Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-02-12
SOME UNWRlTTEN
BASE BALL HISTORY.
BY TED SULLIVAN.


Searching in the loft of my memory for
some important event in the unwritten his
tory of base ball / have found one thing
that had 1t been pulled off in those years
of base ball sensations would have been
the greatest of all
The old American Association had two
pitched battles with the National League.
The first one was for It's birthright IN
1882 and the next battle was in 1891. when
the National League finally absorbed the
association. which ended in the grand
twelve-club circuit While the league and
association had two great wars, still they
were allies in two other great base ball rev.
olutions and with their combined forces
won out each time.
The first of these base ball upheavals took
place in 1884 by the forming of the Union
Association. The National League and as
ISOLATION fell upon this young organization
while In Its swaddling clothes and drove IL
to destruction This contest was only
slight skirmish to what these combined
forces had to go against In 1890 by the re-
volt of the brotherhood. which body In
cluded all the base ball stars in America,
backed by money and prestige
This was gigantic base ball war. 1t was
a battle unto death. The thin ranks OF the
association and league stood on their rect
up to the last game OF the season. WIN
hands on their swords run up to their imam
ciai htlt.
AS the sun went down In the form OF the
last championship game of the season OF
1890 they were both staggering from the
loss of financial ammunition. The world
looked on at this gigantic base ball strug-
gle where millions of dollars were at stake.
They knew that the forces that were on
their feet the morning of the new sea-
son. ready to renew the battle. would VIM
At the dawn of the new year the old league
was there, ready for the fray, although tot
tering financially, but in the lull of HOSTILE
ties the brotherhood hackers and leaders
skulked away in the night of inaction..
The league and association then opened
their ranks and took back all the old play
ers who had deserted them. and peace again
reigned.
During the year of peace a proposition
was made to me by a certain National
League member to secure Chas. Comlskey
of the st. Louis Browns, then king of all
captains and first basemen of the country.
This league magnate thought II any one
could secure Comiskey was the man. Com
iskey was to be got by honest means as far
as the purchase OF him was concerned, from
Mr. Won der Abe, president of the st. Louis
Browns, and $1,000 was the sum to be paid
But how to get him out of the meshes ana
network of the American Associations laws
and rules was the rub. There was rule in
vogue at that time, if l remember right, in
the association that If any players name
was not on the reserve list of the club when
sent in to the secretary the man was free TO
sign where he chose after a certain number
of days had elapsed. Won der Abe was to
send in the Browns list without Comiskey
name on 1t, and 1t was also understood that
Comiskey was to leave New York with me,
after the association championship ended.
and sail for Liverpool, and after arriving on
the other side he would then sign this Ger
tain league clubs contract. The object IN
sending ComiSkey across was to keep him
out of the way, he could not be present
ed with a contract from the other assocla-
ton clubs. When the contract and Comis-
key arrived in this country-Von der Ahe
was to be paid his $4,000.
l will not say positively that Won der Abe
agreed to let Comiskey go, even for that
amount, Comiskey was all the base Dali
goods of any Importance that Won der Ahe
had, but at that the old German was think
ing of another base ball war, which finally
did come up, and he got nothing for Comis-
key. How closely the secret was Kept until
now Is indicated by the fact that even COM
iskey, when reading this article, Will only
now know that such deal was on foot. 1t
also demonstrates that men can meet and
talk but yet keep secrets from one another.
Finally the war broke out between the
league and association in the fall of 1891,
and the result was that a great many OF the
associations players f1ocked to the National
League by ignoring the reserve rule.
The deal for Comskey to go to the league
was negotiated by myself, which finally
landed him in Cincinnati, but 1 will state
that Mr.. Brush who was president of the
Cincinnati club. was not the magnate that
Comiskey was to go to when the $4,000 was
offered to Chris Won der Abe to leave Com
iskey's name off the reserve list. Comiskey
got a fabulous salary for his three years
service with Cincinnati while Won der Abe
could have had $4,000 either in the year
'Ss or 80 for Coniskey's release by going
through the form that was framed up by
the league magnate and myself.