John Magner

In a column for the St. Louis Star in 1910, sportswriter Billy Murphy proclaimed, “We’re going to put you wise to the fact that the fastest man who ever played baseball lives in this city. ’Tis John Magner, who played with the Browns in the early ’80s. Magner was not speedy – he was lightning.”1 Al Spink, in The National Game, described him as “one of the greatest fielders and batsmen this city has ever given to the professional field.”2 Despite all the hyperbole and accolades, John Magner played only one game in the major leagues (1879), though he was an established player with independent clubs in the 1870s and 1880s. He also umpired for part of a season in the American Association and for several other minor leagues in the 1880s.

John Magner – whose middle initial was given variously as T. or J.3 – was the son of John (1808-1866) and Mary Magner (1820-1892). His father owned a saloon on North Levee Street in St. Louis, Missouri, according to the 1865 street guide. After his father died in 1866, his will indicated that John was “about twelve years old,” suggesting that he was born in 1854.4 However, the 1880 Census puts his age at 23, while the 1910 Census lists his age as 52, both suggesting that he was born in either 1857 or 1858.5 John had two much older brothers – Patrick (1838-1904) and Michael (1842-1898) – both born in Ireland (as were his parents). His older sister, Mary (1852-1884), was also born in Ireland. John and two younger sisters, Lizzie (1857-1905) and Catherine (1860-1863), all were born in Missouri.6

John first shows up in the St. Louis street guide in 1875, with occupation listed as laborer, living with his mother and brother Michael at his mother’s boarding house.7 That same year, Magner started appearing in box scores with local amateur clubs in St. Louis, first with the Elephants (a “young junior club”8) in April and May, and then the Empires, starting in June. In September 1875, Magner joined the St. Louis Red Stockings, along with Tom Loftus, “to fill the positions formerly occupied by the seceders, [Trick] McSorley and [Joe] Ellick.”9 The Red Stockings had started the season in the National Association but dropped out in July with a 4-15 record.

In 1876, John J. Magner’s profession is given as “baseball” in the street guide, at the same address as in 1875 He started the season with the Red Stockings on a club that included Billy Redmond, Pidgey Morgan, Tom Dolan, Art Croft, Dan Collins, Packy Dillon, Tom Oran, and Loftus, and later would add Jack Gleason, Tom (Sleeper) Sullivan, and Pud Galvin. On July 6, it was reported that “John T. Magner severed his connections with the St. Louis Red Stockings at Reading, Pennsylvania, having been released by Mr. [manager John) McNeary.”10 The estrangement must have been temporary, because he showed up in the box scores again with the club starting just 10 days later. In all, 91 games were played by the Red Stockings in 1876, and Magner was credited with appearing in 87 of them. The club finished with a record of 67-23-1 against other (mostly) independent professional clubs. (Six of the losses came against the National League’s St. Louis Browns, the only league club they played, whom they failed to defeat even once.) Magner finished the season with 134 hits in 411 times at bat, for a .323 average, lowest of the six players who appeared in at least 80 games. He scored 115 runs, fourth highest on the club. Playing in left field, he had 115 putouts, eight assists, and 26 errors.11

Magner left St. Louis and headed east for the 1877 season. He started the year with the Columbus Buckeyes and bounced around from there, including a stint with the Tecumsehs (of London, Canada), champions of the International Association that season. “Magner, formerly of the St. Louis Reds, has had a serious time this year. Starting with the Buckeyes and graduating into the Rochesters and Tecumsehs, he has worked around into the St. Paul Club, or was there at last accounts.”12 He finished the season in St. Paul. Stats were published by the Columbus club and the Tecumseh club at the conclusion of the season. Magner played in 17 games with Columbus, and he made 11 hits and scored eight runs in 63 at bats (.175 average), with 21 putouts, seven errors and no assists.13 For the Tecumseh club he played in 27 games, hit .190, and averaged 0.60 putouts, 0.28 assists and 0.36 errors per game.14 In newspaper accounts after 1877, his time with the champion Tecumseh club was often cited.

Magner started the following season back in St. Louis with the Red Stockings. In July he joined the club in Davenport, Iowa. “A gentleman who witnessed the game of baseball between the Davenports and the Washington club, says that the new men, Magner and [Harry] McCaffrey, played finely… a faster base runner than Magner is seldom seen.”15 He played 17 games for Davenport, with 17 hits and 14 runs in 78 at-bats (.218), 22 putouts, no assists, and three errors.

