The Savannah morning news., 1904-03-06
INDICATIONS ARE THAT THERa
WILL BE STILL ANOTHER
LEAGUE HERE.
SEASON WILL OPEN
MUCH EARLIER THIS YEAR.

President Boyer Has Not Been For
Confederate Veterans mt Opening
of the South Atlantic Season on
Memorial Day-Sunday BASEBALL Ia
Yet Unsettled for the Lenguea
President Boyer Expected to Ar
rive To-day.
Baseball interest throughout tEa
South has never been so intense as has
already been manifested in the game
this early in the season, and all oveH
Dixie preparations are being made foz
the teams, both independent and in
the two leagues which are represented
in this immediate section.
There is, perhaps, no more enthuss
iastic baseball section in the country
than is to be found throughout Geor-
gia. The establishment of the South
Atlantic League covers territory that
for the last few years has been de-
prived Of professional ball, and inter~
est in the game has Jagged to more or
less an extent.
In Southern Georgia last year ni~
nor league was established, but mex
perience on the part of the promoters.
and the comparatively exorbitant
prices paid for players, soon proved it's
failure. This year the same league will
be attempted on more conservativ
lines, and the towns which are now
proposed to enter the circuit are AL
bany, Valdosta, Quitman. Waycross,
Thomasville and Dawson.
The season in the smaller towns will
open some weeks earlier this year
than formerly, owing to the early
preparations that are being made by
the leagues. In the South Atlantic
the season will open on April 26, Me-
mortal Day, and other Georgia cities
will probably be ready on the field to
commence contests even that early.
President Boyer of the South Allan
tic League, who was expected to ar
rive in Savannah yesterday, has so far
failed to put in his appearance, but is
expected to get here tomorrow. As
soon as he arrives Mr.. Bower will COM
mence preparations for the establish
ment of league headquarters. He will
also confer with Manager McGraw OF
the New York Giants relative to the
entering into of an agreement towards
signing a contract for several years
for the use of the Savannah Ball
Park, as practice grounds for the
Giants during the spring.
So far the protests of the camps Of
Confederate Veterans at the proposed
opening of the ball season on Memorial
Day has not been formally made known
to President Boyer. He has however,
expressed himself on this point, saying
that it was a matter over which he
did not have absolute control.
The schedule of the South Atlantic
League, which has already been sub
mitted to the various clubs, and ap-
proved, provides for the opening day
| on April 26, the games to be played i'm
Georgia, Charleston at Savannah, jack
sonville at Macon, and Columbia in
Augusta. The hours for the playing
of the games will, however, be SO ar
ranged as to In no wise interfere with.
the memorial exercises.
In all of thesSouth Atlantic League
towns, work has been commenced on
the ball parks, and everything will
be in ship shape by April /. So far
there has been no definite arrangement
as to Sunday games. No provision
has been made for them in the sched-
can be arranged in Savannah and in
Charleston, as had been contemplated,
games which for any reason have been
postponed, will be arranged for the
Sundays on which it is possible TO
play them.
Dad" LaRocque now has twenty
two men on his roster, but he will cut
this number down to eighteen before re-
porting to Savannah for the preiimi-
nary practices. An effort will be
made to play other exhibition games
here before the season opens other
than those with the All-Cuban team
The expenses of the team are paid
during the practice season, and II is
for the purpose of meeting this extra
expense, as far as possible, that II is
desired to arrange the exhibition games.
Macon has been unusually successful
in arranging games, having secured
Mercer, Cornell and Abner Powell's
Colonels Cor series.