Relatively little-remembered by sports historians, O. P. Caylor was one of the most-influential baseball writers of the last quarter of the nineteenth century and for several years was an important official of the Cincinnati Reds and the American Association, the major league to which the Reds then belonged. Baseball club officials have from time to time dabbled in journalism, and many newsmen in Caylor's day followed his example in serving as club secretaries; a few were even important figures in league management. Rarely if ever has one man simultaneously achieved such prominence in both roles as Caylor did at the height of his career, however.

Born near Dayton, Ohio, on 17 December 1849, Oliver Perry Caylor graduated first in his high-school class in Dayton. After studying law he was admitted to the bar in 1872 and moved to Cincinnati. His legal practice led him to newspaper correspondence, then employment by The...