Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-04-09
WONDER AHE WONDER MAN
0F|BAsEBALL' EARLY DAYS
IAN "Shoestring" Into Millions.
!. out Died Poor and
~ Brokcn-Hcartcd.
MADE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION
Revived Game for st. Louis and
Loaned Money to Poorer Clubs TO
Assure CONTAMINATION -Four
remnants i'm Row.
ny JAMES j. ConuETT.

ny JAMES j. CORUE1T.
Chris Won Der Abe ever viii be re-
& n,cmbercd as the most picturesque and
s unique figure in baseball Like Charlie
& Murphy. he ran shocstrnG into a
S million" but he did it i'll II fashion far
6 more spectacular and IN an era when
baseball profits were scant in compar
son with that when Murphy rose TO
Won Der Ahe's career roads much
like tale from the pen OF fancitul
writer Of fiction 1t Is q story, OF :.
! business entirely foreign TO him. and
4 Yet in a few brief years became its
Sui. unlike Ike the live" 'iiit happily ever
after Climax OF most tales. Won Der
Abe plunged from tho heights Of great
ness. lost all his money almost oyer
night. and died practically pcnnilcss
Z and broken hearted
Far back in 1881 baseball enthusiasts
In st. Louis. having been deprived Of -
National League franchise. cvinccd :,
z great caEerness for representation in
Hundreds OF men who had money and
were approached on the subject OF put
ana financing =, new league. backed
away from H. They could see nothing
in the ,pror.siSion but tnanoial ruin
Sky. ca,vs IN, anpouncemsnt tron,
i CHRIS Won Der -hhS, corner grocery
Il nave iittie money. and III put
II all into baseball I'll back any new
league INST = started and back it 10
And - IN is. the American AsSocia-
.ioa ~-4s Termed which for many years
3)seniv.bias ugs fifteen seasons dsurSd
4 cons sEc- 2-Siy in the national pastlnc
tined nitH the league were willing 10
80 beyond = certain point in financing
I II They aiways feared that he or;
times some oi the clubs were literally
''cp n. -ccts-" MONEY was needed
aud ffSdsd n hgTrE Ths m men, ihai
one figured would be thrown away.
But Won Der Ahe. Who believed in
4 the American Nssociation and believed
IS In its future. loaned 20 each club all
b tho o,oney that it asked for. When
4 his own funds ran out ne went TO every
& the Smit. Nnd then he turned over
the ironey 10 support the league.
y support of Won Der Abe managed to
stagger through 1SS2 without suffer
& been, an, icipa,cd In fact, toward the
# cud Of the season the gate" exceeded
the outlay. All OF this hcartencd the
IS league officials, and when tn" lSS3 sea-
son sopened they wcro enthusiast 10
abont i, and ready TO back it TO the
S limit:
j can Association became a power in
baseball and success for practically
every one who hard ventured into il in
rot Der Abe reaped the richest har-
Vest bf them all. st. Louis. which long
was satisfied with its st. Louis Browns
that Non Der Ahc gave to them. The
> penss in clutterine mis- roster with the
best players obtainabc. AS a result
Z; the 81 Louis Browns swept on TO pen
nant ,heiEhts in 1855 and then cstab-
lished record never since coualcd-
That or winning four pcnnants in a row.
Il The team OF Won Der !lhe followed its
1883 Triumph by rcpcatne in 1856 1887
X and 1855. And All the time gold poured
3F into the Golfers of Won Der Ahe until
- they ,bulEed beyond the proportions of
any magnate in the game OF that
Fortune. BeEin 10 Fall.
1t Tas then that Non Der Ahc in a
q financial way. reached his real great
& ness, Ter,HnS' which had smiled on
sdSefs,y began to S.9 in i $50 WIFI MitG the 6
ia formation of the Brotherhood
F The new league which hlossomed ont
x IN 1880 took from the ranks of the
NA ristisa Association most of the
every, erort TO retain his players, but
s most or those efforts were Ruthless
lie hna took up fight against the brother
Is hooo-and II cost money. He operated
or course. during the 1890 season. and
every day brought loss to him. Ills
S-NPe''otc N'tt almost aS great 1890
q as they had been in every other YEAR
Is and the gate" usually was only ;, few
y dollars. &C"
In an effort 70 recoup this loss, Won
Der Ane necame interested in race track
& affairs. He was prevailed upon to in
vest big sums of money in race courses
flcturcs were painted OF the golden
future. Won Der Abe. trusting SOU.
q went into the thing on an immense
4 scale He operated one race track and
was interested financially in severa,
r. others ~ one time ne controlled a
NJ number OF books"
II Racing Gnmr Gets Setback.
~. But the racing game suffered a SOL.
pack at the time and every venture
IN mat Won Der Abe made was a losing
one Stories were told that his own
2f hirelinEs in the hookmaking end Of If
K frequently hceced him for thousands
/ OF dollars a day
in the end Won Der Ahe's fortune
was gone. his popularity in baseball
3 was lost and the enemies he had made
reaiizing mat he was slipping prac,
B tically kicked him out Of haschall The
81 one, time power attempted come
back" but it was useless And SO he
sss retired from baseball minus all the
ss& money. he had made and went into
81 obscuritY, where he remained nn,il Ms
death a few years ago -CoDvrjt.ht
SSsl9lS. by King Features Syndicate Inc