Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Many Cardinals fans might not recognize the name Chris Von der Ahe, but they should. Legend has it, he came up with the idea to sell hot dogs at baseball games and may have coined the term “fan,” short for fanatic. More important, he was the owner who established the baseball franchise that later became the Cardinals. His story and many others are told in Edward Achorn’s recent book The Summer of Beer and Whiskey, which details the 1883 season, when “brewers, barkeeps, rowdies, immigrants, and a wild pennant fight made baseball America’s game.”
In the 1870s, St. Louis’ first major team, the Brown Stockings, was expelled from the National League in the wake of a game-fixing scandal and went bankrupt, though the players continued on as a semipro barnstorming club. Von der Ahe, a German immigrant who owned a grocery store and beer garden near the ball field, noticed an uptick in sales on game days. So in 1881, he bought the remnants of the squad, built a new stadium, and renamed the team the Browns. He also helped found the American Association, a new league that would break from tradition by playing on Sundays, selling alcohol at games, and charging just a quarter for admission.
Von der Ahe spoke English poorly and knew little about the game, once bragging of Sportsman’s Park, “dis vas de piggest diamond in de country,” only to be corrected that all fields were the same size. But his teams won, capturing four straight league titles. And he was one of the most innovative owners of his time, leading the league in attendance with help from various sideshow acts and an amusement park surrounding the stadium, complete with a log-flume ride, a horse-racing track, and of course, a beer garden.
Eventually, his costly affairs and divorces caught up with him; part of the ballpark burned down; and a bondsman kidnapped him for unpaid debts. After he lost the team, it became the Perfectos in 1899, then the Cardinals in 1900. Von der Ahe became a bartender and died of cirrhosis. He was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery, a statue of him that once stood in front of Sportsman’s Park marking the grave.