The St. Louis Brown Stockings (no longer in the National League by this time) reorganized in 1879 with Magner as a member. In addition to Magner, the club included Morgan, Croft, and Charlie Hautz of the old Red Stockings; Ned Cuthbert and Dickey Pearce from the original Brown Stockings; and Hugh McDonald, Frank Decker, and Jumbo McGinnis.16 Magner did not stay with the Browns long – he joined the Stars of Cincinnati by the end of May.

On July 14, 1879, the Cincinnati Reds headed into a game against Boston short one player, because Will Foley had a bad finger. “Instead of using [Jack] Neagle in the field, where he might have been of some service to them, they uniformed Magner of the Cincinnati Stars, and played him in center field… Magner was a useless investment. All he did was catch one fly, muff another and make an out when good batting was needed.” The article in the Cincinnati Enquirer bemoaned the hitting of the entire club. “Not one had the patience to wait on [Curry] Foley’s extraordinarily wild pitching. Magner, after having eight balls and one strike called on him, deliberately slashed away and struck out, when he could have had his base by standing still. If any Cincinnati man has waited for a base on called balls lately, nobody has found it out.”17Magner was hitless in four at-bats, but he did hit a sacrifice fly following a triple by Pete Hotaling in the sixth. He finished the season with the Stars, and at the conclusion of the season the Stars “tendered John T. Magner, the popular left fielder of the late Star Base Ball Club, a benefit.”18

In the spring of 1880, Magner was back in Cincinnati looking for a job. “John Magner, of last year’s Cincinnati Stars, is about town, waiting for something to turn up. Mag is a fine fielder and a heavy hitter and should be gobbled up by some enterprising club.”19 He was still in Cincinnati in June when manager Horace Phillips of the Rochester club in the National Association came through looking for players for his squad. Magner is credited with playing two games with Rochester in 1880.20 On July 17, 1880, John J. Magner umpired a game in St. Louis between the Browns and S. C. Davis & Co.21 The next day “Magner, formerly of the Tecumseh’s, of London, Canada, and other professional clubs” filled in for the St. Louis Reds against the St. Louis Browns.22 He appeared in additional games for the Reds over the rest of the season.

In 1881, the Sportsman’s Park and Club Association was organized, and the Brown Stockings were revived once again. Al Spink described the occasion in The National Game:

Sitting out in the field early in the spring of 1881 before the new grandstand was completed, I organized the St. Louis Browns of that year. Edgar Cuthbert, the only one of the old professionals still remaining in the city assisting me in the selection of a nine which included George Baker and George Seward, catchers, George [Jumbo] McGinnis, pitcher, Edward Gault, first base, Hugh McDonald and Dan [Pidgey] Morgan, second base; Jack Gleason, third base; William Gleason, short field; Harry McCaffrey, center field; Edgar Cuthbert, left field, and John T. Magner, right field.23

Magner was with the Brown Stockings all season, until a schism split the club into two claimants for the name at the end of the year. The split developed when some players (Magner included) were unable to participate in all games owing to commitments to other jobs.24 Visiting clubs objected to having substitutes play, and they pressured the club to insist that their top players show up for games. In the resulting fallout, five of the Browns regulars (to that point) ended up forming a second Browns squad, with both groups claiming to be the true club. The Sportsman’s Park Association ended up backing the contingent led by Cuthbert, which was not Magner’s. Still, both clubs played out the season.25

Prior to the start of the 1882 season, he turned pool aficionado. “John J. Magner, the well-known baseball player, challenges any man in St. Louis to play him a match of pyramid pool, best eleven out of twenty-one games, for $50 to $100 a side.”26 He was beaten by Henry Leist in a match in March, 11 games to 8.27 He arranged a rematch with Leist later that summer. “John T. Magner, known the world over in base ball circles, and Harry Leist (Little Henry) have arranged to play a match game at pyramid pool for $50 a side. Little Henry is the champion pool player of St. Louis, and John T. has always been looked on as the next best expert in that line.”28

In April 1882, Magner joined the Standards, a new amateur club formed from some of the top players in the city. They beat the St. Louis Browns of the newly formed American Association by a score of 4-2 in their inaugural game, mostly due to the pitching of Bob Hogan. Magner, filling in at shortstop, was 0-3 in the game.29

In August he umpired a game between the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Browns of the American Association, filling in for the scheduled umpire, Charley Smith, who failed to arrive at the game on time. “[Magner] did the best work in the position seen on the grounds this year, and not once during the game was there a dissenting voice to any of the decisions he made.”30 Magner umpired a few more local games over the rest of the season. He finished the year playing for Louisville in an exhibition game against the Browns.

