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Here's a team photo of the 1867 Empire Club of St. Louis, published in the Sporting News on November 2, 1895. The Empire were one of the earliest clubs in St. Louis, dating back to 1860, and they were one of the dominant clubs in the city up into the 1870s. The St. Louis Red Stockings, briefly members of the National Association, were formed in 1873 in part to challenge the supremacy of the Empires.

On July 4, 1865, the Empire of St. Louis defeated the Empire of Freeport, IL, by a score of 27-20 for "the Championship of the West," per the New York Clipper. They were one of the first clubs from St. Louis to develop a national reputation. The belt in the photo of the 1867 club was likely one presented to them in 1865 (by supporters in St. Louis) in recognition of their victories that year.

Adam Wirth was one of the key members of the club for more than a decade. (He played first base in the game against Freeport.) He first turns up in connection with baseball in St. Louis in 1863 umpiring a game, and he was still in box scores with the Empires playing against the Red Stockings in 1876. He was profiled in the Illustrated Newspaper by Frank Leslie on August 4, 1866, from which the photo of him comes, where, unfortunately, his name was given incorrectly as "Adam North".

Edited October 9, 2025: Based on the names, this photo seems to be of the 1869 club, not the 1867 club. A variation of it was printed in the January 22, 1888 St. Louis Globe-Democrat. All of the names are the same except that Tom Welch is named instead of David Duffy. That variation identifies it as the 1868 club, but Heap doesn't show up in boxscores with the club until 1869.