Stephen Farrelly
Stephen J. Farrelly
- Born December 4, 1842 in Cavan, County Cavan Ireland
- Died March 9, 1923 in Manhattan, NY USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Stephen Farrelly emigrated to the United States from his native Ireland with his family around 1848. He eventually settled down in New York, NY and in Jersey City, NJ where he worked as a clerk. He eventually went into business for himself as a news distributor, establishing a chain of stores that sold newspapers, tobacco products and other goods, based in Philadelphia, PA. The business, originally called Cooper, Olcott and Farrelly became extremely successful as the American News Company.
In 1882, he was approached by Al Reach and John Rogers to become a majority partner in the newly-formed Philadelphia Ball Club, Ltd. - which would soon become the Philadelphia Phillies. At the founding meeting on November 1, 1882, he was the principal of four stockholders, with 100 shares worth $10,000 with Reach holding 20 shares, Rogers 10 and Tom Pratt, a former player and friend of Reach holding the other 20 shares. However, Farrelly had no particular interest in baseball, and was it seems only contributing money provided by John Walsh, a millionaire based in Chicago, IL who was a busines partner as he also owned a news distribution business. Walsh was a shareholder in the Chicago White Stockings (today's Chicago Cubs) and close to Al Spalding, the most powerful man in the National League at the time, and wanted to make sure the venture of placing a team in Philadelphia, PA, which was the nation's second most-populous city at the time, was a success. However, he wanted a respected local name to act on his behalf, which Farrelly did.
The new club was soon admitted to the National League, and after it became successful, the minority partners bought out Farrelly, who continued with his other business ventures, with the distribution of newspapers being his most profitable activity. He moved back to New York around 1900 and continued to run his business from there until his passing in 1923.
Further Reading[edit]
- Robert D. Warrington: "Entering the National League: The Phillies' Bumpy journey", Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Volume 51, Number 2 (Fall 2022), pp. 74-87.
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