Three Weeks in 1953: The Fate of the Cardinals

Fred Saigh had not expected the outcome. The St. Louis Cardinals owner walked into Judge Roy Harper’s federal courtroom on January 28, 1953, prepared to plead no contest to two counts of tax evasion in exchange for withdrawal of three other counts. The government’s investigation concluded that Saigh’s tax returns from 1944 to 1950 showed unreported income of $413,179, for which Saigh owed almost $400,000 in unpaid taxes and penalties.1 Also, the Cardinals’ tax returns for 1948 and 1949 showed unreported income of $330,978, resulting in a tax deficiency and penalties totaling $159,542.2 Saigh’s acquisition of the Cardinals – with partner and former US Postmaster General Robert Hannegan – occurred through what Saigh described as a tax gimmick involving no personal funds; now, it may have seemed that Saigh had been caught playing fast and loose with the tax code.

Fred Saigh did not expect that he would have to sell his club. Saigh, owner of all but seven shares of Cardinals stock after buying out the ailing Hannegan in 1949, anticipated big things for the team. The Cardinals had yet to win a pennant during his tenure, but a third-place finish in 1952 with an 88-66 record generated optimism for 1953. Citing the Cardinals’ strong second half to the 1952 season, Saigh used the occasion of the club’s Christmas party to forecast a pennant.3 He also hoped that talk of building a proposed riverfront arch would be replaced with talk of a new riverfront stadium,4 thereby allowing the Cardinals to escape tenancy at Sportsman’s Park, controlled by the Browns and their president, Bill Veeck. In early January, Saigh spent 10 days in the Middle East checking on his other business interests. He even packed some baseballs for the trip. For the Cardinals owner, it seemed like business as usual.

It would not be business as usual. Saigh believed he would plead the matter and pay a fine. That is how these cases were disposed of, he understood.5 Judge Harper, however, sentenced Saigh to 15 months in prison and fined him a total of $15,000. Harper gave Saigh until May 4 to handle his affairs before reporting to prison. The assistant US attorney, Ted Bollinger Jr., may have had some insight into the apparent severity of the sentence. Bollinger said afterward that the court viewed Saigh as uncooperative with the federal investigation. He disclosed that Saigh offered a job to a government agent investigating his tax records, but Saigh claimed later that he meant nothing improper in doing so. After Harper passed sentence, Saigh became visibly shaken and angry at the court, and had trouble controlling his voice in the courtroom.6 Saigh’s lawyer, Robert H. McRoberts Sr., argued that sparing Saigh’s wife and mother the stress and rigors of a trial was his client’s principal concern in pleading no contest. Further, because Saigh “is key to the entire Cardinal organization,”7 a trial would have been detrimental both to the Cardinals and to baseball. The consequences of the sentence sinking in, Saigh said, “This means I must dispose of the Cardinals. I cannot stay in baseball.”8

With the National League due to meet on January 30, two days after his sentencing, Saigh did not have much time to figure out a plan. He said, “I will confer with National League President Warren Giles and Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in New York. As there are developments concerning the Cardinals, announcements will be made.”9 Developments were underway, in fact, though Giles felt compelled to disclose that he had not received an application related to the transfer of ownership of the Cardinals.

After an hour-long meeting on January 29 with Frick and Giles in New York, Saigh announced that he would select “three civic-minded St. Louisans”10 to act as a trustees committee to operate the club until he could dispose of his stock. Saigh promised to name the trustees committee, which would have to be acceptable to Frick and the NL, by February 22. Saigh intended to handle club affairs until completion of the sale, but removed himself from active participation in National League business and appointed longtime Cardinals vice president William Walsingham Jr. to represent the club at league meetings. Frick expressed his regret about the circumstances. “I certainly hated to see this happen. This plan was Saigh’s. He’s a battler, a game little guy who never has been a bigger man than he was today. He certainly was entitled to bow out of baseball with all the grace possible under these unfortunate circumstances.”11 Saigh reiterated his commitment to sell: “I’ve said I don’t want to embarrass baseball and that I’d sell. I don’t want anyone running the club for me, either, and I won’t sell at a loss. But I’m interested only in selling to people who plan to operate the Cardinals where they belong – in St. Louis.”12

It was anticipated that Walsingham, the nephew of former Cardinals owner Sam Breadon, would be appointed by the trustees to operate the club until completion of the sale. With Saigh’s intent to keep the team in St. Louis and Walsingham’s experience with the team, Walsingham positioned himself as the one to watch as the sale progressed. Walsingham acknowledged his status as a player in negotiations, claiming he had been approached by financial interests willing to back him in taking over the Cardinals.13 Walsingham added that he had met with five or six “substantial” groups interested in the Cardinals while in New York, but urged his potential backers to let him first discuss matters with Saigh.14 For his part, Saigh offered that he preferred for Walsingham to gain control of the club.15

