Ed Kripp

Ed Kripp was a Sacramento-based baseball promoter, gambler, and entrepreneur who played a central role in the development of professional baseball in Northern California during the late 19nth and early 20th centuries. As owner and manager of the Gilt Edge club—named for a beer produced by its sponsor, the Buffalo Brewing Company, under owner Frank Ruhstaller1—Kripp led the team to four consecutive pennants in the California League from 1897 through 1900.2 During this same period, he was among the organizers who helped incorporate that circuit in San Francisco in 1897, as baseball in California moved toward more formal organization.3

Edward Lukens Kripp was born on April 15, 1869, in Sacramento.4 His mother, Margaret Ann Kripp (née Conrad) came to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush, traveling with her parents in an 80-wagon ox train.5 His father, Frederick Kripp, was born in Bavaria and raised in the United States. Frederick was a barber and later a rancher.6 Ed was one of only three children who survived childhood, along with his older brother Fred and his younger brother Newton. He also had a half-sister from his father’s first marriage.7

In 1891, Ed Kripp married Emma Waldren. Within a few years, they had two children, Florence and Orlin.8

As a young man, Ed Kripp worked as a constable and later served as a police officer in Sacramento before becoming involved in the city’s sporting and gambling enterprises.9 In 1887, attorney W. H. S. Scott publicly accused Officers Henry Alter and Edward Kripp of accepting bribes from Chinese merchants and highbinders, but a grand jury declined to indict after hearing extensive testimony. The following night, Scott was assaulted on a Sacramento street; Kripp was arrested, pleaded guilty to battery, and was fined 20 dollars. His tenure on the police force ended soon afterward.10

Sacramento baseball in the 1880s included clubs such as the Altas, which competed in organized play but were often marked by shifting management and uncertain organization.11 It was soon after, in this unsettled environment, that Kripp became active in organizing baseball in Sacramento as the sport expanded across the state.

During the early 1890s, Kripp became active in organizing baseball in Sacramento at a time when the sport was expanding across the state. In addition to his involvement with the Gilt Edge club, he operated an independent team known as the X-Rays, which competed primarily in local games outside formal league play. Contemporary accounts refer to the club as “Kripp’s X-Ray Baseball Club,” and identify him both as manager and as a player at third base and as an outfielder.12 The team achieved notable early success in local competition but was short-lived.13

By 1896, Kripp operated a poolroom at the Capital Hotel that provided near real-time race results and live descriptions of sporting events via direct wire. His baseball activities thus intersected with a broader commercial sporting culture tied to gambling and spectatorship.14

The Gilt Edge developed out of Sacramento’s growing baseball culture in the mid-1890s, when the sport had become widely played and closely followed throughout California. By 1895, Kripp’s teams were already competing successfully against regional opponents, often winning by wide margins and demonstrating a level of organization uncommon among local clubs.15

By 1897, Sacramento had become one of the strongest baseball centers in the state. Games at leased grounds such as Oak Park and Snowflake Park drew large crowds, sometimes exceeding 1,500 spectators.16

On Thanksgiving Day 1897, Sacramento’s Gilt Edge club defeated the touring Baltimore Orioles, reigning Temple Cup champions, by a score of 4–3 at Snowflake Park during the Orioles’ offseason barnstorming tour.17 Jay Hughes pitched effectively for Sacramento, while Baltimore’s “Brother Joe” Corbett was driven from the box early in the game.18 The victory stood as one of the most notable achievements by a California club against Eastern competition during the era, and Hughes was subsequently signed by Baltimore for the 1898 season.19 Although Hughes left for the major leagues following the 1897 season, he later returned to Sacramento after establishing himself in the National League, a decision influenced in part by his marriage to Sacramento native Mary Waters, underscoring both the city’s ability to develop elite talent and the difficulty of retaining it.20

As Sacramento players gained recognition, Eastern clubs moved quickly to sign them away, drawing talent from California into the major leagues. Pitcher Zaza Harvey was claimed by Chicago after attracting attention during Sacramento’s pennant runs, another illustration of the limits of Western clubs’ ability to retain top players.21

