The outlaw Union Association was formed in September 1883, hoping to capitalize on player dissatisfaction with organized baseball’s reserve rule, which effectively limited a player’s pay by binding him to his club. But the UA lured few top players away from the National League and American Association–and attracted too few fans to their games to succeed financially. The St. Louis club, owned by UA president Henry V. Lucas, ran away with the pennant in 1884. But that winter Lucas precipitated the association’s demise by transferring his club to the National League. Reduced to only two clubs by January 1885, the UA disbanded.
