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WHO IS TAKING MONEY? AND HOW MUCH?
AMIDST TOP-HEAVY COMPETITION & RUMORS OF ILLICIT PAYMENTS, N.B.B.O. TO AUDIT CLUBS

NEW YORK CITY (Nov. 10, 1866) – Tuesday morning marked the start of the annual National Base Ball Organization Postseason Meetings, which always take place at the St. Nicholas Hotel in New York City. Located deep within the meeting halls of the thousand-room luxury palace, the commissioner, owners, executives, and player representatives immediately entered into talks about the two topics that weighed heaviest the past season: dominant teams & the status of Amateurism.

During the recently completed 1866 season, a record four teams won seventy percent of their games: St. John’s (54-16, 77%), Shamrock (53-16, 76%), Excelsior (51-19, 73%), & Syracuse (49-21, 70%). A fifth regional champion, Alleghany (47-23), won just over two-thirds of their games, and the “worst” of the six regional champions was defending cup winners Knickerbocker at 45-25. One second-place team, Sons of the Ocean in New England, also went 45-25.

Every one of the six regional championships saw at least one team lose more than forty games, and in two of the six there were three teams that lost more than forty times. Two teams, Cantabrigians & Mutual, lost fifty games. A whopping 34/48 teams finished at least ten games out of first place, with two teams taking first place in their regions by more than ten.

Nowhere could the dominance of the few be felt more than when it was time to hand out the annual awards for the Northeastern League. The individual awards went to players from Alleghany, Shamrock, & St. John’s, Shamrock players took home a record five of the nine Golden Gloves, and seven of the nine Team of the Year nominees plus the Manager came from the ALL/SHA/STJ trio. In a league with two dozen member clubs, the bulk of the awards going to players from just three teams should not happen. Not surprisingly, the award winners were more diverse in the older and more robust N.Y.L.

Never had the N.B.B.O. been this top-heavy, and having so much of the season become effectively meaningless so soon, and for so many clubs, was a major point of concern for just about everybody except officials from the six regional champions. However, how would this issue be addressed? The roster rules of the competition were relatively simple: each club could have eighteen players on its senior roster, a further eighteen “in reserve”, and since the N.B.B.O. was an amateur competition money should theoretically never be a factor in roster changes going inward or outward.

However, over recent years it had become a poorly-kept secret that money had indeed crept into the organized form of base ball. Ever since premier clubs like Knickerbocker & St. John’s started drawing over 2,500 fans per game – far more than the thousand or so during the inaugural season – those clubs have found themselves with an excess of money in the bank. There are also clubs that have rich presidents or rich patrons that can contribute an excess of cash to the club coffers. That money can be used on venues, facilities, and equipment, but a club like Knickerbocker that has been known to run a yearly profit of $5,000 during recent seasons might still have leftover cash after taking care of such things. That leaves one other source to spend money on: the players themselves.

According to N.B.B.O. rules, each player is to be granted a “stipend” for gamedays spent on the senior roster similar to that of a regular laborer to make up for the lack of work. The average laboring man makes about $6 per week, and with the schedule of seventy games equaling somewhere between eleven and twelve weeks of work, the stipend for a season spent on a senior roster is set to $70. That stipend can change over time, but the logic behind the rule remains the same.

What happens when clubs with larger fanbases or rich patronage, and thus more resources, have an excess of money and nowhere to spend it? In a realm of competitive people, that money just might go to supposedly amateur players who can improve a club’s fortunes. There were rumors that the reason why ten-time Golden Glove winner Anthony Mascherino spent nine seasons with Green Mountain, even though he was from elsewhere in New England, was that the club president was giving him $1,000 in cash under the table to keep playing for them after he won his second M.V.P. award. Going back further, there were rumors about just how Niagara was able to convince Grover Wright to join their club after a record-setting season as the #1 pitcher for cup winners Kings County in 1861.

The players were mum and the executives would never tip their hand, but word around the Writers Pool was that indeed there was a lot money exchanging hands under the table in order to secure player services, and such illicit payments could explain the chasms between the top and bottom of the standings in the regional championships this past season.

The clubs did not want to admit to paying players, so they were espousing the gospel of competitive balance. However, the commissioner wanted direct answers on the matter, and he used his privilege to order a full audit of the 48 clubs on the grounds that there was potential corruption afoot. Arguing that illicit payments could mean illicit gambling was also involved, the commissioner was able to secure police assistance. It would take time to speak to those relevant and find the answers, but he was sure a report could be made by the start of the N.B.B.O. Executive Committee Meetings in the spring.

The upcoming winter was going to be a extremely anxious one for everybody in the N.B.B.O.