The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-03-18
THOSE TERRIBLE DETROITS:
 ISIS" HOPKINS ON STAFF
Some Gossip About the Bunch That Will Play in Mont gomery Nearly Two WeekS--BaSebal
 Talk in General

l. lent chance for the championship.
 LaJote looked perfectly recovered from his long spell of illness. During Decem- Der, he was taken i'll with pleurisy, and for months the painful disease kept him confined to his room. He has recovered now, but isa little below weight and is soIt from the weeks of inactivity. He ex- pressed the belief that he would soon be his old self again, however, but he real ized that months of illness had made a difference. He would require rather care ful training before he was back in his old physical condition. New Orleans would accomplish this. he felt certain. If he but Kept well. he was not bothered as to the future.
 LaJoie enjoys the distinction of being the real king of ball players. He was the greatest hitter the world knew of last year. and has demonstrated that there is no part of the ball field in which he does not reign the master. His presence alone has run Cleveland stock away up in the rating.
 This season the Clevelands will open up their training with a pitching stan consisting of Bernhard. who comes from the Athletics; Walker, from Hartford. Joss. Wright and Moore, from last wear: Pound. of the New York State League: Dorner, from the III League, and Hess of an sd lndependent organization. Hugh Hill, formerly of Nashville, will join the force here. being another of the pitching stan fugh was signed more for his hitting ability than his skill in the pitching box.
 Siroppie and Hickey were to have been on the Cleveland pay rolls. but they are counted among the missing and are now recorded with Portland in the Pacific Coast League. They are some of the new contract. Jumpers of the country. 'Fred Abbott, the old Pelican who has Deeh Wlnterlng here, and Bemiss are to be the catchers of the club. Both men arc SrHck players in every respect. The local LolioWing remembers Bemiss from last season, and they know what Abbott can do. -''o'' eaii
 The infield will consist of Hickman on nTst, LaJoie on second Gouchnauer on shorr sbo r.;,ii ana Bradley at third Thoeny Is tne utlllty man of tn combina tion. Last season Iheony was covering short until his rival showed up so much the better ont 6Se 'Wo' in tbn and they o exchanged places
 have Flick at right, Bay in the center ana Mccarthy at left"
 fears and years ago when baseball was III us swaddllng clothes in Montgomery. John J. McCloskey had charge of the local team-last year he had the Tacoma team from which the St. Vrain incident that almost disrupted the Southern lea League originated. This year it seems again as the following from a Chicago | paper says:
 President T. J. Hickey of the Ameri can Association, has returned to Chicago | from California, where he went as a neace | commission of the minor leagues to settle | the strife between the rival Organizations on the coast. President M. H. Sexton, 10 the Western League. was to have ac- | companied Mir. Hickey but was snow | bound and did not reach California untIl shortly before MT. Hickey left for home
 MT: Hickey found the California and the | racine Northwest Leagues in a war that | IS certain to wipe one or the other from the baseball map at an early date The | chances, according to MT. Hickey, are that the Pacific Northwest League, which | practically precipitated the war will have | hard sleddinG before the season Is very old on account of the distances and jumps which the teams will be com pelled to make. The league includes the cities of Helena, Butte, Seattle, Tacoma | Portland, Spokane San Francisco and Los | Angeles It is figured that the Montana
 teams will be compelled to travel 2.4OO
 miles when they visit Los Angeles, and
 the California fans could not figure how
 the teams could make both ends meet
 with the expenses which such a haul
 would make necessary
 President Lucas of the league, how
 eyer, thinks it can be done, and he has
 placed J. J. McCloskey of Louisville, to
 run the San Francisco end of the enter
 prise Salaries have also been boosted
 to an unheard of degree on the coast, and
 President Hickey confirmed the report
 that Joe Corbett has signed with Mana
 ger Morley of the Los Angeles, California
 League team, at a big salary.
 The california League holds the whip
 end. as 1t will have a season of eight
 League will only play five months At
 this rate the California League which Is
 made up of San Francisco Los Angeles
 Oakland, Sacramento, Seattle and Port
 land, will have opposition in four cities
 for only two months and half. To show
 the stability of the California Leaguo,
 each club has deposited 5000 as a guar
 dntee of good faith
 | President Hickey received every cour-
 tesy from the California League officia's s,
 who are anxious to make some kind of
 an agreement with the National Associa-
 tion. The rival league. however, i'm
 pugned the motives of the Peace Com
 mittee. and would have nothing but war.
 The members said they did not desire a l baseball peace. Manager McCloskey was l the most belligerent member. but we'll
 posted men on the coast predicted hard
 times for the kentuckian a little later in
 the season."
 The American Association is stiu with
 out its schedule, and the organization Is within one month of the playing season.
 Presidents Hickey and Sexton, who have been arranging non-confiicting schedule so far as Milwaukee and Kansas City are concehned have been in California
 together settling affairs of the California and the Pacific Coast leagues or at least lending d helping hand to this effect The championship season is to open on April 22 So far the club owners do not know whether President Hickey conten- : plates scheduling the Northern clubs South or the Eastern clubs West. In all , probability, however, it will be the North , ern clubs South, in which event Indian } apolis will get either Milwaukee or To- , ledo.
 l No intlmation has been given as to the | date of the spring meeting of the Gsso- citation, but 1t will certainly be held with in the next two weeks.
 When Bill Armour and his Cleveland bunch passed through here on their way to New Orleans Sunday morning there was quite an amusing scene at the Unior
 Station. There was wait of some little , time and several of the team walked through the gate and up by the baggage room. One of them began throwing cop pers out on the pavement and as if by magic there was a swarm of negro boys grabbing for them. Several kodak snaps
 of the scene were taken and will proba- bly adorn the walls of the team club room
 in Cleveland.
 Yesterday morning money or tickets . ! fA .feN