The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-28
GROCER TO BALL MAGNATE
THE RISE AND FALL OF CHRIS
Won DER AHE

FROM a Corner Grocery to Autocrat
of the American Association of
Base Ball Clubs and Unauestioned
Afhuence, the Once "Boss'' Presi.
dent of the st. Louis Browns Ia
Now Without a Dollar.
Like meteor Chris Won der Alhe,
deposed president of the ST. Louis
Brown Stocking Base Ball club, shot
from the obscurity of corner grocery
IN North st. Louis, Mo-, to the proud
position of autocrat Of the American
Association of Base Ball clubs, and
the possessor of a fortune of not less
IMAM quarter Of a million dollars.
Like plunlmet he has fallen from the
heights attained to position where,
like Caesar, there are none to do him
honor. The career of Chris Won der
Abe was one Of the most remarkable
on record. He had had no previous
experience in base ball when, at the
suggestion of AL Sphinx, he entered into
project to give st. Louis a ball team.
Won der Abe did not at first relinquish
his grocery business, with saloon
auxiliary, but the phenomenal success
of his new venture soon demanded all
his time, and he advertised the grocery
for sale. 1t was located in a prosper
GUS section Of st. Louis, drawing q
good trade, and Won der Abe quickly
found a purchaser.
CHARACTERISTIC sTEREWDNESs
Won der Abe had bought the grocery
as 1t stood, without the fornality of
an invoice, and in like manner he in
sisted 1t should be taken by the pur-
chaser. The bargain. was struck, and
the store turned over to its new owner.
A few days thereafter Won der Ahe's
successor in the grocery business hunt
ed UP the base ball magnate and COM
planned that a row of bottles that dec
GRATED the upper shelf of the corner
grocery contained nothing more than
water.
Well" said Chris, land what Of it?'
Il did not buy bottled water to sell
In grocery store" responded the irate
purchaser. IT want you to make good
those worthless bottles"
1.-THE bottles were there when got
the place., said Won der Abe; land
I left them there. If you don't want
them, throw them out. I won't OBJ
ject."
And the bottles are still on the shelf
where they stood when Won der Abe
first embarked in the grocery business.
BROTHERHOOD FIGHT.
1t is not the purpose in this article
to attempt to relate the story of how
money poured into the Golfers Of Won
der Abe after he embarked in the base
ball business It is a historical fact
of base ball that he became the auto
crat Of the American association, and
that 1t was Won der Ahe's cash that
saved that organization from possible
destruction during the secession period
Of ball players, in 1883. 1t Ia generally
admitted by those who were interested
that Won der Abe advanced fully $780,
alive. He got not dollar of that
money back. The st. Louis team was
the best-paying club in the assocfa-
ton, in those days, as was evidenced
by the amount of money Won der Abe
contributed to defeat the striking ball
players and circumvent the National
league in it's efforts to assist in wiping
out the American association.
LEAGUE SURRENDERs.
It was Chris Won der Abe who ar
ranged in St. Louis q secret meeting of
represent atiVeS Of the National League
and American Association Of Base Ball
clubs, where the agreement for con-
solidation OF the two organizations was
perfected. And it was Chris Won der
Ahe autocrat and dictator of base ball
in the United States who, in that secret
meeting, which was held in the South
ern hotel-and which was so cleverly
arranged that the newspapers of that
city did not know for many days after
the work had been accomplished that
there had been such a meeting In their
city-read the riot act to the league
ma nates, who meekly submitted to
his dictation. In those days Chris Won
der Abe was the greatest man in base
ball. Today he is without a dollar that
he can claim as his own. And all this
great change has been wrought in less
than a decade.
NO MONEY FOR PLAYERS.
Interest in the fortunes--or, rather,
misfortunes of Chris Won der Abe, Is
revived by the announcement from st.
Louis that Receiver Muckinfuss has
been compelled to apply to the court
for the privilege of borrowing $4,000
with which to pay the salaries of the
players of the st. Louis team, who re-
turned to ST. Louis last week, after a
prof1tless trip, only to find that there
was no money in the home treasury Of
the club. st. Paul readers are especial
ly interested for the reason that
Charley Comiskey, row manager of the
St. Paul base ball team, was Chris Won
der Ahe's right hand man In the days
of the Boss" Presidents prosperity.
Comiskey had the confidence OF his
generous employer, and got whatever
he asked for in the years that the
Browns became famous as -four time
winners Of the American Association
Base Ball pennant. And it was large
ly due to Cen;skey's executive ability
and his influence with Won der Abe
that the team was so uniformly and
pre-eminently successful.
HOW HE LOST MONEY.
There are few, even among those who
know Won der Abe best who can UNI
derstand how it vas possible for the
base ball magnate to lose all his money
Those who are familiar with the prod