Born in Germany in 1851, Christian Frederick Wilhelm Von der Ahe emigrated to the United States as a teenager when his family settled in St. Louis. The successful owner of a grocery-saloon, he became the self-styled "boss president" (owner) of the St. Louis Brown Stockings of the American Association in 1882. A fun-loving, fickle free-spender, he paid his players well but also fined them frequently, and sold off his best players from the team that won four consecutive American Association titles. Known for his wild promotions, he also successfully fought the city's ban on Sunday baseball. After the American Association disbanded in 1891, he moved his Browns to the National League, but they were never as successful there, and his tenure as owner ended in 1898.
From the description of Chris Von der Ahe : typescript, c1992 : baseball's pioneering huckster / Richard Egenriether. c1992. (National Baseball Hall of Fame). WorldCat record id: 550605027
