Reach sold the retail side of his business to Al Spalding in late 1889, maintaining the manufacturing and wholesale side of the business.

By 1887, Reach's manufacturing facility at Tulip and Palmer Sts was quite large. His focus was on the Phillies and manufacturing sporting goods. The retail business was losing importance for reach.

At seasons end, the National League realized the American Association was serious. And it needed teams in America's two largest cities. Thus, the NL booted Troy and Worcester and admitted New York (Giants) and the Phillies. Reach re-chartered his club as the Phila. Ball Club Ltd.

Reach's League Alliance Phillies went 16-44-5 against NL clubs. They 12-22-1 against their lone League Alliance rival, the New York Metropolitans. But, they were 44-2 against all other clubs (amateur and semi-pro clubs). This shows the disparity in talent between major league clubs and others.

This is where the myth that Reach bought the Worcester (NL) franchise and moved it to Philadelphia completely falls apart. LA rosters were party to the National Agreement and therefore their rosters couldn't be raided by NL clubs, who played in Phila. throughout the season. Check out June 5.

I'm unsure how long Reach was associated with the AA Athletics. Club manager Horace Phillips was fired in 1881 and joined forces with Reach later in the year to form the Philadelphia Ball Club and Sporting Association, which joined the League Alliance for the 1882 season.

As business continued to expand, Reach focuses attention on getting a major league team back in Philadelphia. He was the treasurer of the new Philadelphia Athletics of the upstart American Association, in 1882.

Why mention that? Well, the ad was suspiciously similar to that published in the same paper in the same year by the A.J. Reach & Co.

Also in 1881, Ben Shibe defects from the family business and joins Reach at the A.J. Reach & Co. The defection likely wasn't amicable. Both J.D. Shibe & Co. and the A.J. Reach & Co. operated as separate entities, and the former was clear about the division in this 1883 Sporting Life ad.

While business was expanding and sugar plumbs of a Philadelphia based major league baseball team danced in Reach's and Shibe's heads, Reach's father died in the retail store on 8th Street.

Reach wasn't the only game in town. The Shibe family - John D., Ben, and nephew Dan - formed the J.D. Shibe & Co. which manufactured baseballs. Reach sold Shibe products in his stores and the families struck up a friendship that evolved into a partnership.

In 1876, the National League supplanted the National Association as the top professional baseball league. An aging Al Reach was still a fixture with the club and his business continued to diversify, this time by publishing the NL Constitution and being the only authorized dealer in Phila. to sell it

By 1872, Reach's business begins to evolve. He gains the contract to sell Ryan's Dead Ball and an advertisement in the 4/27/1872 Clipper noted "MANUFACTURER and DEALER". Unfortunately, I'm uncertain at this time as to where Reach was manufacturing.

This location also acted as a meeting space, evidently, as the PA State Association (baseball) held its annual meeting there. It would do so again in 1870.

In 1869, Reach moved his operation west to No. 6 South 8th St. The business expanded and this ad in the 5/22/1869 Clipper explains that the store can "supply Dealers, Clubs, and individuals" with baseball equipment. The key word here is "supply".

Reach soon began selling tickets to Athletics games at his cigar store and it became a popular meeting spot for the local sports fans. This note from the 10/13/1866 NY Clipper explains the kind of crowd the store attracted. This ad in the 10/5/1867 Clipper notes what you could buy at the store.

This location is on the same block as the Second Bank of the United States and is now a lawn.

By 1866, Reach relocated to Phila. where Col. Fitzgerald set him up with a cigar store at 404 1/2 Chestnut Street, which was located beneath the below pictured Western Bank/Commonwealth Bank. The bank operated on the 2nd floor while random businesses were in the smaller shops on the street level.

Reach joined the Athletics in 1865 after being coaxed to Phila. by Athletic President Col. Thomas Fitzgerald. Reach still resided in Brooklyn and commuted to Philadelphia. Being paid for baseball was still illegal per NA rules, so Fitzgerald said the $25/wk salary was for "travel expenses". Sure.

I saw a short video today on the importance of Al Reach and his sporting goods business. It started off good before going off a cliff, stating that his company dated to 1874 and that he bought the Worcester (NL) franchise and moving them to Philadelphia. Let's fix that and do a deep dive.

NO. The Reds were established in 1882.

If this intrigues you, you're in luck. Pierre and I are going to record an episode about these topics this week for what will undoubtedly be another thrilling episode of Quaker City Cranks! Stay tuned.

After all that, Bryce Harper and Gregg Jefferies are indeed tied for completing the quickest cycles in Phillies history. If you want to split hairs, Jefferies completed his cycle with no outs in the 5th while Harper completed his cycle with two outs in the 5th. All hail Gregg Jefferies!

An interesting wrinkle in Thompson's cycle was it took place at Penn's Athletic Field because the Philadelphia Ball Park burned down on August 6. According to Green Cathedrals, the Athletic Field's dimensions were 225' LF, 400' CF, and 225' RF. 7/

But today I struck gold at the Free Library of Phila. The Phila. Press offered detailed highlights of the game. Thompson's sequence is as follows: 1st: Home Run 3rd: Double 5th: Single 6th Single 7th: Triple 9th: Single Thompson's cycle was completed in the 7th. 6/

Sam Thompson's cycle sequence was harder to unearth. The Phillies beat Louisville on August 17 by a score of 29-4. The Phils recorded 36 hits, still an MLB record. As a result, none of the newspaper accounts available online or in my collection had a play-by-play account. 5/

Cross' cycle sequence is as follows: 1st: Double 2nd: Single 5th: Walk 6th: Triple 7th: Home Run 4/

Larry Shenk's article notes that details aren't available for either 1894 cycle. But, there's a reason I'm creating this thread. Lave Cross' cycle was relatively easy to find. The game report from the Brooklyn Eagle is digitized. Since Brooklyn was the home team, more details are available. 3/

Bryce Harper's cycle on Saturday June 20 was completed in the 5th inning. That's awfully quick and tied Gregg Jefferies for the quickest cycle in Phillies history. Or did he? Reliable records for this kind of thing only date to 1900 or 1901. 1/