Kripp emerged as a central figure during this period of transition. With the incorporation of the California League in 1897, he held the Sacramento franchise and leased playing grounds at Oak Park and Snowflake Park, giving him significant influence over the team’s finances, operations, and competitive direction.22 Kripp not only leased Snowflake Park but also undertook improvements there, including the construction of a new grandstand and additional seating accommodations.23 Under his leadership, the Gilt Edge club dominated the California League during a four-pennant run that established Sacramento as a leading baseball center on the West Coast.24

Kripp’s control of the Gilt Edge club ended amid disputes over ownership in 1900–1901, when he transferred the franchise to Arthur Beebe under terms that later became contested. He subsequently filed suit claiming the arrangement had been temporary, but Beebe retained operational control of the club, marking the end of Kripp’s direct authority over the team.25

Kripp’s marriage ended in a highly public divorce in 1900, in which his wife charged adultery. During the proceedings, Kripp was also involved in a confrontation with his father-in-law outside the Sacramento courthouse, knocking him down and disarming him of a revolver; a subsequent battery charge was later dismissed.26

Kripp’s second marriage was to Clara Jessie Kripp (née Clara Glenn) in 1902, but it ended in separation by 1911 after she returned east to pursue a theatrical career.27

In 1908, Kripp appeared to have secured a franchise in the Pacific Coast League and began preparing a new ballpark site, investing substantial personal capital in anticipation of Sacramento’s admission to the league.28 At a time when no major league clubs operated in California, the Pacific Coast League was emerging as one of the strongest and most ambitious minor leagues in the country, laying the groundwork for the prominence it would achieve in the decades to follow.29 Despite early indications that the franchise would be awarded to him, league officials instead granted Sacramento’s entry to Charley Graham and Bill Curtin.30

Kripp responded by continuing to build independently. On land at Tenth and Y Streets, he began filling low, marshy ground in preparation for a permanent baseball facility. His efforts culminated in the construction of Buffalo Park between 1909 and 1910. The site included land that had previously served as a garbage dump outside the city limits, which Kripp acquired and transformed into a professional baseball ground.31

Investing approximately $25,000, he created a modern enclosed facility with controlled gate access and seating for thousands of spectators. Contemporary accounts described Buffalo Park as among the finest baseball facilities in the state. 32 The park’s name continued its association with Ruhstaller and the Buffalo Brewing Company.

Buffalo Park quickly became Sacramento’s primary baseball venue and a central gathering place for the city’s sporting life. It hosted professional games, exhibitions, amateur contests, and civic events, regularly drawing crowds of several thousand and reinforcing baseball’s role as a major public attraction. By the early 1910s, the park had evolved into a broader civic space, capable of assembling large and diverse audiences for events that extended beyond sport itself.33

The park’s location outside the city limits also reflected practical considerations, allowing greater flexibility in operations while avoiding certain municipal restrictions that had affected earlier grounds. At the same time, its distance from central Sacramento made transportation a critical factor in attendance, with streetcar access playing an important role in the park’s continued success.34

Although Kripp did not control the Pacific Coast League franchise itself, ownership of the park gave him a powerful position within Sacramento baseball, as teams required access to his grounds in order to operate in the city.

Throughout his career, Kripp maintained extensive involvement in gambling enterprises centered on his cigar store at Sixth and J Streets, above the Columbia Café. Contemporary reports describe a fortified room behind the shop where Chinese lottery games were conducted, equipped with warning systems to evade police detection.35 During a raid in 1896, officers discovered an active lottery operation on the premises and arrested Kripp after a physical struggle, during which he resisted apprehension before being subdued.36

In addition to baseball and gambling, Kripp was active in horse racing, where he treated racehorses as both sporting assets and financial investments. By acquiring and racing thoroughbreds, he participated in competitions across the country and operated within national racing circuits. He named many of his horses after members of his family, including Florence Kripp, Orlin Kripp, and Margaret Kripp—named for his children and mother—which appeared on Western racing circuits.37

Among his most prominent race horses was Beau Ormonde, a thoroughbred descended from the English champion Ormonde. Purchased for $4,000, the horse competed successfully in major handicap races in California and attracted national attention for its performances.38