It was becoming quickly apparent, however, that Walsingham would have competition if he hoped to emerge with control of the Cardinals. Although Saigh had said the club would stay put, syndicates based in Milwaukee, Houston, and Washington expressed almost immediate interest.16 Milwaukee and Houston groups had previously explored purchasing the Cardinals with the clear intent of relocating the team. Because of their status as tenants of the Browns, the Cardinals could be perceived as vulnerable to leaving St. Louis regardless of their greater popularity. (The Cardinals outdrew the Browns by approximately 400,000 fans in 1952.) Veeck believed St. Louis would become eventually a one-team city, and he intended for the Browns to be that team, but first he hoped the Cardinals would leave town.

Because the Cardinals were implicated in Saigh’s personal tax issues, a quick sale seemed unlikely. Further, there were concerns that Saigh might establish a high price that could delay sale of the club. During the National League meeting just after Saigh was sentenced, a question was raised about what action to take if he delayed the sale of his stock or reneged on his commitment to sell. Collectively, the NL agreed that the door “already was irrevocably closed”17 by Frick to any further participation in baseball by Saigh. While Frick could clearly act under his power to deal with conduct detrimental to baseball, he did not seem inclined to force the issue with Saigh. After all, because Saigh led the push to oust Frick’s predecessor, Happy Chandler, it might have been said that Frick owed his job, at least in part, to the Cardinals owner. Frick confirmed his plan for patience toward Saigh: “I don’t intend to see a deadline put on the length of the trusteeship to force Saigh to sell at a sacrifice. He has taken these steps voluntarily to avoid embarrassing baseball and we’re not unappreciative.”18 Giles also announced that the league had accepted the procedure outlined by Saigh, and “[a]fter [the February 22 deadline for naming the trustees committee,] Saigh will dispose of his stock as quickly as he can. Naturally, we won’t rush him into accepting an unnecessary loss.”19

With regard to the price of the club, the starting point appeared to be the $4,060,000 for which Saigh and Hannegan acquired the Cardinals in 1947. This figure had its critics. One source within baseball, likely thinking of the Cardinals’ lack of title to a stadium, thought this price might be high by $2,000,000.20 To enhance the attractiveness of the Cardinals for possible buyers, Saigh reportedly looked into purchasing Sportsman’s Park from the Browns.21 It is difficult to imagine that he would have gotten anywhere with Veeck on that matter. Another baseball executive opined that the Cardinals’ presence in Saigh’s tax case brought the value down to around $3,500,000.22 When Saigh fielded calls, he instructed prospective buyers not to bother if their offers were not in the $4,250,000 to $4,500,000 range.23 Saigh’s valuation was based largely on the Cardinals’ physical assets, which he claimed were worth $3,000,000 alone. Saigh tied his estimates to the value of the Cardinals’ minor-league properties, and most of that $3,000,000 was directly related to farm teams in Houston ($1,400,000); Rochester, New York ($800,000); and Columbus, Ohio ($600,000). Saigh added to that figure the excellent financial condition of the Cardinals as well as the intangible value of the team drawing fans into St. Louis from a region encompassing 11 or 12 states.24

By February 1 Saigh claimed to have received 30 to 40 bids25 with most of the interest coming from outside St. Louis. Similar to other growing cities without major-league baseball, Houston wanted it. George Strake, a Houston oilman and philanthropist, seemed like the man to provide it. In fact, Strake’s interest in the Cardinals preceded Saigh’s ownership. In a wire-service story the day after Saigh’s sentencing, Strake was quoted as saying, “I was definitely interested in the purchase of the Cardinals prior to their sale by Sam Breadon to Bob Hannegan and Fred Saigh. I have had no reason to keep up with the financial side of the Cardinals since then. Nor do I know what their present assets or liabilities are.”26 He added that he could become interested again in buying Cardinals “if it is a good business deal.”27 During the NL meeting on January 30, there were reports about a Houston group inquiring about the Cardinals, but the group was not identified. Indeed, other Houston residents who previously figured into attempts to acquire a major-league team “emphasize they knew of no recent attempts to reopen negotiations.”28 The extent of any momentum to move the Cardinals to Houston was thus unclear. The Paris (Texas) News appended to the wire-service story an excerpt from a Houston Post column mentioning that the minor-league (and Cardinals-owned) Houston Buffs were expected to operate as usual regardless of what happened to ownership of the Cardinals.29 The Lubbock Evening Journal added to its story that the Houston Post sports editor believed Frick would assume control of the Cardinals and negotiate a sale to Walsingham.30 If Houston wanted the Cardinals, it was not clear who would be leading the effort.

