St. Paul daily globe., 1891-07-12

LII - 1S Hawkeye city
~l - will be out of
II ~ base ball. The
(CQ SCGO . GLOBE fore
- NSES/E ST saw this disaS-
~ RSENH ter sew veTal
u 6SE(O weeks ago. 1t
SNr also noted the
proba / / ty
that the association would not last the
season through. There is no place for
the Sioux CITY team to 90. At this late
day. with all the holiday games PLAYED,
st. Paul, West Superior and Grand Rap
ids have no yearnDg TO get into the
Western association. The organization
will therefore be a Seven-club at
fair, and a meeting will have to be
called to revise the schedule ana talk
finances. About that time the discovery
will be made that Lincoln has run It's
race, and the next step will be TO drop
OFT the Nebraska club, leaving the
league with but six clubs. From this
point disintegratiOn will be rapid. The
gentlemen who are going into their
pockets every pay day TO get money Tor
the Denver team will take few obSer-
Vations. and then send the team up the
flume with the speed of a rocket. This
done, the route to the graveyard is
l..
1891 will be buried long before the first
of Sept. The GLOBE says all this with
regret, and is merely calling attention
to the handwriting on the wall. There
are two or three causes for the trouble.
The chief of these is the admission to
the league of cities which even under
the most favorable circumstances can
not support clubs. Among these in
1890 were Sioux City and Des Moines,
and in 1891 Sioux City and Lincoln.
Then there is Denver, which is too far
out of the way TO be in the association
at all. Another reason for the coming
failure is the practical abolishment of
the salary limit. Beginning last March
il was understood among Western man
ayers that they would be guided only
bV their Judgment in the hiring of play
ers. The result was astonishing dis
crepancies I'm salaries. Those for in
stance of Lincoln were three times. and
those Kansas City twice those of st.
Paul. OF course, In due time this
showed up in the standing of the teams.
and eventually drove st. Paul out Of
the league.
Now comes Minneapolis with a howl
that can be heard over three states
remarks. in tones more or less StentOrl-
an. that the Millers are in imminent
danger Of drawing nothing but flies the
remainder of the season. Really, now!
Why not boldly state that "the town is
too poor to support a teamW Up to
within a few days the Minneapolis pa
perS have insisted that Minneapolis was
so overwhelmingly stuck on the national
game that the mere matter of winning
or losing a game did not affect the dear
people. They merely wanted ball, and
the quality of the erticle put up by the
local artists had not the remOteSt con-
nection with the attendance. 1t is about
time to be honest. Minneapolis will
support team that wins half or
more of its games; st. Paul will do
likewise; but neitherswill pay its money
IS see the home team lose from 20 to so
per cent of the games on its own
grounds. Human beings are built much
after the same plan the world over.
People are naturally inclined TO pulp
for their own town, but when their rep
resentatives stub their toes in public
ten or fifteen times in succession the
people refuse to be seen out with their
Representatives in broad daylight. Here
is an instance. Louisville, at the foot
of the American list in 1889, lost $50, ,0O0.
Louisville. at the head of the American
list in 1890, made S31, 600. Louisville
was not too poor to support ball team
in 1889. 1t was simply waiting for
something worthy of its applause.
-"
A gentleman who has taken great
deal of interest in base ball in st. Paul
during the past half-doZen years is
working on scheme for league on a
small salary limit, His Idea is that the
clubs should each bind themselves TO
make their salaries $1,000 or under for
the season and abolish the percentage
system, giving the visiting club half the
receipts in each game. Thus, he says,
the big towns would help the little ones.
Running over a list of towns, he said he
would make up the league about thus:
ST. Paul, West Superior, Eau Claire,
Oshkosh, La Crosse and Sioux City.
Possibly such an organization, which
might be appropriately named the Min
a-WiSconsin league. would live
and prosper. This is rather doubtful,
however. To man up tree it looks
as if such league would have to stand
from under very soon after the holiday
games.
The friendly feeling between the
Twin Cities has grown so rapidly of late
that there is belief in sporting circles
that the twins will be united within
the next twelve months or so. This in
dication has so affected Hy l.. Hach,
president OF the Minneapolis team,
that he is making preparations for the
inevitable in the Midway district. A
new park, which will Outshine any that
has vet been built in Minnesota, will be
laid out somewhere about Smelling ave
nue., on the interurban line. 1t is Mr.
Hach's intention, when he sees which
way the wind is blowing, to make a
Samsonian attempt to break into the
National league or American associa.
tion with Lowryville or Federal City
aggregation of stars. A city with al
aggregated population of over 300, ,00C
people ought to be able to support a
team in gilt-edged shape.
-
The Western association teams are
getting pretty we'll spread out. Omaha
has what seems to be winning lead
while Milwaukee is apparently good
enough to stay in second place Mime
apolis is playing bad enough ball
heaven knows, but Lincoln plays lit
lie worse and remains in fourth place
Kansas City is fifth, but is destined I,
pull up at least TO third place. Siou,
City and Denver may exchange places
but Duluth is anchored. The record fol
lows: