Waterbury Democrat., 1902-01-20


 and had to come down to the earth once more:
 A meeting of the league is to be hold ven, and if the writer is not greatly mistaken some fur will fly. It is sad that the few moving spirits of the league have found their error in cut ting out champion team At the present time they want Springfield iil the league, for tis a bigger city. This means that some town now shak- ing hands with itself for being in the league has got to go. Speculation is of course rife as to which team will be counted down and out. It is not stretching imagination whole lot to see the finish of Waterbury. Manager Shea of New London has fed stories into the press of that city in which ne stands out for Bristol as against Wa terbury, and the Day says if Roger Connor's bank account depended on the money he made in Waterbury base ball it would be easy to see that he would not be troubled with a heavy balance. The new management of the Waterbury team will not be found popular in Hartford. Harrington s the man who once refereed polo games and who never dared to come to Hart ford for fear of bodily harm coming to him. q
 Norwich feels much the same about Waterbury and the Boston American league team has stolen away Wafer- bury's only player of promise, George Prentiss, who will pitch for that team the coming season. Waterbury never made a dollar when it had q cham- pionship team, so 1t seems good policy to throw the town with Roger Connor gone and Harrington up.
 Up in Springfield the daily papers have made much of the fact that Roger Connor has bought fifty. feet of pine lumber and 10 cents worth of nails to repair the fence around the ball park. After sinking an investment of these proportions it is easy to be seen that Connor has assurances of his team being in all right. Somebody must have told him, too, that he would get the money back.
 The worst thing about O'Rourke be- ing secretary of the State league Is the fact that he is a brow beater of urn- pires and hollers loud and long on every decision that affects his team. The umpires knowing that O'Rourke is the only man who hands out the sal ary, are sure to give him the best end of it. Even at this he could not win last years pennant.
 The information from Chicago that A. G. Spalding and B. B. Johnson have held a conference at last has stirred up interest among the ball erankS. 1t was thought at one time that twelye-club circuit, to be form ed by the amalgamation of the Amer ican league and the four Spalding clubs of the National, would be the so- lution of the problem. but the positive statements of both Spalding and John- son that no. such amalgamation will be made puts everybody at sea again, ex- cept those who say they know just what Spalding has in mind But they will not divulge the secret, and Spald- ing has gone to California for a few weeks, still saying that he will win the fight sure
 Even though Spalding has been en- joined as president of the National league he is able to hold Johnson with him, which means that the American league is in this fight for clean ball with real good faith. Spalding and Johnson show what pull they have with the minor leagues by sending the following communication to P. 1T. Powers:
 F. T. Powers. President of the Nation
 al Association Professional Baseball
 Leagues, St Paul Building, New
 York:
 Dear Sir:-At an informal confer ence of the undersigned. held in Chi cago today, it was mutually agreed that it is desirable that a committee on playing rules of the National Asso- ciaGion of Professional Baseball leagues, q committee on playing rules of the American league and a commit tee to be appointed by MT A. G. Spald- ing meet at an early date in joint con- ference for the purpose of formulating uniform code of playing rules that will, govern all professional baseball contests for the year of 1902 We are making this request in our personal ca- pacities, and. if agreeable to you, we will name Monday, February 10, 1902, at the Iroquois hotel. Buffalo. as the time and place for this meeting.
 Awaiting your; reply, we are, yours truIys
 A, G. SPALDING,