Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing - The Summer of Beer and Whiskey

Episode Date: June 30, 2020

Professional baseball almost didn’t make it out of the 1880s. In his book The Summer of Beer and Whiskey, writer Ed Achorn explains how a new owner of the team in St. Louis helped saved the business of baseball with creative ideas like selling beer at the games. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With a Motley Fool Money Extra, I'm Chris Hill. Time for a little sports history. In the 1880s, the business of baseball was in trouble because the people running the National League refused to have games on Sunday, refused to sell beer at the games, and charged 50 cents a ticket. Back then, that was a lot of money. But one new owner changed everything. It's a story captured by longtime journalist Ed Acorn in his book, The Summer of Beer and Whiskey.

How brewers, barkeeps, rowdies, immigrants, and a wild pennant fight made baseball America's game. In it, he tells the story of that new owner, Chris Vondere. He was a grocer. He came over here with essentially nothing. Classic immigrant story. Worked hard, built up this grocery, had a saloon out back. And then he noticed this strange American sport taking place right down the street on Grand Avenue in St. Louis. And several American-born people had tried to make a go of baseball, and it failed. He decided to give it a shot, and he had a great business plan. He was going to have Sunday baseball. He was going to have beer at the ballpark.

In fact, he did it primarily to make money selling beer. And he was going to charge 25 cents admission, which was half the National League's fee. And what he discovered very quickly is there was a hunger and a passion for baseball that was untapped, so to speak. And he brought these people into the ballpark in huge numbers. Suffice to say, the owners of other teams noticed Vandere's recipe for success and wisely decided to follow it. Major League Baseball doesn't start for another month so if you're looking for something to scratch that baseball itch find a copy of The Summer of Beer and Whiskey

I'm Chris Hill, thanks for listening we'll see you next time