New-York tribune., 1899-07-20
uONEY GRABBING IN SPORTS.

deplorable tendency has been manifest in
various kinds OF sport in recent years TO use
! those sports as instruments for grasping the
largest profits possible When bicycling hrst
became popular rapacious spectators did not
realize the opportunities for making money out
| of contests so managed as to be degrading ana
| offensive but carried on In such manner as TO
| bring in large revenues to the men in control.
Bicycle racing, properly conducted, with de-
sire TO keep out everything debasing and to OBJ
| tain only moderate and reasonable gains, de-
serves ncouragement but the brutaliZng strug-
| giles which have been carried on for six days
| and six nights in various parts of the country
| deserve nothing but condemnation. Matches
| between bruisers were always evil, and should
| never have been permitted, but until compara-
lively recent period prize fighters met In the
omen air and on some secluded bit Of turf, and
no one made use of these fights to grab tens Of
thousands of dollars. It was an ingenious
scheme of cunning rascas to form called
clubs in which sluggers of the Fitzsimmons and
Jeffres class might meet and to fleece the sup
porters of such affairs out OF large sums by the
sales of tickets aud privileges.
The multiplication of racetracks in several
States. the increase in the number of race days,
the exactons from the betting rings and the
poolrooms-all these things are injurious to the
turf and injurious to the communities where
such practices are in vogue. When Jerome Park
was founded racing at Fordham a sport of
high quality. and it was warmly befriended by
influential citizens. In those days there was no
attempt to obtain excessive tribute from the
public There were no taxes on the book
makers no leves on the betting rings, no reye-
nue. from poolrooms, no charges to telegraph
companies-none of the schemes, in fact, by
which the stockholde Of race courses now Sc
cure huge dividends on watered capital. The
grasping spirit is too conspicuous in the man
agement of most of the tracks to-day and in the
methods by which many sports are governed.
Yachting, golf and some other sports are free
from the greediness which does so much harm on
the tracks and at many other places Fortunately
II is probable that ayarice will never smirch
Yachting and golf, but the so called National
snort OF the United States has been damaged
gravely by the fact that the professional base
ball clubs in several instances have fallen into
unworthy hands. Not many years ago New
Workers were enthusiastic over their nine, and
followed the exploits of the players with loyal
zeal Now every one has reason to be ashamed
of the New-York Baseball Club. Under the
control of Andrew Freedman it has sunk so low
that II is dsliked and despised by those who be-
lieve that the game should be managed in
liberal and honorable spirit The Brooklyn nine
Is under wise management, and Is winning new
laurels as the season advances The taint which
stains certain professional clubs has not eX-
tended to the college organizations, and in al
most all instances the amateur baseball assoca-
tions are worthy of goodwill. But the New
York club is in such plight that few speak of 1t
except in terms of reproach. Freedman is
representative Tammany man, and his hackers
and associates are prominent in the councils OF
Tammany. Freedmansm Is Tammanysm. Its
results in bringing once popular and admired
organization into general disfavor are painful to
contemplate.