Kripp’s involvement extended beyond ownership. Contemporary reports identified him as a frequent bettor, including wagers on his own horses through the poolroom system which he operated. This placed him at the intersection of ownership, information, and gambling.39

He continued to expand his racing interests through additional acquisitions and maintained breeding stock on his Yolo County ranch, linking his operations to both the racing world and the agricultural economy of the region.40

By the early 1920s, changing legal and civic conditions made Kripp’s position increasingly difficult. In 1921 he was arrested and fined for maintaining a gambling establishment.41 Later that year, he sold Buffalo Park, ending more than a decade of direct control over Sacramento’s primary baseball grounds.42

In 1923, Kripp constructed the Dreamland Dancing Auditorium on the site of Sacramento’s oldest Protestant church, a decision that drew some public controversy.43  The venue became a major entertainment center hosting dances, public gatherings, and community events.44 Unlike some of his earlier ventures, Dreamland operated within Sacramento’s formal civic framework and received public endorsement from local institutions, reflecting the broader shift toward regulated forms of entertainment.45

Kripp continued to operate in Sacramento through the 1920s and 1930s, though increasing regulation and changing social conditions limited the types of enterprises that had defined his earlier career. By the late 1930s, he had largely withdrawn from active promotion.

Late in life, Kripp remained active in both horse racing and entertainment, continuing to frequent Bay Area tracks while operating the Dreamland Dance Hall in Sacramento.46

Edward L. Kripp died on February 20, 1942, at the age of 72.47 He was buried in Sacramento’s historic City Cemetery, located across the street from the site where his ballpark once stood.48

In the years following his 1921 sale of Buffalo Park, the property passed through successive ownership and redevelopment. Under the ownership of Lew Moreing, it became known as Moreing Field, during what contemporary accounts described as the height of its popularity. As part of the arrangement, he secured a lifetime pass to all baseball games.49   The site was later known as Edmonds Field, and a commemorative plaque now marks the location within a modern commercial building, preserving its connection to Sacramento’s baseball history.50

Kripp’s career spanned a transitional period in California baseball history, when the sport evolved from loosely organized local competition into a structured and professionally governed enterprise. His construction of Buffalo Park provided Sacramento with one of its first enduring baseball facilities, while his broader activities illustrated the close relationship between sport, entertainment, and informal economies in early California.

Although often operating at the margins of legality, Kripp demonstrated a consistent ability to identify where crowds would gather and to create the infrastructure that made those gatherings possible. His influence persisted even as the systems he worked within became more regulated and institutionalized.

Acknowledgments

This biography is extracted from Lisa Jonsson’s book, The Gilt Edge of Ambition (2026, Solvent Press).

The abridged version was reviewed by Bill Lamb and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Paul Proia.

Photo credits

Courtesy of Alan O’Connor, private collection.

Notes

1 Advertisement for Ruhstaller’s “Gilt Edge Beer,” Sacramento Union, December 31, 1897: 7.

2 “Gilt Edges Winner of the Baseball Trophy,” Sacramento Union, November 29, 1897, 3; “Gilt Edges are Champions,” San Francisco Call, December 17, 1898: 3; “The Pennant Remains with Sacramento,” Sacramento Evening Bee, November 27, 1899: 8; “Gilt Edges – The Four Time Winners,” Sacramento Evening Bee, December 3, 1900: 7.

3 “California League Formally Organized,” Sacramento Evening Bee, September 29, 1897: 2; “New Baseball League Formed,” San Francisco Call, September 29, 1897: 12; “California League Formally Organized,” Sacramento Evening Bee, September 29, 1897: 2; “New League Formed,” Oakland Times, September 25, 1897: 1.

4 “Births,” San Francisco Chronicle, April 18, 1869: 3; Clark, Booth & Yardley Funeral Home, mortuary record for Edward Lukens Kripp, San Francisco, February 20, 1942; digitized in FamilySearch, “Sacramento, Sacramento, California, United States Records,” image 112 of 544, accessed February 7, 2026.

5 “Aged Woman Recalls Early Arrival Here,” Sacramento Bee, May 25, 1922: 17.