Houston was not the only source for stories related to the Cardinals. Milwaukee also figured prominently in sales news and rumors. With a new 34,000-seat stadium but no major-league team, Milwaukee desperately wanted to upgrade from the current American Association Brewers. An actual Milwaukee brewer, Frederick Miller, confirmed his prior interest in the Cardinals. Miller had previously inquired about the Boston Braves and the Browns, in addition to the Cardinals, in order to secure major-league baseball for Milwaukee. Miller claimed to have spoken to Saigh about purchasing the Cardinals in 1952 but said, “I dropped the thing right there” when Saigh quoted Miller a $4,000,000 price tag.31 With Saigh putting the team on the market, rumors surfaced that Miller might be getting involved again through intermediaries.

Additional groups figured into news reports about the sale. Washington radio executives Howard Stanley and Nat Allbright formed a six-man syndicate to buy the Cardinals; there was no indication that their interest was tied to relocation. Although Detroit already had the Tigers, two groups with ties to the Motor City expressed interest. Sportscaster Harry Wismer headed a syndicate that wanted to move the team to Detroit. Wismer, who would become the original owner of the team that became the New York Jets, sought Frick’s assistance in dealing with Tigers owner Spike Briggs, who was reluctant to share his ballpark with another club.32 Another Detroit group, possibly including members of the Ford family, was said to be willing to operate the club in St. Louis if it could not be moved to Detroit.33 Charles Margiotti, a former Pennsylvania attorney general, and Harold Klein, a New York lawyer representing trucking interests, also spoke with Saigh although their plans were unknown. John Jachym, a former Cardinals scout who previously headed a seven-man syndicate that bought and later sold a minority interest in the Washington Senators, expressed interest on behalf of a Pacific Coast syndicate “if the price is right.”34 Los Angeles was known to want big-league baseball. Pittsburgh real-estate man Charles Morris reported that Saigh offered his stock to him for $4,250,000.35 A three-man Arkansas syndicate was revealed to have made an offer, but there was no indication whether their interest was tied only to enhancing their financial portfolio or if they also planned to move the team.36

Meanwhile, as Saigh fielded inquiries and offers for the club, he and his lawyers began negotiating with the Internal Revenue Service on February 11 to keep the Cardinals free from government liens. There were concerns that any liens could interfere with salary payments to players, trades with other clubs, and contracts with concessionaires and radio and television stations. At the center of the tax issue concerning the Cardinals was that just as Saigh and his lawyers claimed his personal tax liability was much less than the government claimed, they also contended that the Cardinals’ tax liability was closer to $15,000 than the $160,000 claimed by the IRS.37 The reason the Cardinals factored into Saigh’s tax liability is that personal loans obtained by Saigh and Hannegan when they purchased the club were alleged to have been repaid by the club. The government intended to declare in anticipated civil litigation that Saigh should have reported that repayment as personal income or a constructive dividend.38 Because the repayment of those loans reduced the corporate tax paid by the Cardinals, the club also had added tax liability. Government lawyers, however, seemed reluctant to place restraints on Cardinals operations, and Saigh’s lawyers told them that any back taxes and penalties related to the Cardinals would be agreed on in any contract for the sale of club. Saigh’s lawyers planned to offer to post a bond or sum of money equal to the highest figure claimed by the IRS in order to keep the Cardinals free of liens through the sale. Remaining mindful of his personal May 4 deadline for reporting to prison, Saigh hoped a successful resolution of the Cardinals’ tax issues would hasten completion of the sale.

As IRS negotiations continued, Saigh spoke dismissively in public about those who had reached out to him by that point, grumbling about a lack of progress in negotiations and complaining that only publicity seekers had contacted him.39 Saigh also had yet to name his proposed trustees committee. Saigh’s apparent insistence on sticking to a $4,250,000 price tag for the Cardinals may also have contributed to the delay. Saigh was expected to announce his trustees committee on February 20, still ahead of his original deadline. Giles confirmed that Saigh had yet to submit names for league approval but added, “We are assuming he will carry forth on the program he volunteered to us.”40

Saigh would not have to follow through on his commitment to appoint a trustees committee. On the day he was expected to announce his appointments, another announcement revealed Anheuser-Busch’s plans to purchase the Cardinals. Brewery president August Busch Jr. would become president of the ballclub and retain Walsingham as vice president and operating head of the baseball organization. Saigh would receive significantly less than the $4,250,000 upon which he was reputedly insisting. The purchase price was $3,750,000; of that, $2,500,000 would be paid to Saigh and $1,250,000 represented assumption of debt. Saigh claimed to be satisfied, and Giles announced that the NL had already approved the deal. Busch was slated to take over on March 11 after the expected approval by Anheuser-Busch shareholders.

