The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-03
CHANCE FOR ROURKE
MAN WITH OPPORTUNITY
TO GET TO COURT
NEW ASSOCIATION PUSHES WAR
Band1e and Hickey Are Looking for
Ball Park Site-Western May
Desert ST. Paul or
Kansas City.

If Bill Rourke is serious in his threat
to carry the American association-West-
ern league war into the courts, the Amer
lean intends to provide the Omaha man
with an opportunity to make good.
At it's meeting in Kansas City, the
American, after waiting for Rourke to
appear, voted him no longer a member Of
the new organization, and awarded the
Omaha franchise to Frank Bandle, a
man well known in Omaha baseball cir
cles.
Rourke notified the American magnates
that any attempt to NEEDLE with his
Omaha holdings would land the matter in
the courts. Yesterday, according to the
Associated Press reports, President Hick-
ey and Bandle located a site for another
ball park in Omaha, and are now nego-
tiating for the grounds. The American
Omaha team has already secured several
players for the 1902 season, and with all
this Rourke now has chance to find out
in the. courts just how real his claim to
the Omaha American association fran
chise is.
1t is hard to discover just what Rourke
Is about in his attempt to hold onto the
American Omaha franchise. He has, ever
since the st. Joe meeting, connected him
self with the Western league, and has at
all times announced himself as one of the
At first glance Rourke does look able
TO work clever move against the Amer
lean, but a second glance does not make
this scheme appear at all clever. Rourke
by claiming and holding to the Ameri-
ca1's franchise could tie up things until
the opening day of the American season
and then pull out. This would leave the
American with but seven clubs. The sea-
son would be on and it would be too late
RI IL oy,a for
Omaha.
Can Outwit ROurke.
But the American association includes
in its list of magnates men just as clever
as Rourke, Whitfield and Manning
ROurke and his friends may carry the
matter into the courts, and Rourke may
secure his title to the new associations
Omaha franchise, but Hickey and his
friends understand Rourke's position, and
the finish would be costly for either
Rourke or for his friends in the Western.
If the courts did decide against the new
league, the decision would not prevent
any Omaha man from erecting a ball
park and would not prevent his signing
a ball team. When the season opened 1t
would still be up to Rourke. If Rourle
decided to continue holding the franchise
that the courts gave him, the Omaha
man and the new park would have to
" ait three years for a chance to partici-
pate. The other American teams would
take care of the players signed for this
Omaha team, and the Western would as
usual finish with the losing end in its
grasp. If Rourhe at the last minute de-
cided to throw the American, then the
Omaha man is there to step in. If
Rourke figures this all out he will without
doubt decide to overlook his threat to
go to the court house.
Latest reports have Whitfield and his
leaders doing the heavy thinking stunt.
Milwaukee has been claimed by this new
Western management, although Hickey
was blamed by these same men for his
expansion ideas, and now the question is
what town must be dropped to make
room for Milwaukee.
St Paul and Kansas City are the two
towns that are liable to lose their chance
to see Western league ball next season.
Manning is not altogether anxious to
hight it out all summer in Kansas City
and would be willing to go to Milwau-
hee. AS for st. Paul, the Western lead
ers announce that they don't care much
about the drawing ability of this town,
and may not put a team in here. They
intend to go into Minneapolis, SO their
friends claim. How they intend to make
n team in Minneapolis so through a sea-
son without opposition in st. Paul they
alone can explain.