Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-11-23
BASE BALL In 1888.

TIE Rirul Professional associations and
the Quarrel EeisttnJ Bes,reen Them.
Within the next three weeks the League
association will hold it's regular annual
convention at Providence and the Ameri-
can Baseball association will hold its first
annual meeting in New York, and both
meetings will be held under circumstances
calling for more careful Legislative work
than ever before. The League convention
will be without the aid of its late presi-
dent, to whose marked executive ability
the League owes very much of its success
and present high position. The American
association occupies a position which
necessitates careful revision of its consti-
tutional laws to avoid crudities of legisla-
ton at its first convention. The clubs of
the two associations played harmoniously
together during last April to the mutual
advantage of both, but the course pursued
by the league clubs shortly afterwards in
inducing players of the American clubs to
break their contracts and fill up gaps in
the league teams led to the enforcement
by the American association of non-in-
tercourse act, by which all the six Ameri-
can clubs were prohibited from playing
matches with league teams, and this pro-
hibitory rule remained in force during the
entire season. Since the field season of
1882 ended the league has acted in the
same objectio. able way and the result
is that the American clubs have
determined upon retaliatory meas
urss, and their first act has been
to announce their intention of continuing
the prohibitory law of 1882 in force during
1888. This will result disastrously to the
pecuniary interests of both associations.
They lose sight of one important fact in
the matter, and that is that it is very ques-
tionable if the professional business is not
going to be overdone in the near future.
What is the position at present? There is
in existence at the present time the league,
with its eight representative clubs; the
American association, with its eight repre-
sentative clubs from other cities, and the
new Northwestern league. with its eight
other clubs, and the Interstate associa-
ton in the East,with still eight more clubs
of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Mary
land, together with almost as many more
cooperative professional clubs in small
cities and towns. It will be seen
that the field to be occupied
Dy PROFESSIONAL clubS IN 1883 IS
pretty extensive one, and as all but the
League association will be governed by
the American associations laws. it follows
that the League will be left out to a con-
siderable extent if the American prohib-
itory clause is to remain in force in 1883.
1t behooves the league, therefore, to take
such action at their coming convention as
will lead to a return to the friendly inter-
course between the clubs Of the two rival
associations which prevailed last April,and
to do this they will virtually only have to
strictly carry out the law relative to the
objects of their association as embodied
in their constitution, wherein it states that
1.-The objects of the league are to encour-
age, foster and elevate the game of base
bali; to make base ball respectable and
honorable, and TO protect and promote the
mutual interests of professional base ball
clubs and their players