During the Anheuser-Busch press conference, Saigh confirmed that he had received offers that might have resulted in the Cardinals leaving St. Louis.41 He characterized local interest as “purely speculative.”42 Local bankers David Calhoun and James Hickok entered the scene on Busch’s behalf, with apparent instructions to watch the situation and take any necessary steps to keep the Cardinals in town.43 Calhoun and Hickok offered that Saigh “said he would even be willing to make a sacrifice if it were possible to have the Cardinals remain in St. Louis.”44 Saigh said that “[w]hen it became apparent that an out-of-town group was ready to purchase the Cardinals at a price which I felt was a fair value for the club, I informed Mr. Busch and his associates of the impending sale. They expressed their serious interest in having the club remain here.”45

After the press conference, additional details emerged about the groups that had sought to purchase the Cardinals and move them. A Milwaukee syndicate was understood to have had the inside track on winning the bidding for the team. The possibility of a deal being reached must have been serious enough, because Cardinals front office employees were told two weeks before the Anheuser-Busch announcement that their expenses would be paid if they wished to move to Milwaukee.46 During the Anheuser-Busch stockholder meeting on March 11 to approve the purchase, brewery vice president John Wilson revealed that a Milwaukee group had offered $4,100,000 for the Cardinals. Indeed, Saigh had made arrangements to travel to New York on February 13 to obtain approval to sell the club to a Milwaukee group.47 To be sure, the decision to sell the Cardinals and move them to Milwaukee was not a choice only for Saigh and the Milwaukee syndicate. Two NL clubs were believed to have opposed the move.48 Moreover, the Milwaukee bid was conditioned upon NL approval to move the team as well as American Association approval to shift the minor-league Brewers to another city.49 Considering that Boston Braves owner Lou Perini owned the Brewers – and, as events would prove, was considering his own options – Saigh would have had work to do to accommodate potential Milwaukee buyers. When the Anheuser-Busch transaction went through, this group turned its attention to the Browns, who would undergo their own relocation drama over the following year.

Houston interests were also negotiating with Saigh. One syndicate was headed by George Kirksey, a public relations executive in Houston and a former sportswriter. Saigh disclosed later that two Texas groups had made creditable bids for the Cardinals,50 one of which was Kirksey’s. Kirksey visited St. Louis in early February with a proposal for Anheuser-Busch to sponsor Cardinals broadcasts if Houston acquired the team.51 His group was believed to have made an eleventh-hour attempt to outbid Anheuser-Busch, and subsequently requested consideration if that deal fell through. Just as National League approval to move the Cardinals to Milwaukee was not a given, relocation to Houston would have posed a different set of issues. Giles pointed out his own doubts that enough clubs would favor moving to any city outside the immediate area of the current circuit. While Milwaukee fit within the existing footprint of major-league baseball in the early 1950s, Houston did not. Giles suggested that “[c]ities aspiring for major league membership must reach for their goal through the organization of a third big league, rather than by incorporating in the present circuits.”52 Later in the decade, a number of cities pursued the possibility of the third major league, and Giles appeared to offer an open invitation to a new circuit.

The Cardinals’ sale to Anheuser-Busch contributed to a chain of events that would remake the baseball map. To Veeck, it was clear that because he could not run Anheuser-Busch out of St. Louis, he would not run the Cardinals out of town either. Within a month of the announcement of the sale, the American League rebuffed Veeck’s request to move the Browns to Baltimore. The Browns would play a lame-duck season at Sportsman’s Park as an Anheuser-Busch tenant after Veeck sold the stadium. Milwaukee would have major-league baseball in 1953, when Perini secured NL approval to move the Braves from Boston. The Braves’ first game at Milwaukee County Stadium was played against the Cardinals. There would be no Houston Cardinals, and the booming oil city would have to wait until 1962 for big-league baseball. As for Fred Saigh, he kept his appointment with federal prison. Seeing what baseball would do for Anheuser-Busch, Saigh bought a large block of brewery stock shortly after his release. That transaction would make him a millionaire many times over through ownership of stock in the company that owned the team he never wanted to sell.

 

Sources

In addition to the sources in the Notes, the author also consulted:

Veeck, Bill (with Ed Linn). Veeck as in Wreck: The Autobiography of Bill Veeck (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2001).

