The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-04-20

Mr.. Brush shrugged his shoulders with
childish glee in referring to the total of
5000 peOpl who witnessed the opening
games in the four League cities. OF course
he thought well of the 10000 that turned
out in Cincinnati. but he could not refrain
from showing pleasure at the report OF
$4,000 that attended the game in New York.
And TO think that Andrew Freedman was
read out of BASEBALL was all he would
say. Mr.. Brush predicts a most successful
season for the old National. He will prob
ably call a meeting Of the executive COM
mittee in a faw days. but there really
doesn't seem TO be much need OF the COM
mittee getting together to devise plans TO
win back confidence if the public Will con-
tinue to display such great satisfaction by
turning out in such multitudes. Wonder
how many hundred thousand people Will
attend the opening games in the American
League this week according to the reports
TO be sent out by Ban Jahnson's crowd?
American League cities generally figure
their attendance on the cubic foot system
multiply all around a few times and then
add a couple of hundred for policemen,
street-car employees and peanut vendors
Astronomy students will have a new
textbook before long and it will probably
be called eth Passing of Old and Discov-
cry of New Stars" It will be a story that
will be of special interest to followers of
the great diamond game and will tell all
about the bright stars fading away in the
pUDllC > dulinl dllOh INT NhIy N0AC hNA
tinct except to occasional fittings Of mem
DRY. It's time will be no more ancient than
the year 1902 A. ID. The stars will be some
of those high-salaried. high-reined indi-
viduals who forsook Illuminating grounds
in National League cities to go to Amerl-
can League clubs. They draw such large
salaries that if the rolls were made OF bills
of small denominations they would form
punches Of money large enough to choke
a thousand goats whose daily dessert con-
sists of tin cans. The new stars will be the
Youngsters who are fast, willing and ener-
getic, who will take chances on the bases
and will ''go to the ground when a slide
for a bag Will mean a steal instead OF
STAYING on their feet and being put out.
The new stars will be the young men who
are now playing in the National League in
the places OF many of the contract jump
ers. The visit of the st. Louis team to In
dianapolis this spring demonstrated that
the new st. Louis club is composed of a
lot of individual stars-many of whom will
be referred 10 in the new teXt-book-but
men who are drawing such enormous sal
aries thai they cannot afford TO take des-
perate chances to win games for their
team. they are great. individually, but
will they work together? All-star combi-
nations generally breed discomfort and
jealousy and the American League clubs
will not be immuned from that dreadful
malady. Men who are now drawing fancy
salaries in the american League would
less money. The new recruits in the Ma
tiOnal will fill the places and within a
few weeks the youngsters will be thor
Oughly developed and VIII furnish an ar
ticle of ball that will be as fast and spec
tacular as any in the country. The Ma
tional has always needed nervy. consist
ent baserunners and it seems as IL the new
men will fill the bill. Baseball has been
made popular in such organizations as the
American Association because of the en-
ergetic, fearless and good players they
contain. The game will be more popular
I'm the National for just such reasons. The
question goes back to the old p~oint-give
the American the rope and it will ~strangle
itself.
The American Leagues 1902 championship
season will be launched next Wednesday,
the same day as the opening of the Ameri-
can Association. In the American League
cities preparations are being made for a
grand display-something on the order of a
three-ring circus hippOdrome. The Cleve-
land team will open at st. Louis, Detroit
opens at Chicago. Philadelphia at Balti-
more, and Boston at Washington.
BY airline. from Boston, comes a story
that Killilea is not the owner of the Bos-
ton American club. The story goes that
Phil Auten. the Chicago millionaire. is the
real owner. He was the hacker of the
Pittsburg Brotherhood team in 1890, and
owned the Pittsburg National until Bar
ney Dreyfus secured control of that club.
The story further says that Collins is not
thought to be loyal to the American League
cause and there is talk of letting him go.
Another chapter tells of Overtures being
made to Fred Clarke, Of P~ittsburg, 10 man
age the Boston Americans, and that he
was approached by a certain agent and
told that his money would be guaranteed
by a certain capitalist. and that. in lieu of
a salary, he would be given notes by this
millionaire payable at the end of each
month Of the playing season. Clarke did
not accept.