League clubs would, at the coming meeting of the League, each turn over a player to the Cleveland Club, and the latter would in turn give to Von der Ahe a quartette of its stars.  The League magnates realize that St. Louis is one of the best drawing cities in the circuit and are fast growing tired of the continued poor teams Von der Ahe puts in the field.  There is little doubt here that the Robisons have arranged to become financially interested in the St. Louis Club.  

-Sporting Life, February 27, 1897

President Von der Ahe and Secretary Muckenfuss, of the St. Louis Base Ball Club, attended the ladies' bicycle race at the Natatorium one night last week.  Mr. Von der Ahe told a Globe-Democrat representative that the base ball situation, as far as St. Louis was concerned, had not changed whatever.  "I fear that all my efforts to strengthen the Browns," said he, "will come to naught.  While in Cleveland recently I asked President Robison to put a price on three of his players, and if it was anywhere near fair I would buy.  Two of the players I wanted were shortstop McKean and second baseman Childs.  The other was a pitcher.  He refused absolutely to part with either of the trio.  I have made strong efforts to secure strong, seasoned players for my team, but good ball players are not for sale.  Tommy Dowd writes me that he is well satisfied with the players I have under contract, and is confident that he will be able to make them play ball."

-Sporting Life, February 27, 1898

President Von der Ahe has about given up all hope of being able to make a deal with the Cleveland and Cincinnati Clubs for the "transfer" of several of their extra players to this city.  He has now turned his attention toward the Eastern clubs, and at the coming meeting of the League magnates in Baltimore he will endeavor to make a trade of some kind for a second baseman and a shortstop.

...With two new infielders and a little strengthening in the pitching department the Browns may manage to keep out of last hole this year.  Otherwise they are doomed to that position, sure.  

-Sporting Life, February 20, 1897

The Earth for Cy Young, Cupid Childs, and Bobby Wallace. Throw in the Moon and you can have Jack Powell.

Apparently Mr. Von der Ahe's visit to Cleveland and Cincinnati has had no practiced result.  Chris himself says that no deal had been made with either Brush or Robison, but he admitted that he tried to secure a shortstop, second baseman and pitcher from Cleveland.  "Robison wanted the earth," was the way Von der Ahe explained his failure to bring three of the crack players back with him.  

​-Sporting Life, February 13, 1897

Base ball and horse racing does not mix.  Chirs Von der Ahe, president of the St. Louis Browns, has found this out, and he has decided to give up the management of his turf enterprise.  The chief of "Der Browns" reached this conclusion last Wednesday, when he declared off the races at Sportsman's Park, and leased the grounds, privileges and everything else inside the inclosure to another man, one Louis Cella, a bookmaker.  From now on the most talked-of man in sporting circles will confine his efforts to base ball and to his "shoot the chutes" and other summer resort enterprises.  The race track will not be a dead weight on the St. Louis chief.  On the contrary, if the new lessees are successful in drawing the people to the park and getting enough bookmakers to draw on, they will pay Chris a rental of $1000 a week.

-Sporting Life, January 2, 1897

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

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

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

-Sporting Life, January 23, 1897

Secretary Muir of the Cleveland club has given out the following statement:

"Mr. Robison would rather sell the club entire than sell or exchange any one of his star players, but he will not sell the club..."

In reference to the stoy that Von der Ahe's visit was for the purpose of purchasing six of Cleveland's men, Mr Robison says that it was the worst fake of many fakes this year.  "Why do you suppose," said Mr. Robison, "that Von der Ahe, who sold his best player for a cash consideration, would expend money in bolstering up his team?  Besides Mr. Von der Ahe has made no proposition of this nature to me, and until he does I can say nothing."

-Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), February 4, 1897

Chris Von der Ahe of the St. Louis Base Ball Club and President John T. Brush held a private conference at Indianapolis yesterday.  Neither cared to talk of the details of the meeting.  President Brush said that Mr. Von der Ahe wanted to strengthen his club and needed some assistance.  Several deals were discussed.  The most important one was the purchase of the Cleveland Club.  Mr. Von der Ahe went to Cleveland several days ago prepared to make an offer for several crack players of that club, and his visit to Indianapolis was for the purpose of securing President Bush's co-operation in buying out the club, dividing the players and putting a National League Club in Indianapolis.  

Mr. Von der Ahe would neither affirm nor deny this feature of the case, but did say that he was after ball players, and was going to get them in whatever way he could, even if he had to buy another club.  

President Brush said that such a deal could not be made without the consent of the other clubs in the league.  Von der Ahe left for St. Louis this afternoon.

-Evening Star (Washington D.C.), February 5, 1897

President Von der Ahe, of the St. Louis base ball team, who arrived [in Cleveland] yesterday afternoon, continued his conference with President Robison of the Cleveland club to-day.  The two magnates were in earnest conversation throughout the morning and until 2 o'clock this afternoon, when President Von der Ahe left the city, presumably for St. Louis.  It is known that the St. Louis president came here principally for the purpose of negotiating for players to strengthen his club, but just before his departure this afternoon he and Mr. Robison both declared that no agreement had been reached and Mr. Robison added that it was safe to say there would be no base ball deal as a result of President Von der Ahe's visit to Cleveland.  It is understood that Von der Ahe made several different offers in the way of trades and bonuses for certain Cleveland players, but that in no case did the inducements held out meet the views of Mr. Robison.

-Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, February 4, 1897