There is another reason for the rarity of Whites' cabinets. The Whites were set up as a farm team for the hometown Browns, with Von der Ahe owning both teams. The Browns were the power of the American Association and the Whites were a weak squad. Von der Ahe saw the folly of his idea and quickly folded the team. If you were a baseball fan in St Louis in 1888, you most probably were a Browns fan. It is hard to conceive that a St Louis native who had saved up coupons to get an Old Judge cabinet would not choose a player from the champion Browns.
Interestingly, the one year teams from the 1888 Western Association all were in cities where the competed with an American Association or National League team. The Western Association learned from the 1888 experience; the new 1889 teams were their city's sole representative in the big leagues.
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