[tm1681]

OCTOBER 1870: A "GANG OF SEVEN" PAVES THE WAY FOR A PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE

At the start of the NBBO's Fall Meetings at the Astor House Hotel in New York City on October 4th, executives from a group of seven clubs, along with some star players including the aforementioned Konrad Jensen, met to propose what would finally be the end of the era of secret cash deals and fake amateurism with a fully professional league. The seven clubs: Flour City, Kings County, Knickerbocker, Newark, Orange, Quaker State, and Shamrock.

The "Gang of Seven" had most of the same things in common: in-division success, post-season success ranging from appearances to championships, and large enough venues to be able to go professional without needing frequent injections of cash. However, they were hoping for a ten-team league and needed to find three other clubs with somewhat similar attributes willing to make the jump. The candidates they considered:

CUP WINNERS

Sons of the Ocean (New Bedford, MA) - SotO were the 1st NBBO champions and took the Tucker Wheaton Cup again in 1869. They spent a decade employing the best-hitting 3B in the sport, the now 13-time All Star Samuel Kessler. They were also able to develop other multiple-time All-Stars such as Andrew Boss (2B), Corey Burnett (3B/RF), and Anthony Gardner (SP). However, the club's two cup runs came in their only two playoff appearances, while the club had a small fanbase and a stadium that only seated a bit more than 2,000 people.

Green Mountain B.C. (Burlington, VT) - From the same division as SotO (New England), Green Mountain looked like much the same club on paper. They had two Tucker Wheaton Cups, long-employed the sport's best player at one position (11-time All-Star SS Anthony Mascherino), and they developed other multiple-time All-Stars (LF Raymond Ginn, 1B Howard Barbour, SP Franklin Squires). Their venue also had the same problem in that it sat only around 2,000. However, they had one big advantage on SotO in that they'd won the New England Championship seven times instead of two.

Reading Athletic Club (Reading, PA) - Reading took the cup in 1867, had won the Inland championship five times, and had never finished lower than 3rd in Inland since 1858. They also boasted a fantastic all-time winning percentage of .624 and finished with a 53-17 record in 1870. That 1870 team featured numerous All-Stars and Golden Glove winners. However, their stadium was roughly the same size as that of SotO and Green Mountain, and their ability to recruit players came thanks to cash from rich members of the athletic club that the team was part of. That wouldn't necessarily work in a league where everyone had to be paid a full-time rate.

St. John's B.C. (Providence, RI) - St. John's looked the part of a club that belonged going pro. They had good facilities in a big city, some quality players, a good competitive record (.560 winning percentage all time, 12 straight winning seasons) and a stadium that seated about 10,500. They also won the Tucker Wheaton Cup in 1859. However, they'd only won the New England championship once since then - a division their inherent advantages should have allowed them to dominate.

Victory B.B.C. (Troy, NY) - The Gang of Seven was looking to add a second club from upstate New York, and had it been five years earlier the Victory Club would have been included with no questions asked. From 1859-63 they won the Upstate New York championship all five times, and they took the Tucker Wheaton Cup in 1862. However, Victory fell off and frequently hovered around .500 since then, only to bounce back at the perfect time with a 47-23 1870 season that saw them take the Upstate championship again. Problem: they had a small-ish venue (~4,000) that would put them at an income-based disadvantage compared to the other clubs.

SUCCESSFUL CLUBS

Excelsior B.B.C. (Brooklyn, NY) - The Excelsior club had three big things going for it: five 1st-place finishes in the tough Brooklyn Championship, an all-time winning percentage of .586 (51-19 in 1867), and baseball's best player, Konrad Jensen, as the face of the team. However, they had one small issue and one big issue. Their venue at Carroll Park only sat about 4,000, making it much smaller than the clubs already committed to going pro. They were also based in Brooklyn, and the Gang of Seven was wary of having four NYC-area clubs in the inaugural season of a ten-team league, as they felt having too many clubs from one city would hurt legitimacy. But...if the sport's best player really didn't want to leave the seasonal baseball club he'd been with for thirteen years, why not just bring the whole organization kicking and screaming into the pros?

Atlantic B.B.C. (Brooklyn, NY) - Atlantic was a well-run club that had won the Brooklyn Championship four times, the New York League championship twice, and boasted a .563 all-time winning percentage. However, they'd never had any major stars and they had the same issue as Excelsior in that they'd be a fourth NYC-area club.

Minuteman B.C. (Albany, NY) - Minuteman had won the Upstate NY championship three times and had a decent-sized venue (6,000+), which made them a good candidate for the second upstate New York club. However, their year-to-year form had a tendency to fluctuate and they'd recently made a big mistake in letting 11-time All Star SS Anthony Mascherino leave for Quaker State after two seasons, depriving them of a superstar player that the Gang of Seven wanted in a pro league.

BIG CLUBS

Alleghany B.C. (Pittsburgh, PA) - The Alleghany club had been decent (.552 win percentage) but never dominant in an Inland Championship they should have been able to take more often but had only won two times. However, in 1868 Pittsburgh Recreation Park was expanded to seat over 17,000. Also, the team had performed quite well over the past two seasons (40-30, 45-25). While on-field success was mostly lacking, the size of their fanbase was extremely attractive.

American B.C. (Philadelphia, PA) - American had the weakest playing record of any club considered, with a .519 all-time winning percentage and just one playoff appearance. However, in that lone playoff appearance they won the Northeastern League championship and they'd spent their fourteen NBBO seasons in the hellish Coastal Championship - the year they won it was so competitive they needed just a 41-29 record to take first place. That said, they had been markedly over .500 in three of the previous four seasons, Glenwood Field sat nearly 15,000, and given the city's size the Gang of Seven didn't have any issues adding a second Philadelphia club.

Gotham B.B.C. (New York, NY) - Gotham club executives were among the NBBO's founders and the club itself easily predated the organization, with its foundation going back to 1852. The Red House at the St. George Cricket Grounds was a fine venue that held nearly 8,000 and the club had first-class facilities, but on-field success wasn't there. They spent most of the Orange Club's dominance of the New York City Championship during the NBBO's first decade languishing below .500, and while they did take top spot with a 46-24 mark in 1868 their record dipped to 40-30 in '69 and then crashed to 28-42 in 1870. They easily had the resources to go pro, but did they have the competence? And again, was a fourth NYC-area club wanted?

Massachusetts Bay B.C. (Boston, MA) - Adding Massachusetts Bay would have meant a second Boston club, but given Boston's size at the time it wouldn't have been a major issue. MB could boast of quality facilities and a stadium that seated just under 9,500. They'd also finished 44-26 in 1870. However, before that they were under .500 as often as they were over it and had won the Coastal Championship once.

Niagara B.B.C. (Buffalo, NY) - Niagara was an odd club. They had never won the Upstate NY championship but had finished 2nd or 3rd no less than eight times in the NBBO's fourteen seasons of existence. They had a cumulative winning percentage of about .550, with only one losing season to their name. They were almost always "kinda good", and they played in a venue that sat over 11,000. One big point in their favor: ahead of the 1870 season they'd brought in the aforementioned Samuel Kessler after three seasons with Newark.

THE DECISION

In the end, the Gang of Seven decided to add the three clubs from outside Brooklyn and New York City that offered not only some big names, but the best chances of professional stability: Alleghany because of their big venue and market size in western Pennsylvania, American because of their venue and recent upturn in on-field form, and Niagara due to their being the one club in upstate New York that had a major star. The Gang of Seven became a group of ten, and the ten became the American Professional Baseball League.