The St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported on March 11, 1883, that the St. Louis club would “stand by John T. Magner, who is an applicant for a position as umpire in the American Association.”31 Magner was appointed first as a substitute and then as a regular arbiter for the American Association a few weeks into the season. He resigned his position in late June. A few incidents appear to have precipitated his resignation. On June 17, Magner umpired a game in Louisville between the Eclipse and the Baltimores. “Magner’s umpiring was unsatisfactory yesterday in some respects. His intentions appear to be better than his judgement.”32 It was later reported that he chartered a private train at a cost of $125 to get to Louisville on time for the game; subsequently the Louisville club organized a benefit game for him (on June 22), presumably to help cover the cost.33 However, criticism of his umpiring continued:

“It would be a great injustice to the Eclipse, however, to neglect to say anything about the umpiring of Magner, the flashy young gentleman from St. Louis. It was beyond doubt as rank an exhibition of lack of knowledge as one could wish to see. Not only was he terribly off in his calling of balls and strikes, but his base decisions were, at times, simply outrageous, and the Eclipse were always given the bag to hold. It is one of two things, he is either incompetent or does not want to umpire fairly, and in either case he is not a fit man for the place.”34

The Baltimore club ultimately lodged a complaint against him, and Magner resigned his position as umpire shortly thereafter. He would umpire single games in 1884 and 1887, but otherwise was done with the major leagues.

He continued to play ball in the St. Louis area. “Among those out practicing at the Grand Avenue Park yesterday afternoon was John J. Magner. Not long ago John was as graceful and useful a player as graced the profession. Yesterday he played as prettily as ever, but he was heavily handicapped by the weight he carried.”35 (Baseball references list him at 170 pounds, which he carried on a rather short five-foot-seven frame.)

He played some games with the Grand Avenue club over the rest of the 1883 season. In the fall, he took a job as a postal clerk. The 1885 St. Louis street guide lists John J. Magner as a clerk at the Post Office, living with his mother and brother Michael.

From 1884 through 1886, Magner umpired and played in local games. He managed a club called the Centrals in 1885, which played a series against the St. Louis Black Sox, an African American club, in August.36 He had previously played against the Black Stockings and umpired some of their games in 1883. In May 1886, he organized a benefit game for former teammate Tom Sullivan, which brought in $900.37

Magner resigned his position at the Post Office in February 1887 and moved to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where his brother Patrick ran a business making carriages. He played for local clubs there.38 He attempted a comeback in 1888; as Sporting Life reported, he “reduced himself from 218 pounds to 172 pounds, and he claims he can outrun [Arlie] Latham.”39 He signed to play right field with Dallas of the Texas League, but was released in March.40 He umpired at least one game in Texas in April.41

By then in his 30s, Magner tried yet one more comeback in 1889, returning to Texas. “Among those with John] McCloskey was John T. Magner, at one time left fielder for the St. Louis Browns, who has a national reputation as one of the most proficient exponents of the national game in the world. McCloskey’s idea now is to have Magner stay in Fort Worth to work up a club here and to manage it when organized.”42 After failing to get a club started in Fort Worth, he went to San Antonio, where he failed to get permission to fence in grounds for a ballpark.43 He then went to Austin, where he successfully organized a club for the Texas League.44 The club was 0-8 when Magner was released on April 15.45

From Texas, Magner migrated to Indiana in July, umpiring for the Inter State League. At first all was well. “The umpiring of Mr. Magner was fair and seemed entirely satisfactory to the audience.”46 However, just days later, the same paper was singing a different tune. “Mr. Magner, according to the verdict of the audience as well as the players, displayed anything else but evidence of being a satisfactory man in his position, and it is said with some show of reason too much of the condemnation heaped upon Ed] Dundon for Tuesday’s game, should have been meted out to Umpire Magner, for his rank decisions on balls and strikes.”47 The next day was even worse. “Magner came to the assistance of the visitors, and more open, notorious, and shameless dishonesty was never indulged by an umpire. The conduct was so bare-faced as to preclude the possibility of the audience excusing him on the ground of incompetency, or even imbecility… How Secretary Pritchard could be led to employ such a character as Magner as umpire is one of the curious things in base ball. He must have known something of his previous history, the unsavory reputation he bears wherever he is known, particularly at Dallas, Texas, and Vicksburg, Miss..”48

