reserve list, who had
refused to contract with said club's members, and of all other eligible
players, and such players, together with all other thereafter to be
regularly contracted with by such club members, are and shall be
eligible to contract with any other club members of either association
party hereto.

The object of this was to prevent what was then at that time a growing
evil, the stealing of players by one club from another, and that it was
successful in that respect there can be no denying.

The reserve clause was not popular with many of the players, however,
and it was this that later on led to the Brotherhood revolt and a
general shaking up in base-ball circles.

Such had been the boom in base-ball in 1883, and so promising did the
outlook seem from a monetary standpoint for a similar boom in 1884 that
Henry V. Lucas, of St. Louis, evidently believing that there was
millions in it, organized and took hold of the short-lived Union
Association, the failure of which wrecked him in both purse and spirit.

This Association was organized at Pittsburg in September, 1883, and was
launched with a great flourish of trumpets, the cities agreed upon for
the circuit being Washington, St. Louis, Altoona, Pa., Boston,
Baltimore, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Chicago.

Of the fifty League players, who, it had been given out, would break
their contracts and join them, not a baker's dozen showed up when the
time came. Only five of the original clubs played out their schedules,
these being the St. Louis, Cincinnati, Boston, Baltimore and Nationals
of Washington, they finishing in the order named, Boston and Baltimore
being tied for the third place.

The Union Association season opened on April 17th. Within six weeks of
that time the Altoona Club gave up the fight, being succeeded by Kansas
City. The Keystone Club of Philadelphia lasted until August, and was
then succeeded by the Wilmington, Del., Club, which had been persuaded
to desert the Eastern League by Mr. Lucas. In September they, too,
passed it up and Milwaukee took the vacant place, they lasting but a
short time.

The Chicago Union Association Club, a weak sister at the best, played
along to almost empty benches until August, when it gave up the fight
and transferred its team to Pittsburg, but that city refused to support
it and it finally gave up the ghost about the middle of September.

In the meantime the League, which had expelled the deserting players