A Chapter from Current Baseball History

Photo by Underwood and Underwood George Burns, star first baseman of the Detroit Tigers A Chapter from Current Baseball History The National League Anniversary—Building Up the Clubs —Federal League Talent—The Sale of the Cleve- land Franchise—Trades and Sales By WM. A. PHELON The snows and icy winds of February had no deterrent effect on the progress of the grand old game which boomed along quite as merrily as in mid-summer. The magnates were mainly busy in bolstering up the weak places in their respective clubs, anticipating a close and bitterly contested race in 1916. One more major franchise, unhappy Cleveland, changed hands. VENTS of the past month seemed had held the National and American to indicate that, with the Federal League together during recent years. E League menace removed, with or- There seemed a quite noticeable tendency ganized ball once more in full control, for the two big circuits to draw apart, there was a loosening of the bands that act in a reserved, coldly courteous fash- 13 14 THE BASEBALL MAGAZINE Ty Cobb at the zenith of his career. A rare and hitherto unpublishcd photograph of the famous player’s flight in an aeroplane ion, and, in short, to show that they were other with cold reserve, excepting at extremely independent organizations. world’s series time. There was, of course, the annual guff * * * * about the American League’s being dis- The National League teams put in satisfied with the makeup of the National some industrious days during February Commission, and tired of a governing in bolstering up their clubs, mostly body that had two National Leaguers on through the addition of Federal Leaguers its membership. That stuff is sprang where it seemed as if the warriors of the each and every winter, but this time the Vanished Cause would be most valuable. squawk was louder than usual, and Ban Not many minor leaguers will be called Johnson was quoted by several news- up into the National this season, except- papers as expressing marked objections ing those who were added late in the last to the governing conditions. This much campaign. The chief reinforcements may be noted, too: The two leagues no seem to be Federals, most of the really longer hold their meetings in the same valuable Federal players finding refuge city and at the same time, and the sched- in the older league, and each club strove ule meetings of the two outfits were to add solidity at some special point. pulled a week apart, the National League Last fall, it will be remembered, the convening in New York, the American eight National League clubs came down League meeting subsequently—nominal- the stretch so closely that one blanket ly in New York also, but actually after would have covered them almost to the everything had been cut and dried in very last. Every club of the eight, to this Chicago. Ban Johnson, too, be it noted, day, imagines that it would have won the sulked in his tent and didn’t attend the 1915 pennant had it been able, in time, to great dinner given in New York in honor mend some one or two weak places in its of the National League’s fortieth birth- lineup. Every club, in selecting its Fed- day. All of these things seem to show eral Leaguers, tried to patch up these that the two major leagues have reached weaknesses, and, to an unprejudiced ob- the parting of the ways; that they won’t server, it looks as if nearly everybody start any trouble with each other, but had succeeded—meaning another ter- that henceforward they will treat each rific struggle for 1916, with all of the A CHAPTER FROM CURRENT BASEBALL HISTORY 15 Ty Cobb seated for a moment at the steering gear of an aeroplane just before he made his sensational ascension at Pensacola, Florida clubs racing together from April to Oc- who was expected to make things fairly tober. spin, and whom 97 per cent. of fans and Although certain clubs of the Ameri- critics expected to see enter the arena can League certainly needed patching, as a big league owner, seems to have tem- needed it much worse than any of the porarily taken himself out of it. Mr. Sin- National teams, six of the eight Johnson- clair, who was, for a little while, a ian gangs preferred either to go along highly picturesque figure of the game, with the same forces they carried last flashed across the horizon, showed him- season, or to rely on bush league talent self a game sportsman, and then, just for bolstering shaky spots. St. Louis, of when we all looked for him to keep course, is an amalgamated club, and the things stirring, disappeared. There have coolly independent owners of the New been few such sportsmen in the public York Americans, who knuckle down to eye. When a fellow will chuck himself no one, went out for Federal talent with- and his money into a big, losing business out the slightest hesitation. The rest of proposition, see that proposition explode, the American League clubs, though, and then, instead of kicking the tar out seemed to establish a quiet barrier of his temporary associates, turn in and against Federal League accessions. Per- assume a lot of their debts and liabilities, haps they didn’t need any such assist- that boy’s some nervy citizen. That child ance—and perhaps, toward midsummer, deserves credit and ought to get in among they’ll wish they’d done as the National the right people. League crowd did. Then again, it is That was just what the game Sinclair quite possible that they couldn’t do much did. Many a rich man, under the circum- more than they did; the National stances, would have said: “You guys Leaguers got the best of the Federal roped me into this way late in the game. talent early, and there wasn’t enough left If I’d been one of your original charter to go around. members, I’d have considered it fair and * * * * proper to get stung with the rest. As it Talk of big sales, transfers of clubs, is, after the way you hauled me into this etc., continued to agitate the baseball thing in the twilight and the gloaming, world. Harry Sinclair, the Tulsa man when your show was nearly over and the 16 THE BASEBALL MAGAZINE A new phase of the skating obsession which seems to have seized upon the nation. Ice baseball as seen at the St.Nicholas rink, New York baggage-men were already beginning to convincing proof that it takes three years pull down the canvas, I ought to tell you for Philadelphia newspapers to hear to go plum to perdition and stand your about news happenings. The story, as de- own expenses.” But Sinclair stuck; he tailed in the Philadelphia sheets and sent not only stuck, but he took the helm of broadcast around the nation, was com- the sinking ship, steered it along, as- plete and interesting—but both Mr. Taft sumed a heap of liabilities and estab- and President Baker, of the Phils, the lished himself as a North American pip- next day, derisively remarked that the pin. tale was true—only that every last bit of So much for Mr. Sinclair. With him it had occurred three years ago! The out of the market, the big deals in which whole transaction, as played up in the he had been expected to figure didn’t Philadelphia papers, was three years old; come through, but there was great clamor the world had wagged along through about sales and transfers of clubs just three of its most tumultuous and exciting the same. All the details of the transfer seasons—and now, at this subsequential of the Gaffney interests in the Boston period, the Philadelphia journals had Braves were formally completed. There just found it out! was some talk of a syndicate’s buying out Talk was revived of a sale at St. Louis, the Brooklyns, but nothing eventuated. and was even carried so far as to an- In Chicago, after Mr. Weeghman had nounce that the new owners would aban- completed the exchange of cash for the don Robinson Field and would alternate interests of Mr. Taft, there were little with the Browns on the American surprises every day, when name after League arena. Nothing, apparently, to name was printed, showing that numer- the narration. ous prominent Chicagoans were inter- * * * * ested with Mr. Weeghman in his big ven- In the American League, the Cleve- ture. In Philadelphia there was a big land club finally found angels to purchase story afloat for several days announcing it. Two high-class Chicago contractors that Charles P. Taft had sold his last in- named Dunn and McCarthy were named terests in the National League team—a as the leaders of a syndicate which had story that was either a rich fake, or else bought the Cleveland outfit. All well A CHAPTER FROM CURRENT BASEBALL HISTORY 17 and good, for that unhappy ball club surely needed some backing. Strange, though, and hardly creditable to Cleveland sportsmen, that Cleveland people couldn’t be found ready and willing to finance the club. More talk of Presi- dent Lannin selling the Red Sox floated here and there—another case, presumably, of nothing doing. More rumors may bob up ere spring- time, for this has surely been a season of strange changes and weird happenings in baseball. The various National League teams have certainly worked hard to mend their fences and patch up their defenses.

Load more