The Evansville Journal noted that the night prior to the game, “[Magner] was driving around to various barrooms with four gamblers and of course such actions cause suspicion to attach to his work yesterday.” It also noted that Magner held a personal grudge against Evansville center fielder Ducky Hemp: “Little Ducky Hemp carries a scar on his face to this day that was inflicted by Magner with a pair of knuck while the two were playing ball in the Texas League.”49 Magner was escorted off the field under police protection after the game.

The Sporting News took a very different view of the situation. “It seems very strange that the clubs of the Interstate League cannot get along with such umpires as John Hunt and John T. Magner. As a matter of fact no two better men ever left here [St. Louis] to umpire games.”50

That was apparently the last game Magner umpired in professional baseball. The Sporting News supported his petition to be appointed as an umpire in the American Association in 1890, but he did not get the posting. He spent time that summer as an enumerator for the 1890 Census.51 He played pool matches for money in St. Louis in the early 1890s.52 In 1891, he is identified as a clerk in the St. Louis street guide, once again living with his mother and brother. He was tendered a benefit in 1892, and another in 1895, when the St. Louis Browns played the Fairs at Sportsman’s Park.53 By the late 1890s he was working as a clerk in the mail room of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Magner dropped almost completely out of the record after the mid-1890s. He was not mentioned when siblings Michael (d. 1898) and Lizzie (d. 1905) died. He was still in St. Louis in 1910, as evidenced by the reference in the column by Billy Murphy, and he was identified in the 1910 census with an occupation of newspaper vendor. The last mention of Magner in the St. Louis papers may have been in 1915. “We have no idea of the identity of the person who deposited a box of cigars in our desk but after smoking one of the perfectos we strongly suspect that John T. Magner had something to do with it.”54 At the time, there was a younger John T. Magner in St. Louis of some note, having been a football star at Central High, and then Barnes University, Georgetown University, and Christian Brothers College a few years prior. He sold cigars in the later 1910s, so this quote may refer to him.55

In 1922, Magner was mentioned in an article about baseball funnymen. “Later on, ‘White Wings’ Patsy Cahill, John T. Magner, Crazy Ward and others did the funny business around the St. Louis baseball park.”56 The article noted that Magner was dead. The date and location of his death and burial have not been determined. The family burial plot is at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri (Section 3, Lot 124). Most of his immediate family (except Patrick and Lizzie) were buried there, including parents John and Mary, brother Michael, and sisters Catherine and Mary. Records obtained at the cemetery also indicate that his uncle Edmund (1837-1862) and Katie Magner (unknown relation, d. 1867) were also buried at that plot, along with three children of his sister Lizzie. (Two of the children were subsequently moved to the plot where she was buried.) Finally, the records also indicate the plot contains an unidentified male, with burial year not provided, and Charles Magner, unknown age, buried on May 2, 1919.57 If Magner died in St. Louis, he could be the unidentified male buried in the plot, or he could be incorrectly identified in the records as Charles Magner.

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Darren Gibson and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Paul Proia.

Sources

US Census data was accessed through Genealogy.com and Ancestry.com, and other family information was found at Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com. Articles cited in this biography were typically accessed through Newspapers.com and/or Geneology.com. Street guides were accessed through Ancestry.com.

The biography of John Magner in David Nemec’s Major League Baseball Profiles, 1871-1900, Volume 2 (Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 2011) provided context and details that aided this biography.

Notes

1 “Timely Sport Comment,” St. Louis Star, January 17, 1910: 7. Magner was living and working in St. Louis at the time.

