Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-03-03
r<lCssessgS'ao.e1$s'S ss-sa Bank Street.
BASEBALL NEWS.
Peculiar Conditions Connected With
 Waterbury Franchise.

Peculiar Conditions Connected With
 Waterbury Franchise.
 There is peculiar state of affairs existing just now which affects the baseball franchise of Waterbury. It may not be generally known, but it is alleged as fact that not one of the players of last season has sent in his contract to Manager Harrington. Some of the contracts have been returned unsigned and some have been torn up by the receivers. In the first place the contracts as were sent out were not properly issued and the players who received them had a lot of sport with them. There was no league or team signed to the contracts and some of them were signed by the players in the blank places as follows: Hot Air" league was the name given to the Connecticut league. As no name was signed for the club the names of the What Is It. and Homeless Wander CTS" were substituted. New contracts were issued but the players have not paid any attention to them. Some of them allege as the reason that they do not propose to let Manager Harring- ton barter and sell them.
 They allege that Manager Harring- ton will sell the franchise for any old figure in order to get rid of it and that this talk of $1,0O0 is only done for a bluff. He will take whatever he can get they say for the franchise but will not let the players go. They allege that he is now negotiating with sever al teams in the Connecticut league for the sale of several of the best players. He expects to realize about $500 on that sale and can therefore afford to sell the franchise for almost nothing. They also say that Red Waller has been sold to James H. O'Rourke and that Manager Harrington is to receive $50 and Pitcher Lyman for Waller. Young Mccormack and Peter Kiernan are also to go to Bridgeport for so much head so they tell the story. Charley, Clancy it is alleged has offered Manager Harrington S25 for his re- lease and that offer may be accepted. Frank Fitzpatrick, Ned Slater, Linde- man and perhaps one other are on the bargain counter and as the players say they will be knocked down to the high est bidder
 In order to circumvent all this the players have refused to sign any con- tracts for the coming season. There is scarcely one of them who wants to go to Holyoke and some of them re- fuse point blank to go there Fitz- patrick claims Manager Harrington has no more claim on him than has any other manager in the league. Red Wal Ter and Iindemann it is reported will play independent ball this season. Young Mccormack will also be found on an Independent team Ned Slater has good position here as has Fitz- patrick and Kiernan and sooner than be sold to any club they will stick to the positions. They do not propose to have Manager Harrington realize one cent off them.
 Now if these things are all true and they look very plausible what has Man | ager Harrington got to sell? Only some old uniforms, some bats and balls
 some street car signs and the franchise Make your bids, gentlemen, as one of the players has started it off already with a bid of thirteen cents. Evident 1 ly when Manager Harrington attends the next meeting of the league he will be asked to show his signed contracts
 with his players and will be asked to produce something tangible to prove that he has some thing to sell to Holy oke. If he is not caught with the goods on him at that meeting it looks like a 1 freeze out the same as Bristol received | s '.