The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-10-25
ALWAYS WILLING TO BET
JOHN A. STALEY, OF PITTSBURG, IS
A UNIQUE CHARACTER.
Elections His Favorite for Wagering
Money-He VIII, However Take
Chances on Any Event.
Pittsburg Leader.

flttSDurS Leader.
az have known them all. known the best
Of them from the four corners Of America,
but there's none that's the equal of Johnny
Staley.''
Guaged by the standards of the betting
ring this is the most fattering encomium
the speaker-himself a man who has won
and lost fortunes on the flip Of the dollar,
a spasm Of the stock market, the Official
count of an election vote or the time of
horse passing under the wire-could have
paid to any member of the fraternity, but
it was not the sort of compliment that
would have pleased the subject Of this
sketch.
John A. Staley, or Johnny" as his init
mates love to call him, occupies unique
position in Pittsburg, at Saratoga, at
Sheepshead bay, at Lexington-in word
at large. He enjoys the confidence of con-
servative bankers, the friendship Of pro-
fessional men, the fear of politicians and
the admiration, nay the idOlatry of that
army of idlers who follow his initiative in
the betting ring. Just now and from this
time until the votes are counted on the
day after the fall elections he is apt to be
very much in the public eye, very much in
the public prints. for he will be betting his
good money on every phase of the contest
ON the general results, on majorities and
candidates-in short, en- any eventuality
against which he can induce another party
TO cover his wagers.
Merry, but not noisy, bold but not bla-
tant. John Staley is the very antithesis Of
paper writer is apt to speak Of him as 1.-THE
well-known sporting man." But that term
is missioner and is misleading. For he
is neither sporting man nor is he well
m a lie
acquaintance are legion. He bows to al
most every other man he passes on the
streets and great many of them call him
Johnny" but few of them really know
him well. He is not sporting man in the
sense that he is a patron Of any sport or
that he spends his time in the resorts of the
sport. On the contrary, he is the most do
nestle of men, is home every night by 6
o'clock, and rarely leaves the bosom of his
family after that hour. Though he is a ia
miliar figure at the race tracks in the big
fights that are held from time to time in
various places remote from Pittsburg, yet
he would not walk across the street to see
the ordinary race or to witness mere exhi-
billions of physical brute force.
RACE TRACK HIS WALL STREET
AS the staid banker goes to Wall street to
look after his financial interests, the rise
and fall of the stock market, John Staley
goes to the race track, the ball field, the
polling booth or to the prize ring. There
his money is invested. One man bets on the
rise or fall Of a stock, the other on the SUI
perior speed of horseflesh, the tide Of pop
ular political sentiment, or the science Of
manly defense.
Mr.. Staley is a quiet, unobtrusive man, q
thorough gentleman In manner and meth
DDS, whole-souled, warm-hearted and trust
full.
Not being a laxative man Mr.. Staley's
re nf may he lear cnIxr Hx-
studying him at close range He is modest
and reticent and bushes like a schoolgirl.
While other men may court notoriety, he
courts the seclusion of his home or the
quiet of coterie Of friends and avoids
publicity.
There is nothing spectacular about his
methods. Unlike men who have earned ma
tional and international fame as race-track
plungers, stock-market jobbers reckless
bettors, Mr.. Staley makes no display. He
probably bets more money in year than
Gates and Ryan combined, but he does it
in quiet, administrative way. His
nearest friends never know how much he
wins or loses. Recently he returned from
race meeting at Saratoga. where the
bookmakers declared that he had won over
$4,000 but when friend asked him, How
did you fare, John?" he simply replied:
''Oh, I made expenses" On another coca
sion when he had lost hundred thousand
he answered the same query by saying:
II about lost expenses"
He was the first man TO indtroduce book
making in Pittsburg. Prior to this the auc-
ton pool was the favorite method of bet
ting on the races and the baseball games,
but the book" soon won its way to popu-
larity.
ELECTIONS HIS SPECIALITY.
Election betting is Mr.. Staley's speciality,
and it has been said that he has got the
mathematical end Of it down to science.
He does love the horses, however, and for
time followed the trotters over the cir
cult. Lately he has taken fancy for run
ming meets and is said to have been very
successful in picking the winners and place
horses. Indeed, IL is a known fact that he
has put away as much as $4,000 for single
days profits on the track. His most
sensational killing was at the time Joe
Cotton won the Louisville Derby. On this
occasion every pool offered on Cotton in
Pittsburg was bought by Staley or his
agents.
And yet Mr.. Staley is not a rich man as
fortunes are estimated to-day. He could
probably clean no a half million dollars
were he disposed to convert his property
and other investments into cash. and many
a man would consider himself immensely
wealthy on the same basis, but II is not so
with John Staley. He has been frequently
compared to that other notable bettor from