Clipping:The Cincinnati Unions were asked to join the AA

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Date Sunday, December 28, 1884
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[from a letter from William Barnie to Justus Thorner dated 12/24/1884] At the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York when the Board of Directors made their decision known in the Mullane case Mr. Caylor, openly, in a public room, surrounded by interested people, announced as a fact accomplished by competent authority, that the Cincinnati Club withdrew from the American Association, and that the proper formalities would be observed the next morning when the convention convened. Not only this, but he took occasion to make the statement more impressive and to give it a wider circulation by seeking out Mr. Francis C. Richter, the editor of the Sporting Life and requesting him to publish the fact as before stated. As this paper is a recognized authority in base-ball matters and has a general circulation through the profession there was no doubt left in the minds of the delegates to the convention that the move was the result of instructions previously given by the Cincinnati Club o its delegate to be acted upon in a certain emergency, which had now arisen. Taking this view of the case the delegates to the convention naturally reasoned among themselves thus: Here are the representatives of the clubs of the American Association assembled in annual convention. A valuable Western city suddenly withdraws in representation. It is greatly to the advantage of the Association to have a representative there.

Therefore, to fill the breach, and as the convention was not in session, to avoid delay the Louisville, Athletic, Brooklyn, St. Louis, Allegheny and Baltimore Clubs requested me to act as their agent, and to telegraph you a tender of the vacancy, which I did, and which you accepted, we were glad to find, and would have formally elected your club a member the next day had Mr. Caylor given us the opportunity, as we certainly expected; but again his assertion, publicly made, as usual, proved worthless, and the next morning he slunk into a half obscure corner of the convention and made himself as small as possible compatible with a legal representation (and you must know he can make himself very small, indeed), and gradually crawled back to the position he had abandoned.

As our tender of the vacancy and your acceptance had been a preliminary to what without doubt would have been officially ratified by the convention in assembly, the telegrams were turned over to President H. D. McKnight as a neutral party and as a proper person for the custody of such important papers, and from his well known, upright characteristics I can, with confidence, assure you that your telegram has been published, if at all, through some breach of faith on Caylor's part. However, the only reason on my part for desiring privacy was on Mr. Caylor's account, and as you inform me that he has himself slightly raised the veil, you might as well let the public know the whole truth.

Source Cincinnati Enquirer
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Submitted by Richard Hershberger
Origin Initial Hershberger Clippings

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