6  “Local Matters,” Sacramento Weekly Bee, November 10, 1883: 5; U.S. Census, 1860, California, population schedule, Sacramento County, Frederick Kripp.

7 Margaret Ann Conrad, FamilySearch Family Tree profile, FamilySearch.org, person ID KDMV-L64, including listed children Frederick Conrad Kripp, John Kripp, Alice Louisa Kripp, Edward Lukens Kripp, George W. Kripp, and Newton Booth Kripp, accessed February 6, 2026.

8 California, Sacramento County, Marriage Record for Edward L. Kripp and Emma A. Waldren, 10 December 1891; FamilySearch, California, Marriages, 1850–1945 (entry for Edward L. Kripp and Emma A. Waldren); California, Sacramento County, Supplemental Birth Report (Florence Adele Kripp); and World War I Draft Registration Card (Orlin Arthur Kripp), accessed December 28, 2025.

9 “Constables on Deck,” Sacramento Daily Record-Union, September 2, 1890: 2. “Ten Men Are Selected,” Sacramento Evening Bee, April 11, 1893: 2.

10 “Kripp and Alter. The Grand Jury Ignores the Charges Against Them,” Evening Bee (Sacramento), January 18, 1894: 2; “Kripp Arrested: A Plea of Guilty for the Battery Upon Scott,” Evening Bee (Sacramento), February 9, 1894: 2.; “Ex-Officer Kripp Is Fined for Hitting Scott,” Evening Bee (Sacramento), February 15, 1894: 1.

11 “Meeting of the Alta Directory—Mr. Stafford’s Card,” Sacramento Weekly Bee, March 30, 1887: 3.

12 “Baseball To-Day: The X-Rays and Reubens to Play at Agricultural Park,” Sacramento Union (Sacramento, CA), June 23, 1897: 2; “Kripp’s X-Ray Baseball Club,” Sacramento Union (Sacramento, CA), June 7, 1897: 4; “X-Rays Won,” Sacramento Union (Sacramento, CA), July 1, 1897: 4.

13 “Kripp’s X-Ray Baseball Club,” Sacramento Union (Sacramento, CA), June 7, 1897: 4.

14 “Races,” Sacramento Union, March 16, 1896: 3.

15 Gilt Edge Won the Game,” Sacramento Evening Bee, December 20, 1897: 7; “They Downed Los Angeles,” Sacramento Daily Record-Union, September 14, 1897: 3; “Boy Boys Couldn’t Stand Up Against the Home Nine,” Sacramento Evening Bee, August 23, 1897: 2.

16 “It Was Really Gilt Edge,” Sacramento Daily Record-Union, July 12, 1897: 3.

17 “Orioles Defeated in Sacramento,” Baltimore Sun, November 26, 1897, 2.

18  “Corbett Hit Hard,” Buffalo Times (Buffalo, NY), November 26, 1897, 7.

19 “Baltimore Now Claims Him,” Evening Bee (Sacramento), December 2, 1897, 5.

20 “Pitcher Hughes Signs with the Gilt Edges,” The San Francisco Call Bulletin, April 14, 1900, 2.

21 “Baltimore Now Claims Him,” Sacramento Evening Bee, December 2, 1897, 5. “And Next We Lose Harvey!” Sacramento Daily Record-Union, October 10, 1899, 4.

22 “Snowflake Park One of the Best in the State,” Sacramento Evening Bee, August 7, 1897, 12; “Ed. Kripp Says He Has Enough,” Sacramento Evening Bee, January 22, 1900, 7.

23 “Dust From the Diamonds,” Sacramento Union, August 8, 1897: 3.

24 “Gilt Edges – The Four Time Winners,” Sacramento Evening Bee, December 3, 1900: 7.

25 “Kripp and Beebe, “Compromise: Former Keeps an Interest and Latter Runs the Team,” Evening Bee (Sacramento), April 2, 1901: 2.

26 “Made a Break for a Pistol,” Evening Bee, (Sacramento), July 6, 1900: 8; “Kripp Battery Case Dismissed,” Evening Bee, (Sacramento), July 17, 1900, 5.