2 Alfred Spink, The National Game, St. Louis, Missouri: National Game Publishing Co. (1910): 276.

3 There is a discrepancy in the record as to John’s middle initial. In The National Game, Al Spink gives his middle initial as “T”, while David Nemec reported that Magner claimed the initial “T” stood for Tecumseh. Magner played for the Tecumseh club in 1877, but the initial “T” does appear in at least one newspaper blurb from 1876. Newspaper reports from the 1870s through the 1890s sometimes used “T” and sometimes “J”. The initial “J” is used in street guides (when an initial is used) up until 1899 (the only time “T” was used in the street guides). In 1885, John’s brother Michael was tried (and acquitted) of threatening to kill his brother “John J. Magner” (“The Justice’s Court,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 10, 1885: 9). When his mother died in 1892, the initial “J” was used in the newspaper announcement of her death (“Died,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 22, 1892: 2). This author is going to use quotes with the initials as used, and not draw a conclusion as to which initial was the correct one.

4 The will states, “John being of tender age to wit about twelve years old it is my will that until he becomes of age his maintenance, clothing and education be suitably and well provided for by his mother…”

5 The Dallas Morning News gives his age as 33 in the spring preview for the 1889 baseball season, suggesting he was born in early 1856 or late 1855 (“All Pennant Winners. Every Club in the Texas Ball League Thinks It Will,” March 31, 1889: 8).

6 The death certificate for Lizzie Magner Johnson lists her parents as Patrick Magner and May Fitzgerald, so she may have been John’s niece, adopted by his parents. John Magner Sr.’s will stated that she was his daughter, and that she was “about eleven years old,” which would put her year of birth as 1855. Her death certificate gives her date of birth as February 3, 1857, while the 1900 Census puts her birth date as February 1956. Catherine’s death on June 2, 1863, at the age of two years and ten months, was reported the following day in the Daily Missouri Republican on June 3, 1863 (pg. 2).

7 “Arrested on Suspicion of Robbery,” St. Louis Republican, January 1, 1874: 16. Michael Magner was arrested for robbing a boarder.

8 “Red Stockings vs. Elephants,” St. Louis Republican, April 16, 1875: 8.

9 “Local Gossip,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 9, 1875: 8. Magner and Loftus were reported to be joining the Red Stockings in Cincinnati. On September 11, 1875, the Globe-Democrat reported that Loftus did not go “Owing to a painful felon”, and Martin Welsh went with Magner instead (“Local Gossip,” p. 3). McSorley joined the Cincinnati Stars while Ellick joined the Louisville Eagles.

10 “Local Lines,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 6, 1976: 8.

11 “The Record of the St. Louis Red Stockings,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, November 12, 1876: 7. The season review noted that the Red Stockings used only “all yarn dead balls… and during the season they did not play a single game with a live ball.” Multiple game accounts during the season noted that Magner hit a home run, but it is not clear as to the nature of those home runs.

12 “Semi-Professionalisms,” Chicago Tribune, August 26, 1877: 7.

13 “Baseball Averages of the Buckeye Club for 1877,” Columbus Dispatch, October 4, 1877: 3.

14 “The Tecumseh Club,” Chicago Tribune, November 11, 1877: 7. Statistics published in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat as supplied by the Secretary of the International Association had Magner playing just seven games with Tecumseh, batting .208 (5 for 24) (“Willow Wielders,” February 13, 1878: 5.)

15 “Items in Brief,” Quad-City Times, July 25, 1878: 1.

16 “Base Ball,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 26, 1879: 5.

17 “More Muffing,” Cincinnati Enquirer, July 15, 1879: 8. Cincinnati lost the game by a score of 8-4.

18 “Base-Ball Notes,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 25, 1879: 7.

19 “Base-Ball,” Cincinnati Star, March 6, 1880: 6.

20 The author was able to locate one box score for a game between Buffalo and Rochester, played on June 21, 1880, with Magner playing right field for Rochester: “… the local team [Rochester]… had been strengthened by Mitchell, Magner and Ewing, three well-known Cincinnati players” (“Buffalo vs. Rochester,” New York Clipper, July 3, 1880: 117).

21 “The Davis Team Beaten,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 18, 1880: 6.

22 “’Rah for the Reds,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 19, 1880: 5. It is curious that he is described in this manner in a St. Louis paper, where ostensibly he would be recognized as a local player.

23 Spink, The National Game: 46.

24 The 1881 St. Louis street guide lists his profession as “laborer.”

25 “The Base Ball Muddle,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 8, 1881: 2.

26 “Tips,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, February 28, 1882: 6.

27 “Pyramid Pool,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 14, 1882: 6.

28 “Tips. At Home and Abroad,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 13, 1882: 7. No news on the outcome of the match.

