Waterbury Democrat., 1901-03-21
BASE BALL E|
American League Held a queer
 Meeting Yesterday.

The Schedule Not Yet Ready Tor Pub
 lication-Lajoie Signs With the Phil
 adelphia American Team--McGraw's
 Indian Believed to Be Grant of the
 Cuban Giants-Rusie Can Thank the
 American League For the Removal
 of the Ban.
 Philadelphia, March 21.-Ehe meet ing of the American league was thrown back six hours yesterday owing to the n0n-arrival of President Ban Johnson, who was held up by q railroad wreck the other side of Pittsburg. The dele gates present were:
 Philadelphia-Benja F. Shibe and Connie Mack; Boston-C. w. Somers; Baltimore-Frank Sans and Robinson; Washington-James Mann ing; Chicago-Charles Comiskey: Mill waukee-Gross and Duffy; Cleveland J. W. Gilfoyle; Detroit-Burns and Stallings.
 The schedule is the most important business which the new league has to consider, although there are other matters of more or less moment which will occupy the attention of the mag mates before their adjourn. President Johnson has the schedule. but he positively refused to divulge even it's outline. It is understood, however, that so far as possible he has avoided conflict of dates in Boston. Philadel- phia and Chicago. He fixed his dates after close study of the schedule pre- pared by the National league, but if the latter organization should change it's dates. as has been rumored. then the number of conflicts will be ma terially increased, for there will be no change in the American schedule after it has been adopted.
 The American league will not adopt any changes made in the playing rules by the National league at it's last meet ing. It is the general opinion of the delegates that these changes are retroactive and that the only changes calculated to add to the attractiveness of the game were copied from the American. The rule eXempting the pitcher from any penalty for hitting the batsman is particularly condemn ed, and the new rule calling strikes up to two on every foul ball is regarded as ridiculous. It is safe to say that the American league will play under the old rules.
 It is expected that President John son would give out the complete
 
 but he declared that it would be inn polite at the present time. It is rumored that the old league magnates are leaving no stone unturned to win back some of their stars who have gone over to the American. It is said that Wallace and Herdick. who were to have played with Comisky's Chica- go club have been induced to jump their contracts by representatives of the St Louis club.
 All doubts about Laioie were re- moved yesterday when the great play CT signed an American league contract.
 He will captain and play second base for the Athletic club of this city.
 Deacon White. Mickey Welch and Pop Anson would have added eclat to the occasion:-EXchange
 Another telegram that President Robison received yesterday was from r. J. Donovan, manager of the St Louis club, dated Willimantic, Conn: Have signed Catcher Nicols to play with St Louis." Nicols played with | Chicago last year, and has recovered from 8 broken arm sustained while playing in New York.
 Captain Joe Kelly of the Brooklyns has this to say of the Ball Players Protective associations: "The Protec- tive association is dead. I, for one am done with it. I don't see where it has done any good. The only per sons to benefit by it have been the at torney who got a fat fee and a few players who used the association to feather their own nests. l don't be- lieve the players will stand another assessment to support an organization of that kind.'
 John McGraw, manager of the Amer ican league club at Baltimore, says he has signed q full blooded Indian to play on his team. The ''redskin' is twenty-five years old and is five feet | eight or nine inches high. His name is Tokahoma and his parents are both full blooded Cherokees. ''Tokie'' as he is called, weighs 17O pounds and is built on the lines of an athlete. He has been around New York for several weeks and is we'll known to certain classes as ''Tokie'' and "Grant." Just | why he should be called Grant" is a l mystery and tends to arouse suspicion. It is openly asserted that 'Tokien is l none other than Grant, negro second baseman known as the "colored Dun | lap" who played with the Cuban | Giants. McGraw has fixed him up with an Indian name and an aboriginal l pedigree. The manager knows that a negro baseball player would be un- popular in Baltimore, and so the willy | official concocted his scheme of red | skin phenomenon. Truly the modern baseball sharp is wiser than his gener- l alton.
 The signing of Pitcher Amos Rusie l by the Cincinnati club is further evi- dence that syndicate ball' still exists l in the National league. Last year Soden of Boston. q stockholder in the | New York club, handed over Hickman | to Freedman in order to strengthen the local team. Brush of Cincinnati, also a New York club stockholder, donated Selbach, Hawley and Elmer | Smith to Freedman for the same req son. In return for this liberality Rusie would never have been allowed to play another game of ball had not the American league put in bid for his services. The big Hoosier was ban ished from baseball on two occasions by the New York club. though he was | 70 ho ;,,