The American Association existed almost solely to sell beer. The National League didn't allow beer sales, or play on Sundays. The AA appealed to the common man. There's a great book about it.
The Summer of Beer and Whiskey is a great old-timey baseball book. It gets into the early days of professional baseball. One of the key characters is early Cardinals owner Chris von der Ahe
https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Beer-Whiskey-Barkeeps-Immigrants/dp/1610393775
https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Beer-Whiskey-Barkeeps-Immigrants/dp/1610393775
The founding of the American Association and the St. Louis Cardinals, even though for some reason the franchise doesn't like to admit it.
The Summer of Beer and Whiskey: How Brewers, Barkeeps, Rowdies, Immigrants, and a Wild Pennant Fight Made Baseball America's Game and Fifty-nine in '84: Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had, both by Edward Achorn.
Baseball and Other Matters in 1941 by Robert Creamer
Dock Ellis in the Country of Baseball by Donald Hall (with Dock Ellis)
Runs, Hits, and an Era: The Pacific Coast League, 1903-58 by Paul Zingg
A lot of good books on this. I didn't see this one in the list of sources. Check it out if you're interested.