Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-09-17
A CURIOUS CAPER


| The DavenpOrt B;ase bail Club IBIS.
| bands-.-Reason for the Action.
| The Davenport base ball association
met last night and after discussing the
present situation in the interstate league,
decided to pay off the players. surrender
its forfeit money OF 5000 to the league
and disband. Most people will look up
on this as a very curious caper and will
be inclined to make the accusation thai
the Davenport assoc alton is acting child
ish. There is no doubt that the Daven-
port association had reason to believe in
the existence of a preconcerted plan or
the part of the mar ayers of the Spring.
field and Quincy clubs as well as the
president and secretary of the league, tC
beat the Davenport team out of the pen.
nant, which it had clearly demonstrated
its capability of winning. But there wa:
no particular evidence that the Other
league clubs partic pated in any such
scheme. and it would surely have beer
better to have waited few days longer
and played out the Burling ton series in
| Davenport at least Evansv lille defeated
Quincy yesterday and might have taken
another game of the present series. Dav
export had six more games with Burling,
ton. and by winning the majority of them
might have lost the three at Quincy and
| still been ahead-tha is. of course, with
the two victories over Evansville al
Davenport, which Secretary Prichard
threatened to throw out, but which any
board of arbitration would have given
Davenport. In view of these facts the
association would have been fully war;
ranted in holding together few days
longer-certainly until the three games
on the home grounds had been played
with Burlington.
The Democrat Gazette of this morning
assigns these reasons Tor the associations
action:
There were no prospects of the Daven.
ports winning any more games in the
league if they remained in il. But that
was not only what haI aroused the in
dignation of the stockholders. The com
binatiOn of opposing forces in the league
which took the form of a conspiracy,
which had been working for the past two
months To prevent tho Davenports from
being successful. was also topic greatly
discussed. Umpires, il seems, were in
structed to worst the DavenpOrts wher-
ever they appeared "a deep, well laid
and carefully planned conspiracy Secre-
tary Pritchard. the directors claimed. had
not dealt fairly with the assOciatio n.
He has not had umpires here to
umpire games when they should be,
and the result has been that the
games were turned into farces, dis
gushing the people and placing the
sport here in disreputable light He
appointed Hunt to umpire the last twelve
games in Quincy, and Hunt is reported
to have stated To Davenport and other
club players that the Davenports should
not win one of the games played in that
city if he could help it. Why then should
the club go to Quincy? The directors had
requested Secretary P-ichard to remove
Hunt from Quincy, and have a reliable
man umpire there, for the Davenports
would not play in that city unless he did
so. This he refused to do. The direc~
tors requested him to credit the sums of
money they paid to umpires here on the
clubs monthly dues II the league, and
Prichard refused to do this also. He de-
clared that he would throw out the first
OF the last series of games played here
aud also the second one. notwithstanding
they were won fairly b. the Davenports.
The action of last evening will prob
ably kill base base for years to come in
Davenport, coming as il does directly on
close of the season last year when the
club was in the ives ern association.
This years team has been an exceptions
ally strong one, composed of gentlemanly
players who have given us some of the
best ball witnessed in this country the
present season, but the association has
labored under one great disadvantage,
AMI that was the hoodlIm element that
has pervaded its bleaching boards and dis
graced the club on the occasion of
every game that has been played there.
The same disgraceful. pro fame conduct
may be shown in al cities in the league,
but IN Davenport it has been about as
tough as it could be.
Rock Island and Moline will probably
unite in a team for next year in the inter-
state league should one lie formed. Good
games can be played, which would be
we'll patronized, especially If some of the
players In this years Davenport nine
could be secured. Rhines and Harring>
ton, the crack battery. will go either to
Pitisburg or Chicago; Liuer
goes to Chicago. while 3outcliff, Allen,
Fusslebach and Nichols are already in
demand.
The BurlingtOns went over this after
noon in their uniforms FOR the purpose
of claiming the game by score of Q to o.
The Burlington cluD is still at the Rock
Island house.
Local sports are at present discussing
a running match for 100 yards for 800.
to take place at Central Park. Daven>
port. one week from next Sunday be-
tween Henry Holdorf and local sprinter
of equal speed.