27 “Ed Kripp Gets Divorce Decree in San Francisco,” Sacramento Bee, March 3, 1911: 1; “Ed Kripp Is Given Divorce,” Sacramento Star, March 3, 1911: 1.

28 Declare Kripp Is After the Coast League Franchise,” Sacramento Star, August 20, 1909: 7.

29 Dennis Snelling, The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903-1957 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2012), 1.

30 “Are Handing It to Graham and Curtin,” Sacramento Star, January 6, 1909: 7.

31  “Ed Kripp Ready to Construct $25,000 Baseball Park Here,” Sacramento Bee, December 22, 1909: 3.

32 “Go Over Site for Proposed Ball Park,” Sacramento Bee, December 28, 1909: 11.

33 “Waseda Nine Lose Hard Game,” Sacramento Independent-Leader, October 2, 1910: 5. “Tragedy Billed at Buffalo Park,” Sacramento Independent-Leader, October 2, 1910: 5; “4,500 Enthusiastic Fans Cheer Senators to 5 to 2 Victory,” Sacramento Bee, April 2, 1913: 11.

34 “Britton Admits Car Service Is Bad,” Sacramento Star, March 27, 1914: 1.

35 “Poolrooms Have Started Up for the Winter Season,” Sacramento Evening Bee, November 16, 1905: 5; “A Vote of Five to Four,” Sacramento Union (Sacramento, CA), February 26, 1896: 8.

36 “Kripp Wants $10,260 Damages,” Sacramento Daily Record-Union, April 24, 1894: 4. “An Unexpected Visit,” Weekly Bee (Sacramento), September 7, 1893: 1; “An Invalid Clause,” Weekly Bee (Sacramento), August 22, 1893: 4.

37 “Butte Races,” San Francisco Examiner, July 29, 1910: 10; “Orlin Kripp Is Champion 3-Year-Old,” Spokane Press, June 17, 1913: 9.

38  “Beau Ormonde Runner, Falls Dead,” Sacramento Bee, December 31, 1912,:10. “Horse Owner Gets Buncoed; Men Arrested,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 8, 1904:, 1; “Orlin Kripp Is Champion 3-Year-Old,” Spokane (Washington) Press, June 17, 1913: 9; “Ed Kripp Buys a Thoroughbred,” Sacramento Evening Bee, January 23, 1903: 5; “Kripp Loses a Valuable Horse,” Davis (California) Enterprise, January 4, 1913: 1.

39 “Lycurgus Shows Poor Form in Saddle,” San Francisco Bulletin, October 31, 1907: 8; “Local Items Briefly Told,” Woodland (California) Daily Democrat, October 4, 1907: 4.

40 “Enterprising Landowners Make Important Purchase,” Sacramento Evening Bee, November 22, 1905: 3.

41 “Kripp Fined $250 for Having Gaming Equipment,” Sacramento Bee, August 12, 1921: 11.

42 Copy of deed for park, Sacramento Bee, December 2, 1921.

43 “Oldest Church in City to Go,” Sacramento Bee, February 20, 1923: 1.

44 “Oldest Church in City to Go,” Sacramento Bee, February 20, 1923: 1.

45 Hale Bros., Inc. to Edward Kripp, December 6, 1923, Sacramento Union, December 12, 1923: 4; Members of Carpenter’s Local No. 586 to E. L. Kripp, November 10, 1923, Sacramento Bee, December 11, 1923: 4.

46 Steve George, “Steve’s Sport Shelf,” Sacramento Union, February 21, 1942: 4.

47 Clark, Booth & Yardley Funeral Home, mortuary record for Edward Lukens Kripp, San Francisco, February 20, 1942; digitized in FamilySearch, “Sacramento, Sacramento, California, United States Records,” image 112 of 544, accessed February 7, 2026.

48 Sacramento Historic City Cemetery, “Kripp, Edward Lukens,” database entry, Sacramento Historic City Cemetery Database Project, accessed April 12, 2026.

49 “Steve’s Sports Shelf,” Sacramento Union, February 21, 1942: 4.

50 Scott Howard-Cooper, “Ex-stadium stores many memories,” Sacramento Bee, July 11, 2005: 57.