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The Robisons had previously owned the [[Cleveland Spiders]], and in fact still owned them as the 1899 season began (a situation that would not be allowed today). They stripped Cleveland of its best players, including [[Cy Young]], and sent them to St. Louis. If this made the St. Louis club the "Perfectos", it also unfortunately made the Cleveland club the "Wanderers", as they became known when they were forced to play most of that season (their last) on the road. Despite loading up their roster, the previously cellar-dwelling St. Louis club was only able to improve to fifth place.
Cleveland and three other clubs were contracted after the 1899 season. The Cardinals began the [[1900 in baseball|1900]] season with less competition, but sank back toward the cellar again. The only thing that kept the baseball situation in balance was that the new Browns of the American League (who moved from Milwaukee to St. Louis in 1902) generally fared equally poorly in the pennant races.
The wooden ballpark continued to be plagued by fire. On May 4, 1901, a fire began under the main part of the stands, and as with the 1898 fire, the structure was consumed within half an hour. During the rebuilding process, the Robison brothers arranged with the management of Athletic Park (as the "old" Sportsman's Park was being called by then) to play there until yet another wooden stand could be built. After playing there on the 5th, in a venue that local newspapers described as wholly inadequate for major league ball, they went on a month-long road trip, and returned to a newly-rebuilt League Park on June 3.
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