Base Ball. - We are glad to see that this noble national game is fast gaining ground in popularity in our city. There are several fine clubs in St. Louis, and our readers will not have forgotten that the championship of the West is held by the Empire B.B. Club, having wrested that proud title from the Empire Club of Freeport, Ill., last 4th of July, in commemoration of which event our well-known citizen, Martin Collins, Esq., has presented the club with a magnificent belt, gotten up in the most artistic manner. The presentation was accompanied by an eloquent and interesting speech, delivered in our friend Martin's most happy manner, and was appropriately responded to by Messrs. J. Fruin, B. Higgins, and other members of the club, all of whom expressed the sentiment that the club would give a "hard fight" to whatever club may endeavor to take it from the Empire.
-Missouri Republican, September 7, 1865
On September 6th, 1865, the Empire Club was presented with an elegantly devised belt as “champions of the West.” The presentation speech was made by Martin Collins, Esq., on behalf of citizens who were interested in base ball and who desired that all Western clubs should take a whack at winning it, whenever they felt able to tackle the holders. As president of the club the late Judge John F. Walton accepted the belt in one of his most graceful speeches and it was placed in a...receptacle of the club room on Third street.
-E.H. Tobias, writing in The Sporting News, November 9, 1865
The squib from the Republican is significant because it is the second contemporary reference we have to the Championship of the West. It's also interesting because it mentions that the Empire Club "wrested that proud title" from Freeport, implying that this was a title that Freeport had held in the past. It could also simply mean that the title was won by defeating Freeport. I don't know. I think it's probably the latter but it's possible that the Championship of the West was a baseball thing that clubs were fighting over in the mid-1860s.
But the really cool thing here is the championship belt. Take a look at this:
But the really cool thing here is the championship belt. Take a look at this:
This is the Empire Club in 1867 and he guy in the front row, center, is James Baron, the club's shortstop. I believe that is Martin Collins' belt he's holding. It most have been one of the club's prized possessions, along with the Gilded Ball that had been used in the first match game in St. Louis baseball history. I could be wrong and it may be a different championship belt but, really, how many championship belts did the club have?
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