The San Francisco call., 1897-11-02
some INDIGNANT
BALL PLAYERS
Charges Made Against Fres-
nos Nine by the Yel-
low Journal.
They Were Inspired by Malice
and Plainly Shown to
Be False.
Meeting of Citizens in the Raisin
Center Will Probably Take
Action,

The baseball tournament which for
several months has been running at
Central Park i, about dead. 1t practically
became corpse when the Fresno Repub-
lcans refused 10 play there Sunday, and
it was practically buried yesterday when
the yellow journal announced that East
ern gam blers of the com bination which
engineered the Lavigne- Walcott fight had
succeeded in preventing the Fresno team
from meeting 1.-THE mighty Santa Cruz
nine" on Sunday. The princi pal reason
given for the detection of the lads from
the raisin district was that the gamblers
"at Central Park on Saturday had bet
large sums of money that the Tigers
would win both games"
Tne Examiner has fostered the tourna-
ment at Central Park. 1t has done this,
as it has often proclaimed, in the interest
OF charity. Now it clans that vast sums
of money we're bet on the Fresno team.
If this were true why did not the yellow
Journal always on the alert for u sensa-
ZION, mention something a. bout these large
sums of money in its report OF Saturdays
gama published in its Sundays issue? Is
II possible that the yellow journal, while
sanctioning charity, has been upholding
gambling!
There has never been any large sum
wagered at a ball game at Central Park.
Parlisans of contending mines might have
wagered few dollars, but as for gam bling
it is nonsensical. Eastern gam blers had
nothing to do with engineering the
Lavigne- Walcott fight. That was engi-
neered by Lavigne's terrible hitting
powers.
The reason why the Fresno nine left
the tournament SUNDAY was the same as
that advanced by Gilt Edge and Reliance
when those great teams left it-unfeir
treatment.
II. C. B. Gill of the Fresno Athletic
Park Association is quoted in yesterdays
Examiner as saying that tn e Fresno Park
Association was done With professional
baseball, and that hereafter it would have
nothing to do with the game. The reason
given Tor this action was because the team
refused to play at Central Park with
Santa Cruz Sunday.
Now the fact of the case is that Mr.. Gill
never m ade such statement. After the
game at Recreation Park he warm V COM
mended the grounds, the treatment that
the club received from the management
and public. and expressed gratiticati tion
that Manager Shea had made arrange
ments for the game.
These statements were further accentu-
ated Yesterday when Mr.. Gill made appli-
cation on behalf of the Fresno team to
Join the new league. and when the consent
of Stockton aud Gilt Edge is obtained
Fresno will line up with the Cracka jack
ball lea ms of the State.
All me bers of the Fresno team re-
turned to the raisin center yesterday
morning except F. L. Chance and A. E.
Hayes Chance is the great backsop. He
is an intelligent gentleman. In speaking
Of the attacks of the Examiner on the
nine he said:
I'VE are accused of quitting the Central
Park tournament at the iIstigation of the
gamb b.ers. 1t is q foo ish accusation, for
any one acquainted with the games that
have been played at Central PARK knows
that if any sums of money have been
wagered they have been sma!l-smaller in
TACT than those wagered on the college
foot ball games. But why talk about such
trivial things. The reason why We left
Central Park was because We have been
robbed; r. b5ed by rotten umpirine.
I'VE never got square deal there but
once. Last Saturdays game was some
thing awful. 1t was the rawest. rankest
steal that | ever saw"
Next Sunday Reliance and Gilt Edge
will play at Sacramento. The Olympics
will play Stockton al Stockton, and there
will be q game at Fresno.