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362:. In 1898, part of the ballpark burned down during an April game with Chicago; his second wife divorced him; and his bondsman kidnapped him for not paying his debts. In a highly publicized trial connected with the fire, von der Ahe lost his baseball team. The Browns changed hands twice and changed their name twice, first to the Perfectos (1899) and then to the Cardinals (1900). The
250:, where he worked as a clerk in a grocery store. Later, he bought out the store owner and expanded business by establishing a saloon in the back of the store. Von der Ahe noticed that a number of his patrons visited the saloon after baseball games, so in 1882 he bought the bankrupt and scandal-ridden St. Louis Brown Stockings baseball franchise for $ 1,800 and joined the
335:. Without Comiskey's eye for talent, the Browns crumbled to only their second losing record as a fully professional team, finishing 11th. They would never come close to contention again during von der Ahe's ownership, never finishing higher than ninth in their first seven years in the NL and even finishing last twice.
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The Browns dominated the
American Association, winning four straight league championships starting in 1885. Von der Ahe's baseball, beer, and other investments made him very rich. He made $ 500,000 off the baseball team alone. He set the ticket price at 25 cents, hoping fans would spend money on
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after the
American Association folded. Unfortunately for the Browns, they, along with three other AA refugees, were forced to place their players in a pool and give the established NL clubs first choice to sign them. By this time, Comiskey had lost patience with von der Ahe, and signed with the
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Von der Ahe soon lost his other wealth as well and was reduced to tending bar in a small saloon. Comiskey frequently sent von der Ahe money to help make ends meet. In April 1908, the St. Louis
Cardinals and St. Louis Browns played each other in a benefit game for him. The club raised $ 4,300.
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in winter). The league, which prohibited gambling on its grounds, disapproved of the race track; so did von der Ahe's outfielders. The press called the facility "Coney Island West" and nicknamed von der Ahe "Von der Ha Ha."
507:
Crazy ’08: How a cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads and
Magnates created the Greatest Year in Baseball History, p. 164, by Cait Murphy, Smithsonian Books, a Division of Harper Collins, 2007,
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In 1887, after a poor showing in the World Series, the ill-tempered von der Ahe threatened to withhold his players' share of the earnings. In 1891, he was also majority owner of the
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in this regard. With his thick German accent ("I am der boss bresident of der Prowns!"), bushy mustache and showmanship, he was as much of a story as his players.
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from 1902 to 1953 had no connection to von der Ahe's team aside from the name, which was designed to invoke the memory of the 1885–1889 era.
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Legal problems plagued von der Ahe's ownership, especially in the later years. In an effort to recoup his losses, in 1892 he moved to a
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Von der Ahe took a very active role in the team, even though he knew almost nothing about baseball. Other than player/manager/owner
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The Summer of Beer and
Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America's Game
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at the ballpark, although some historians dispute this. Von der Ahe billed himself as the "Millionaire
Sportsman".
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In 2015 Von der Ahe was named to the Pre-Integration
Committee ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
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beer. As a result, the Browns led the league in attendance and soon had to expand the ballpark. The term
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in St. Louis, with the statue that once stood in front of
Sportsman's Park adorning his grave.
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With losses still piling up, von der Ahe resorted to selling off his best players, mostly to
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entrepreneur, best known as the owner of the St. Louis Brown
Stockings of the
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American
Baseball, v. 1: From Gentleman's Sport to the Commissioner System.
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Egenriether, Richard. "Chris Von der Ahe: Baseball's Pioneering Huckster."
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American Baseball, v. 3: From Postwar Expansion to the Electronic Age.
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American Baseball, v. 2: From Commissioners to Continental Expansion.
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Nine: A Journal of Baseball History and Social Policy Perspectives,
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In 1885, von der Ahe erected a larger-than-life statue outside of
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baseball league. He named the team the Browns and hired future
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University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, Oklahoma. 1983. (
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University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, Oklahoma. 1970. (
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University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, Oklahoma. 1966. (
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Due to a life of heavy alcohol consumption, he died of
525:"Chris von der Ahe, St. Louis Pennant Winner, is Dead"
304:mockingly dubbed the statue "Von der Ahe discovers
262:to play first base and eventually manage the team.
49:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
633:Gateway Heritage: St. Louis, Missouri. April 1992.
592:v. 7:no.2. Edmonton, Alberta. 1999. Also abbr. in
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386:of the liver on June 5, 1913. He was buried in
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491:"St. Louis Cardinals team ownership history"
616:Chris Von der Ahe and the St. Louis Browns.
601:Chris Von der Ahe and the St. Louis Browns.
554:"Chris von der Ahe – A Magnate for Success"
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293:) is sometimes attributed to von der Ahe.
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427:CHRIS VON DER AHE - A MAGNATE FOR SUCCESS
109:Learn how and when to remove this message
631:Chris Von der Ahe: "The Boss President."
218:; October 7, 1851 – June 5, 1913) was a
1546:Prussian emigrants to the United States
603:Pocol Press: Clifton, Virginia. 2016. (
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139:Von der Ahe, from a baseball card, 1887
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495:Society for American Baseball Research
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438:The Great American Baseball Scrapbook
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192:(MLB), businessman, CEO, entrepreneur
1566:19th-century American businesspeople
618:Scarecrow: Lanham, Maryland. 1999. (
47:adding citations to reliable sources
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596:v.18. SABR: Cleveland, Ohio. 1989.
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1536:Burials at Bellefontaine Cemetery
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34:needs additional citations for
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640:Oxford: New York City. 1960. (
558:National Baseball Hall of Fame
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326:In 1892 the team joined the
238:Born in the fall of 1851 in
16:German-American entrepreneur
7:
1556:People from Minden-Lübbecke
541:– via Newspapers.com.
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638:Baseball: the Early Years.
594:Baseball Research Journal,
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321:Cincinnati Kelly's Killers
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533:. June 6, 1913. p. 4
460:"Beer and Whiskey League"
436:Suehsdorf, A. D. (1978).
415:Forvo – Chris von der Ahe
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1453:Helene Hathaway Britton
530:St. Louis Post-Dispatch
704:Baseball-Reference.com
681:Voigt, Davis Quinten.
666:Voigt, Davis Quinten.
651:Voigt, Davis Quinten.
585:, 978-1610392600, 2013
440:, p. 8. Random House.
388:Bellefontaine Cemetery
1541:Deaths from cirrhosis
215:[fɔndɐˈʔaːhə]
188:Founder and Owner of
614:Hetrick, J. Thomas.
599:Hetrick, J. Thomas.
464:xroads.virginia.edu/
252:American Association
224:American Association
43:improve this article
1531:Baseball executives
1420:St. Louis Cardinals
458:Lisle, Ben (2000).
279:George Steinbrenner
228:St. Louis Cardinals
226:, now known as the
207:Wilhelm von der Ahe
199:Christian Friedrich
190:St. Louis Cardinals
177:St. Louis, Missouri
58:"Chris von der Ahe"
1499:William DeWitt Jr.
1467:Robert E. Hannegan
366:team known as the
244:Kingdom of Prussia
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952:Chris von der Ahe
912:Chris von der Ahe
706:(managing record)
636:Seymour, Harold.
629:Rygelski, James.
609:978-1-929763-49-8
513:978-0-06-088937-1
256:Chicago White Sox
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346:, complete with
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298:Sportsman's Park
260:Charles Comiskey
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99:November 2022
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1485:Gussie Busch
1434:
1352:Mike Matheny
1248:Johnny Keane
1216:Harry Walker
1208:Eddie Stanky
1200:Marty Marion
1144:Gabby Street
1128:Gabby Street
1008:Patsy Tebeau
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984:Bill Hallman
960:Roger Connor
951:
944:Arlie Latham
911:
888:Bill Watkins
856:Cub Stricker
832:Joe Gerhardt
824:Count Campau
768:Ted Sullivan
760:Ned Cuthbert
682:
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561:. Retrieved
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474:December 31,
472:. Retrieved
468:the original
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169:June 5, 1913
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53:
41:Please help
36:verification
33:
1526:1913 deaths
1521:1851 births
1460:Sam Breadon
1362:(2018–2021)
1360:Mike Shildt
1354:(2012–2018)
1346:(1996–2011)
1330:(1990–1995)
1314:(1981–1990)
1282:(1978–1980)
1266:(1977–1978)
1258:(1965–1976)
1250:(1961–1964)
1242:(1959–1961)
1240:Solly Hemus
1226:(1956–1958)
1210:(1952–1955)
1194:(1946–1950)
1186:(1940–1945)
1170:(1939–1940)
1154:(1933–1938)
1146:(1930–1933)
1098:(1925–1926)
1090:(1919–1925)
1074:(1913–1917)
1066:(1909–1912)
1058:(1906–1908)
1040:Jimmy Burke
1034:(1904–1905)
1032:Kid Nichols
1026:(1901–1903)
1010:(1899–1900)
970:(1896–1897)
872:George Gore
864:Jack Crooks
808:John Kerins
794:(1884–1889)
352:ice skating
348:beer garden
1515:Categories
1478:Fred Saigh
1471:Fred Saigh
1192:Eddie Dyer
1168:Ray Blades
976:Hugh Nicol
968:Tommy Dowd
928:Lew Phelan
646:0195059123
402:References
271:Bill Veeck
151:1851-10-07
69:newspapers
1424:franchise
1328:Joe Torre
1288:Jack Krol
1280:Ken Boyer
1272:Jack Krol
1264:Vern Rapp
1232:Stan Hack
1000:Tim Hurst
920:Joe Quinn
563:April 14,
537:March 30,
384:cirrhosis
248:St. Louis
203:Frederick
360:Brooklyn
314:hot dogs
306:Illinois
1416:of the
394:Tribute
291:fanatic
211:German:
83:scholar
1469:&
1444:&
1338:(1995)
1322:(1990)
1306:(1980)
1298:(1980)
1290:(1980)
1274:(1978)
1234:(1958)
1218:(1955)
1202:(1951)
1178:(1940)
1162:(1938)
1138:(1929)
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1122:(1929)
1114:(1928)
1106:(1927)
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302:Denver
289:(from
258:owner
234:Career
179:, U.S.
85:
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56:
1442:Frank
378:Death
240:Hille
90:JSTOR
76:books
687:ISBN
672:ISBN
657:ISBN
642:ISBN
620:ISBN
605:ISBN
565:2018
539:2020
509:ISBN
476:2014
442:ISBN
277:and
201:(or
166:Died
145:Born
62:news
287:fan
45:by
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