Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-19
SELLING PLAYERS BAD LUCK.
Very Little Made by Auctioning Of
Base Ball Stars.

The sale of RED John" Powell by the
st. Louis Americans to New York for s., 900
with second-grade player thrown in to
complete the bargain, is the first really i'm
portant brokerage stunt in ten years.
There have been dozens of sales each cam
paign ever since base ball became profess
sionalized, but not since 1885, when Chris
Won der Abe sold Theodore Breitenstein to
Cincinnati has a sale Of any marked i'm
portance taken place. Il
The sale Of players is always resented by
patrons, not only on account of the loss of
favoriteS,, but as evidence of the predomi-
nance of commercialism over sporting spirit
in the club owner.
A good base ball player should be price
less. That Is what the fans think and
If it wasn't for them there wouldn't be any
base ball. Hence their wishes should be re-
Spected.
From a dollar and cents standpoint
Hedges and Adkins made smart sale
In realizing $1,000 for Powell, a $1,000
pitcher. In addition they got New York to
notches removed from Red john" in fact
one who went better than the big fellow in
1903.
However, for all that the teams last
chance to run 1-2-34 in the coming race,
unless of course. the unexpected is regis
tered went a glimmering with the sale of
the buxom Powell to New York.
The Wagners. J. Earl and George. the
up the year of the brotherhood and moved
to this city when the twelve-club league
was formed, and Chris Won der Abe. are the
most noted of the base ball brokers.
The Wagners were very wealthy. prob
ably richer than half Of their associates
still they only developed good player to
sell him
Hence their Senators. each campaign.
would wind up twelfth or whereabouts. Won
der Abe coined money when he kept his
stars. When he started disposing of them
his troubles began.
No man In base ball ever prospered more
Browns intact. He was winning pennants
and his profits each summer-and Chris
never kept books-amounted in the neigh
borhood of $4,000.
Chris troubles began when he became~a
In 1883 he broke up his four-time champs
He sold BOBBY Carruthers the late Dave
Foutz and Doc Bushong to Brooklyn and
''Brudder Bill Gleason and Curt Welch to
Baltimore.
This proved to be the undoing of the Teu-
ton. His teams were champions no longer
and in the place of goodly profits each sum-
mer came losses
Year after year Chris would sell his men,
His last disposal sale gave Cincinnati Theo-
dore Breitenstefn, the king of all left
handlers in his day. and Vondy's lone valua-
BILE asset in the declining years Of his pro-
fessional career.
The sale of the big Feur,,-Charley
White Deacon Rowe, Dan Brouthers
and Hardie Richardson-by Buffalo to De-
troit in 1856 for $14. 0C0-was the first i'm
portant sale.
At that time it was considered marvellous
to raise that amount on four ball players
Following Detroit's disposal of the big
Four came Chicago's sale to Boston OF the
late Mike Kelly. the greatest catcher and
all-round performer of his time.
He brought $1O.000. and. for years, was
known as "the $4,000 beauty
The following year John Clarkson. the
famous pitcher. Keliy's battery mate In
Chicago through many campaigns was pur-
chased by Boston for like amount.
AS the $4,000 battery" they were base
balls most famous characters In the last
several years previous to the formation OF
the brotherhood.
In 1850 Boston continued its sensational
purchases by buying Brouthers. Richard
SON. CANCEL and Bennett from Detroit The
price paid was $i7 600.