 

Notes

1 “Saigh Pleads No Contest to 2 Tax Evasion Counts, U.S. Would Drop 3 Others,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 28, 1953: 1A.

2 Ibid.

3 Harold Tuthill, “Saigh Predicts Cards Pennant in ’53, Praises Rookie Crop,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 24, 1953: 8A.

4 Ibid.

5 Peter Golenbock, The Spirit of St. Louis: A History of the St. Louis Cardinals and Browns (New York: Dey Street Books, 2001), 397.

6 “Saigh Gets Jail Term; Cardinals’ Fate Moot,” New York Times, January 29, 1953: 1.

7 “Saigh Gets 15-Month Term, Fined $15,000; Walsingham May Take Over Cardinals,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 29, 1953: 3A.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 “Saigh to Set Up Citizens’ Group to Run Cardinals Until He Sells,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 30, 1953: 1A.

11 Ibid.

12 Ibid.

13 Ibid.

14 “Saigh Offers Harper Apology for Remarks on Television Show,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 31, 1953: 7A; “Saigh Back in City, Meets Heavy List of Prospective Cardinal Buyers,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 2, 1953: 3A.

15 “Saigh Offers Harper Apology.”

16 “Saigh to Set Up Citizens’ Group”: 4A.

17 “Saigh Drops Out of Organized Baseball After Meeting With Frick and Giles,” New York Times, January 31, 1953: 19.

18 “Saigh Offers Harper Apology.”

19 Dan Daniel, “3 Trustees to Be Named to Run Club,” The Sporting News, February 11, 1953: 5.

20 Bob Broeg, “Birds ‘Sound Organization,’ Declares V-P,” The Sporting News, February 4, 1953: 12.

21 Oscar K. Ruhl, “Settlement of $558,901 Tax Claims on Saigh Discussed,” The Sporting News, February 18, 1953: 14.

22 “Saigh Back in City.”

23 “Saigh Offers Harper Apology.”

24 “$4,250,000 ‘Fair’ Asking Price for Cardinals, Saigh Contends,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 5, 1953: 5A.

25 “Ford Family, Harry Wismer Listed Among Prospective Cardinal Buyers,” The Sporting News, February 11, 1953: 5.

26 “Strake Is Still Interested in Buying Cardinals,” Bryan (Texas) Daily Eagle, January 29, 1953: 8.

27 Ibid.

28 Ibid.

29 “Texan May Bring Cardinals to Houston, If Price Okay,” Paris (Texas) News, January 29, 1953: 16.

30 “Sale of Cardinals Expected After Owner Is Sentenced,” Lubbock (Texas) Evening Journal, January 29, 1953: 8.

31 “Miller Kept on Trying for Big Time Ball,” The Sporting News, April 1, 1953: 7.

32 “Wismer to Seek Frick’s Aid,” New York Times, February 4, 1953: 35.

33 “Ford Family, Harry Wismer Listed.”

34 “Saigh Begins Preliminary Talks With Possible Buyers of Cardinals,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 3, 1953: 3A.

35 “Ford Family, Harry Wismer Listed.”

36 “Arkansas Financiers in Bid for Cardinal Club,” Bryan (Texas) Daily Eagle, February 20, 1953: 11.

37 “Saigh Thinks U.S. Tax Claim of $558,901 Is Much Too High,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 9, 1953: 3A.

38 “Talks Under Way on Settlement of $558.901 U.S. Tax Claim on Saigh,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 11, 1953: 1A.

39 Ruhl.

40 “Saigh Believed Ready to Name Trustee Board,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 19, 1953: 3A.

41 “Cards Kept in St. Louis by Sale to Busch,” The Sporting News, February 25, 1953: 3.

42 Ibid.

43 Ibid.  Saigh later credited the two bankers with convincing Busch to buy the Cardinals for the benefit of the brewery, disputing accounts that Busch was the driving force behind buying the Cardinals to keep them in St. Louis. See Golenbock, 397.

44 “Cards Kept in St. Louis.”

45 Ibid.

46 “Cardinals Ball Club Sold to Anheuser-Busch Inc. by Fred Saigh for $3,750,000,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 20, 1953: 4C.

47 Ibid.

48 John Wray, “Wray’s Column,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 22, 1953: 2F.

49 Ray Gillespie, “Busch Ready to Be ‘Active’ Boss of Redbirds,” The Sporting News, March 4, 1953: 8.

50 Golenbock, 397.

51 “Texas Group Wanted Busch to Buy Cards’ Radio Rights,” The Sporting News, March 4, 1953: 10.

52 “No Chance for N.L. Club to Shift Now, Says Giles,” The Sporting News, March 4, 1953: 2.