[prewinter]

Originally Posted by Chickazoola

By September 1884, the Northwestern League was running on fumes. Towards the end of the month, the only active clubs were Milwaukee and St. Paul and were playing exhibition games primarily. St. Paul's ace for most of the year was Elmer Foster, but he hurt his arm that month and did not play again on the year. That left St. Paul with an urgent need to find a replacement as they joined the Union Association in late-September.

Given that the only biographical detail we have on the UA pitcher was that he was from the Chicago Franklin club, and that Ed Brown had appeared for that club, and would also have been known to management, it seems plausible that he is our guy.

There is no evidence that Jim Brown is the guy, him being credited with the games is the result of some unchecked assumptions along the way. Brown was from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania and it seems unlikely he would have travelled to the Midwest in late September of his own accord to join the club, and given the financial state of the Saint Paul (ie not great), I doubt they would have paid his way.

The last definitive record I have of Jim Brown prior to September, is his appearances with New York, and the controversy around his signing with both NY and Indianapolis in June 1884. Given the notoriety, it seems strange that no papers would have mentioned that fact for the Saint Paul pitcher.

That being said, the lack of mention of Ed Brown's credentials also gives me some pause as well.

I've not done any digging into the UA pitcher prior to the other night. I have looked into Ed Brown previously, although I did not know he was with the Franklins. Thanks for the added info. If I learn more, I'll share.