Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1883-06-20

of the Bostons and of other clubs, is
now a dentist in Scranton.
"The contracts with professional
players are now so strict that only
men who have pretty good habits can
live up to them. From the opening
of the season in April to the close in
November n professional must play
in about 80 games. To do this he
must be temperate, must take regular
sleep, and must keep in good health.
1t is erroneous to suppose that profess
sional players are sluggers and rowdies
or drunkards. Such men do not last
long in prominent positions now. A
professional player is liable to expul-
sion if he is seen in pool room, and
gambling is strictly prohibited.
1t has become matter of business
to make the game respectable. There
are in all the large cities places of
the same nature as the Polo grounds,
where games are played by profes-
SIGNALS and an admission fee is charg-
ed. The rental and fixtures of these
places require capital. Our grand
stand, for instance, cost $4,000. We
depend upon respectable people to
patonize the games, and cannot afford
to have disorder. The tendency has,
therefore, been to give permanent en-
ployment to the best men-men who
are settled and steady in their ways.
Take, for instance, our Metropolitan
team. They are as steady a lot of
men as you could wish for. Half a
dozen of them do not know the taste
of liquor, and more than half Of
them are married.
Formerly the professionals were
noted for spending all the money they
made. Now they arc noted for pru-
dence. Al Reach of the Philadel-
phians is said to be worth $4,000.
Arson of the Chicago nine is well of.
The Wrights of the Boston Club be-
long to a family of professionals who
have been known in this country for
thirty years as ball and cricket play
ers. They are steady men, and one
of them has large store in Boston
for the sale of sporting goods.
Spaulding of the Cincinnati and Chi
cago Clubs. formerly the pitcher for
the Bostons, is now in business in Chi
cage, and is said to be well of.
The popularity of base ball as an
amusement in the colleges, of course,
accounts for the number of college
men who have become professionals.
AS rule, the college mines cannot
compete with the professional mines,
Notwithstanding the famous tour of
the Harvards, when they whipped al
most everything. That was exception
al. As rule, when the college boys
get well accustomed to playing to-
gether they are graduated, and their
places supplied by new men. But the
ranks of the professionals are being
more and more recruited from the
colleges, and it looks as though the
keen competition would put up the
prices so as to bring in more of them.
The surroundings of the game have
been much improved of late years,
and the gradual encouragement of
betting has done much to make the
respectable. Having re-
moved the principal inducement for
in the game. we find that
the public shows a renewed interest
in base ball. While | do not say
that our players or our patrons consist
Of ministers and deacons, | do say
that the personnel of both players
and spectators has recently improv-
ed.
Speaking of the recruits to base
ball ranks from the learned profess
SIGNALS, a veteran base ball player
said: "The amount of brains requir-
ed in first-class game preludss the
possibility of success for player like
the pugilist John L. Sullivan. AS
matter of fact, he never, amounted to
as ball player, and if
those who played with him recently
had chosen they could have made
him appear as the most ridiculous
person who ever stood on ball field
with bat in his hand. 1t is an open
secret that he could not hit the ball
at all unless it was thrown to him as
one would toss an easy one to a little
boy.-N. Y. Sun.