The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-02-10
THE NATIONAL GAME
Harris Discusses the Winter Base
ball Situation.
THE JOHNSON BRUNETT LETTER
He Thinks He Has Failed In His 0bject-The
Boston and Brooklyn Tangles-La-
crosse Would Pay.

The recent ''private and confidential
baseball circular signed by A. L. Johnson I
and F. II. Brunell, to the ex-players of the
late Players league has, | think, entirely |
failed to fit its intention. Johnson, who has
sworn to avenge himself on the Nationa!
league for it's alleged bad treatment of him,
inspired Brunell to get up the circular. Both
johnson and Brunell observed with grow
ing alarm and exceeding soreness that the
players were gradually falling into line,
and they felt that they must do something
70 worry the League, aud stop the general
feeling of cordality slowly but surely as
serting itself among the Brotherhood play
ers toward their old employers.
The circular in question contained some
vague talk about capitalists having been
found who would embark in resurrected
Players league; some alleged i'll treat
ment which they insisted the League would
visit on the players; an effort to prove that
the P l.. could, if started again, be profit
ably conducted; Il request that each player
name the lowest guaranteed salary which
he would play for, and request that the
circular be kept close secret This docu-
ment was kept dark just five days, when
The Sporting Times printed it exclusively,
and il is now public property In my
opinion ball players generally will pay lit
tie attention to it.
Johnson's grievance is that the League
''threw him down" The story of the other
side is that he refused to settle for 81 per
cent. of his losses, and in his attempt to
squeeze the League for more he got
| squeezed himself Meanwhile the players
continue to show their desire to cure all
disagreements, as witness the sensible let
tiers of James O'Rourke and others. The
! late Players league cannot be resurrected,
| | think.
The situation has not changed materially
! during the last few weeks. The Boston
| triumvirs show no disposition to agree
| that the Association can establish itself in
| Boston, and even the eloquence of Spalding
! appears to have been wasted on the desert
air. From what | can learn the Boston
league people are trying to buy out their
late opponents, but are finding it a difficult
job.
OF course under the national agreement
the question of an Association club in Bos-
ton remains absolutely in the hands of the
Boston club, and the National league will
not force the triumvirs to agree to l.
against their will The unsettled condi-
ton of this matter is the only drawback to
the meeting of the general conference com
mittee, the settlement of the Association
circuit, and the disposition of the players
not under contract
There are rumors that if Boston cannot
be got the Association will turn its atten-
ton to Brooklyn, where Messrs. Byrne and
| Goodwin cannot 10
Unless the late Players league club comes
off the very high perch on which it has
been roosting, the League is likely to make
no arrangements with Byrne at all. 1t re
fuses to buy him out, and he refuses to sell
out. He will not consolidate unless East
ern park is used for the games, and he is
not willing to pay the League people fol
the tremendous sacrifices they must make
to go out to East New York, where the
} chances are that no club, however good
: could make money enough to pay fail
interest on the big capital invested.
If the matter continues to be a question
, of elevated roads Mr.. Byrne may get tired
: after awhile and let the Players league
capitalists hustle. | think that if he was
t to consent to the American association
putting a club at Eastern park it woult
, League grounds.
Indoor lacrosse and football in New Yori
would do well financially, judging from
the enthusiasm shown in the games played
at Madison Square garden during the re
. cent entertainment of the Staten Island
i Athletic club They were well fought b,
amateurs, who hustled each other from
the word go. The attempt to introduce
= inHnor hocpIan nt ba coz rolnca ,,1a
by professionals, was tried last week.
4 is too early, perhaps, to say what tn
l financial result will be if the sport is con
t tinued, but from all appearances the pub
o lie is not likely to take to professional
) indoor baseball as a steady diet.
% The trouble is that the games are sure t.
e be more or less of hippodrome, in tina
@ the players cannot develop any great pei
8 sonal interest in such an insipid SUBSTITUTE
5 for the regular thing 1t is pretty Difficult
for crank to get enthusiastic over gam
where a player weighing 200 pounds uses
stick made largely of cork against Il ba
that even an amateur team average az
o 49, would discard with scorn on account c
? its softness AS there is no accounting fo
i public taste, the thing may 90 with boon
If but the chances are about even that it wi
"a lOO. IL VIC VAIN d SIltt
let them organize teams of lacrosse player
among the professionals, and some grea
. sport would be seen.
NOTES OF INTEREST.
AID Gumbert has signed an agreemer
to go to Minneapolis.
John Ward still hopes to so to Philade
!, phia to play ball for the Wagners, and til
}, WagHers want him badly
n De- III s., o4;lI n: -
) burg, but he is riding a very high hors
y ,and one that may kick under him befol
~ next season.
9 willie Bill' McGunnigle is trying
d get together New England league
d Mike Leblanc thinks there is no pla
d like New York. On his Columbus recol
q he would have been failure in New You
IL last season.
Glasscock and Denny will play on ii
New York team, all reports to the contra,
notwithstanding.
The dickey birds are singing in Broo
Ign, but Charley Byrne does not he
"A them.
D. Charley Ebbits will retain his position
so secretary of the Bro klyn club, and w
I'd not be the manager, as has been hinte
k He is too valuable man to be changed
y SUrouS pressure Is being Drought
~ bear to have Crane on the New York tea
ia next year.
If Consolidation in New York is now COZ
Mt plete. J. B. Day, J. w. Spalding and
We p. Talcott will run the club. The playe
i'd will not lose their stock, but the stock w
90 lose in value, as ten shares in a $4,000 CO
poration becomes somewhat minute in
concern capitalized at S250,000.
"a "a w. /. HARRIS.