The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-06
MERRY FIGHT IS ON
WESTERN LEAGUE AND AMERICAN
ASSOCIATION WILL HAVE
IT OUT
BOTH SIDES ARE CONFIDENT
Rourlke Now Says He Played Foxy
Com Game With HicI<ey's
CrOwd-Where Does
Beall Standf

TIL Western fanatics now have real
baseball war Of their own. Rourke, of
Omaha promised that trouble would he
started at the meeting of the magnates
OF the Western league, and the magnates
met and made good the promise of the
Omaha, promised that trouble would be
into the teeth of Hickey ct al, and now
the fanatics must sit back and watch Tor
the finish of this little survival of the
fittest struggle.
In one short day Rourke, Van Brunt,
and the other magnates marked for the
second rater class by the new American
association pushed numerous obstacles in
the path of the new baseball association,
recently organized in Chicago by Thomas
Jefferson Hickey, George Tebeau. George
E Lennon and others.
When the American association was
formed the promoters announced that the
new organization would act as the guard
ian and protector of the Western league,
which would be reorganized along the
lines decided upon at the American meet
ing.
Then the magnates of the old Western
lague, who had not been consulted held
a conference. These men did not take
kindly to the ideas advanced by the new
organization, and they prepared for
trouble. They determined to resist all at
I0HtpCS TO CndIS0 JI16 Circuit OI lie OiQ
Western and decided to force the fight
ing. Van Brunt, of st. Joseph, called
meeting and the reports printed In yes
terday's G o b e tell what happened at
that meeting.
1t is now a war between the Western
league and the American association.
The Western league magnates emphatic
ally refused to even consider any sugges-
ton of reorganization; they refused to
IN aru fba HipRpv
league: Hickey, Lennon and Febeau were
dropped from the Western league and the
fight is on.
Very Nice Mix-Up.
The situation is compl Gated one.
Geo. e. Lennon, the st. Paul magnate,
is in the new American association, and
as a member OF that ASSOCIATION viii put
team in st. Paul. Ire Western league
includes st. Paul IN its TERRITORY and viii
award a st. Paul franchise to some man
in sympathy with the Western. 1t is the
same in Kansas City. Tebeau is out CT
the Western but lie has franchise in
the American ASSOCIATION and Will PUT
an American association in Kansas City.
Jimmie Manning and Charlie Nichols are
with the Western people, and they too
will play in the cowboy town.
The position of A. B. Bea1l, of Mime
apolis, has not yet been announced. The
American men claim that Beall is with
them, but no report was sent out of his
withdrawal from the Western league II
Beall should decide to remain with the
American the Western will of course
award a franchise in Minneapolis to an
other friendly baseball promoter.
With this the situation the question is
which league will win out. st. Paul,
Kansas City and Minneapolis will not
support teams in two .eagues. In st.
Paul Lennon has the upper hand He
has the bail park and not only that, but
also the franchise in the stronger league.
Mr.. Dooley has observed that sympathy
is with the under dog, lest as long as
TIL under dog has a good holt an
chanst to turn over" and the baseball
baseball fanatics. Some fanatics may
feel for the old Western league, but with
another league furnishing them a faster
article of ball they will hand little more
than sympathy out to the under dog.
Good Ball for st. Paul.
Lennon deserves the support of the St
Paul fans if the fight between the, two
leagues is carried along until the opening
of the 1902 season. The st. Paul magnate
Joined with the promoters of the new
league because he was anxious to give
St Paul the best article of ball possible.
He believes that st. Paul is willing to
support a good team in a strong league
and although a good team in the old
Western league would bring the same re-
turns at a smaller expense, he went in
with the promoters of the new organiza-
ton.
In Kansas City, Tebeau, according to
some of the critics. is to have hard
time. 1t is true that Manning is popu-
lar in Kansas City, but Manning will be
handicapped by his league. The Kansas
City fanatics may turn out to see Man
ning's Western league team play Denver
or Colorado Springs and pass up Tebeau's
Kansas City team playing against In
Cianapolis or Milwaukee, but If they do
Manning and Kid Nichols will have to
keep themselves on platform before
the public
Considerable interest centers upon
Beall, of Minneapolis. If Beall remains
where he promised to remain for the
season-in the new American association
the new organization will have the best
of it in the Mill City. If Beall follows
Rourke back into the Western ranks
then the American viii fight him in Min
neapolis.
The American people want Bean with