Baseball, Beer, and Whiskey

We have hit the fifty game mark. This is where the teams begin to separate. As of this writing, the St. Louis Cardinals sit at the top of baseball with the overall best record – with an astonishing 33 wins and only 17 losses (most of which came early as the bullpen was being adjusted) and a baseball leading (National and American) .660 PCT! In tribute to the boys in St. Louis, let’s go down memory lane and learn a bit about one of the oldest baseball teams…

The summer of 1883 seems to be the year modern baseball was born. 

The game was organized and they had professional teams that toured the country. The rules were similar to what we have today. There were 9 men on the team. There was a nationally organized association called the National League. Games lasted 9 innings. That is basically where the similarity ends.

No one wore gloves. The uniforms weren’t uniform. There were generally only two or three pitchers on each team. It was not uncommon for them to pitch several games in a row. The only player that had a glove would have been the catcher, and the glove was basically a modified farm glove.

The games cost the spectators 50 cents each for the game that would last an hour to an hour and a half. No alcohol sales were allowed at the game. Games were banned on Sundays.

The summer of 1882 was a horrible year for the St Louis Browns. They came in last place and were on the verge of extinction. A few businessmen convinced a Prussian born immigrant named Chris von der Ahe to purchase the Browns. He only agreed for two reasons: he loved the completely American sport, and he saw an opportunity to increase his beer sales. So, the marriage of baseball and beer was born in the summer of 1883 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Von der Ahe lowered the price of the ticket by 50%, while introducing beer sales at the ballpark. His hope was that with the lower price more people would be able to attend and afford to buy beer. The addition of  ladies night, and Sunday baseball were also to spur beer sales. Free admission for women on Thursdays brought out even larger crowds. Sunday baseball gave the immigrants something to do on their one day off. The result was the largest attendance in baseball history of any city in America. The love for their team, baseball, and beer continues to this day.

Nugget:  The term fan (from fanatic) is sometimes attributed to von der Ahe.

Shannonism: "Things are not always as they appear to be as."