29 “The Standards Successful,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 3, 1882: 3. The box score in the Globe-Democrat differs from that published in Al Spink’s The National Game, which has “Wagner” at shortstop going 2-4 (pg. 50).

30 “The Visitors Victorious,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 9, 1882: 6.

31 “Diamond Dust,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 11, 1883: 18.

32 “Very Soft Practice,” Louisville Courier-Journal, June 18, 1883: 5.

33 “Base Ball,” Indianapolis Journal, June 23, 1883: 12.

34 “Almost Shut Out,” Louisville Courier-Journal, June 26, 1883: 4.

35 “Diamond Dust,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 7, 1883: 3.

36 “Diamond Dust,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 21, 1885: 5. The first game was played on August 22. The Post-Dispatch reported that “about 3,500 persons witnessed the game” on August 23 (the second game between the clubs) at Sportsman’s Park, which the Centrals won 17-6 (“Amateur Base-Ball Notes,” August 24, 1885: 8).

37 “Sullivan’s Benefit,” The Sporting News, May 10, 1886: 1.

38 “An Old Vicksburg Ball Player,” Vicksburg Commercial Herald, February 3, 1888: 4.

39 “St. Louis Siftings. News, Notes and Comments,” Sporting Life, January 4, 1888: 2.

40 “Diamond Dust,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 29, 1888: 8.

41 “A Good Game of Ball Spoilt by the Umpire,” Austin American-Statesman, April 18, 1888: 3. Austin lost the game against Dallas and blamed Magner: “The umpire [Magner] either willfully sided with Dallas or he does not understand the game well enough to act the part, and his services should be dispensed with. It is very evident Austin cannot win with such a man to judge her plays, especially when his town of Dallas is concerned.”

42 “Base Ball. What Mr. McCloskey Has to Say About a Texas League,” Fort Worth (Texas) Daily Gazette, January 23, 1889: 5.

43 “Council Proceedings,” San Antonio Daily Light, March 19, 1889: 4. “Petition from John T. Magner to fence in a portion of San Pedro Park as a baseball ground. Not granted.”

44 “Localettes,” Fort Worth Daily Gazette, February 7, 1889: 5.

45 “Diamond Dots,” Austin American-Statesman, April 16, 1889: 5. In the standings published in the Galveston Daily News that day, Austin was in last place with an 0-8 record (“Standing of the Clubs”, April 16, 1889: 3)

46 “Base Ball. A Hotly Contested Game at the Park Yesterday,” Evansville Courier, July 7, 1889: 5.

47 “Good Ball. The Springfield and Evansville Clubs at the Park,” Evansville Courier, July 11, 1889: 1.

48 “An Umpire’s Game. Second Contest Between Evansville and Springfield,” Evansville Courier, July 12, 1889: 1.

49 “Shameful Umpiring. Magner Willfully Throws Yesterday’s Game to Springfield,” Evansville Journal, July 12, 1889: 1.

50 “Inter-State League. A Word to Those Who Have Been Abusing Umpires Magner and Hunt,” The Sporting News, July 20, 1889: 3.

51 “Census Enumerators,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 21, 1890: 4.

52 “Pool,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 12, 1891: 16. “The second game will be between John T. Magner, the popular and well-known professional ball-player, and Jno. McDonald.” This was during a “professional tournament for the championship of the State of Missouri at continuous pool.” On May 13, the Globe-Democrat reported that Magner was tied with J.L. Dinning going into their final and deciding game (“Sporting Notes”, May 13, 1891: 4), but the author could not find the outcome of that match.

53 “Amateur Notes,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 14, 1895: 11.

54 “Purely Personal,” St. Louis Star, January 9, 1915: 8.

55 The football-playing John T. Magner was the son of yet another John Magner (a contractor in St. Louis). “Man-in-Motion John Magner Starred at Three Colleges,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, July 7, 1964: 6B. Barnes University later became Barnes Hospital.

56 “Ball Giants Are Passing”, Reno Gazette-Journal, August 3, 1922: 5. The byline for the article was Al Spink.

57 An online search of Missouri death certificates found no record for Charles Magner. The closest record was a certificate for Charles Magnus from February 1917, of unknown family, born in 1854. He died of a skull fracture after falling to the sidewalk and was buried in Potters Field. The St. Louis Archdiocese website for the cemetery identifies Charles Magner as Charles Magnus.