December 20th, 1899 Madigan Hall, Manhattan, New York In a raucous and vivacious 1899 Winter Meetings Session, a sweeping stand against organized labor saw multiple gains for the owners in the Legacy Baseball League, with General Managers exercising their constitutional voting rights on four proposals. This year’s Winter Meetings included the first-ever tie-breaking vote from…
Author: andrew.visscher
Recruiting the Bakers
Written by Steve M. “The bakery has seen an increase in sales for this past quarter. It’s a testament to the dedication and hard work of everyone in this room. And, of course, the women who are not present with us this afternoon. They will be vital to the success of the bakery while the…
Libby Hill
The Richmond Saga, 1.1 Written by Andrew V. Richmond, Virginia August 20th, 1899 The trolley slid along East Main Street, dust heavy in the August heat, with the bustle of downtown Richmond alive and thrumming into the late morning. Carriages lined the wide lane—still yet to be properly paved—and in the elegant light on Richmond’s…
Breaking: Rumors of Unions in Manhattan
Last Saturday afternoon, several witnesses reported a meeting near Madigan House, Manhattan, where several distinguished legacy league ballplayers held conference in the basement of The Headwaters Hotel. Rumors report household names like Danny Edgerton (Philadelphia) and Ricky McCoy (Detroit) in attendance. The rumor of the player gathering drew a small crowd to the event, where…
Team Introduction: The Detroit Giants
Written by Brendan H. To an uncommon cathedral—both pastoral and timeless—distinct from a city exploding with industry and lurching towards the future, generations of Detroit natives and immigrants journey in exultant pilgrimage to root for the local team. The Old Grounds, an unassuming ballpark located just off of Jefferson Avenue near the Detroit River, had…
Team Introduction: The Chicago Packers
Written by Drew V. Set against the bustling Polish neighborhood of Buck Town in the Wicker Park District, the Packers of Powers Field play against a noisy and bustling working-class community near the newly-constructed Wicker Park train line. Hand-selected from the best city meat-packer baseball organization, local politician and banker Horatio Powers bankrolled the formation…
Team Introduction: The Philadelphia Brewers
By Drew V. Founded by the Philadelphia twins and businessmen Karl and Walther Boeselager, the Philadelphia Brewers are a founding LBL powerhouse currently dominating the Liberty Division. Originally a supplier of the 1883 Philadelphia Athletics, the pair owned a large brewery operation in Philadelphia, founded by their father, Wilhelm. The Boeselagers lost the original bid…
Team Introduction: The New York Kings
Written by Brendan H. Bread and circuses? The pursuit of great wealth at all costs, unscrupulous though the methods may have been had been a successful one for Alexander Bingley. The son of an Episcopalian clergyman, the native New Yorker had treated the accumulation of vast sums of capital as his divine right throughout his…
Team Introduction: The Boston Banshees
“In the end, his mother told him, it was the wailing that took his father. A pox on their family. After each joyous beginning, the wailing would consume him until the silent, stillbirth would drown the fairy’s cries with its gurgling, violent emptiness. The cycle continued, unabated, like the tide—day giving way to night. At…
Team Introduction: The Providence Angels
Written by Drew V. The life work of sporting enthusiast and Superior Court Judge Jacob Cartwright, the Providence angels are a successful and strait-laced ballclub who play in the scenic center of Roger Williams Park on “Angel Island.” A successful lawyer, respected judge and soft-spoken Roman Catholic deacon, Jacob Cartwright purchased the center of Roger…