Biography of von der hofes

Christian Frederick Wilhelm Von der Ahe, a pioneering figure in early professional baseball, was born on October 7, 1851, in Hille, Germany, and emigrated to the United States in 1867.

Beginning in St. Louis as a grocery clerk, Von der Ahe had saved enough by 1870 to acquire a small combination grocery and saloon. Four years later he opened a spacious establishment at Grand and St. Louis Avenues that served as a grocery, delicatessen, saloon, and beer garden.

Grand Avenue Park was a block away.

Its baseball diamond had been built by Augustus Solari in 1866.

Biography of von der hofes children

By 1875 Grand Avenue Park hosted the home games of the Brown Stockings, the city’s first professional ball club. The original Brown Stockings, besieged by financial losses and a gambling scandal, resigned from the National League in December 1877.

They continued as a semiprofessional ball club, but Solari grew disenchanted over dwindling attendance at their games and announced plans to dismantle