The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-09-21
LEAGUE BALL NEXT YEAR
IS PRACTICALLY CERTAIN
Montgomery Will, in All Probability, Be in the Southern
League Memphis Will Play LOcals--Three
Games at Oak Park

1t is now pretty much of certainty
that Montgomery will he member of the
Southern League in 1903. and the old saw
about nothing being sure but death ana
down.
In a nut shell the situation can be
summed up like this: That pair OF in
pocents, Charlie Frank and st. Nrain.
who have been roaming around the SOUTH
ern League this summer like lost sheep
seem to have brought the trouble to
focus. AS to the st. Vrain matter every
body who takes the least semblance OF
interest in baseball Is. thoroughly familiar
with ii. AS in everything else there are
too sides to that question-Frank told
Montgomery man that st. Nrain had been
sold by Tacoma to the Chicago National
League club and that the pitcher had
his unconditional release from Chicago
when he signed him for Memphis; Inc
other people claim that. Tacoma still had
a string on st. Vrain when he went to
Chicago and consequently his signing
with Memphis was illegal. The whole
thing has been dragged through the
courts SO much this summer that Frank
has become sore and it is said that he
is working up an outlaw league in opposi-
ton to the Southern League for next sum-
mer. Frank has already made efforts
to have Montgomery in his outlaw league
FOR next summer and the southern
League people have done the same thing.
Just who is to be dropped from the
present Southern League is not known.
but that some town will be dropped and
Montgomery taken in is positive The
New Orleans Pcayune claims that Alb
Powell has secured the grounds in that
city and also in Mobile for the 1908 South
ern League, thus cutting Frank out III
those towns. While nothing definite has
been done in Montgomery it can be stated
prett ypositively that this town Will not
enter the outlaw league next summer, but
will be a member of the Southern League.
As to Birmingham, Nashville and Mem
phis 1t is claimed that Charlie Frank and
Newt Fisher control the franchises.
Whether Fisher will go in with Frank in
his outlaw scheme or not remains to be
seen but The Picayune quoted Fisher as
saying in New Orleans that he INTENDED
to remain with Nashville in the South
ern League next summer. Fisher will be
in Montgomery tomorrow and his inten-
tons as to next seasons baseball plans
will probably be made known then.
Whatever the upshot of it all is the local
fans can assure themselves of the most
successful season of baseball next sum-
mer that we have had since the good old
days of Dick German in 1896.
The Southern League season winds up
today and beginning tomorrow Montgom-
cry will have three days of real baseball.
Newt Fisher will reach the city in the
morning and open up three days en-
gagement with the fast mi-professional
team that has been playing at the park
this summer. St. Vrain has been tele-
graphed for and it is possible that he
will pitch one of the games against Nash
Vile. Lem Bailey will pitch one and
Probably Molly or Starr the other, while
Accorsni will do the backstop work.
Following is the lineup of the local ag-
gregation: Burnett. |. f.; Sickney, c. f.,
O'Brien. 3b; Creekmore. S. s.; Wallace,
2b: Andrews, 1b; Bailey, p; Accorsini, c.;
Motley, r t.
The New Orleans Picayune has the
following in regard to Charlie Frank
and his outlaw league:
Much to the surprise of the baseball
world, there arrived in the city last
night one Charles Frank, holder of the
Memphis franchise and would-be disor-
ganiZer of the Southern League Frank
comes from Mobile where he travelled to
look after the interests of his proposed
baseball league. He found, much to his
disgust, that Powell. in the interest of
the Southern League, had already en-
gagged the park and entered into business
arrangements with the street car line
| and several of the leading citizens of Mo-
| bile who care for baseball.
I'm fact, he had carried out President
| Kavanaugh's instructions and checked
Frank at every turn in Mobile. Mobile