The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-01-27
WILL STOP GAMBLING
TT IS SAID TO BE INJURING BASE
 BALI. SPORT.
Southern League Will Make Vigorous
 Effort to Stop sO-Callcd "Ttn Horns. from Demoralizing f the Ball Players.

 never forget how the local team was disorganized and almost disrupted two years ago by the open gambling of the ''tin horn" fraternity.
 Betting on ball games Is disastrous to the team in many ways. If man loses a het he immediately begins to spring the anvil chorus, Ball players are human, and when they are doing their bestAit must be disheartening to be roasted by. lot of yelpers who don't care for the game itself but only for the money that they may win.
 To the credit of the promoters or baseball in Montgomery be 1t said that they have always done everything In their power to stop this gambling. or course there is no possible way of put ting a stop to bets being made in town rule. however. that no betting will be allowed inside the grounds. this rule holding throughout the southern ball park big, black-lettered placards are nailed conspicuously on several of ting"
 This summer 1t is hoped that this rule will be enforced. not only as to the grandstand. but anywhere within the enclosure, and a man caught making a bet after he has passed through tne money being refunded. If this Is done once or twice the beneficial effects on the game in Montgomery will be far
 The following from an Eastern paper along that line will be apropos and in- terestinE.
 "Gam6ling on baseball games is 10 the National League. Several weeks ago in this column 1t was mentioned that the draft price Of players was oniy of minor importance to keeping the gossip that gamblers knew what they were doing when they het their money on certain games during the champion ship season. Stories of this nature are hard to run to cover. though you nave no trouble finding people who will tell you that there has been something oo- ing There are some people wno na- turally believe that everything Tn tne sporting line is crooked, and utterances from this class may be passed up with out considerations: but there are others who are in a position to know things and who keep their eyes open and their ears to the ground, and when this lat- ter class become suspicious there IS at least a loophole for argument It isn't good business policy for club own CTS to become blinded to conditions De, hind the so-called honesty of baseball. There has been entirely too much open gambling for the good of the sport, es- pecially in ball parks. and the sooner it is checked tbe better; h,,nr m ball games In Pittsburg than In any other city Tn the country. one reason for this is that baseball is about the only local sport in which the speenSta,r S,- money. In other cities horse racing at- tracts the betting class. and the play is not so heavy on baseball Inous- ands of dollars change hands at Expo- sition Park almost every day that there is ball game and any suspicious moves of the players opens the way TOT an argument if some plunger cleans up d large amount of money on the day. As a rule. these arguments are com fined withing the gambling coterle ana do not reach the ears or the geneTdl public until something turns up simiiar to the case of Pitcher Taylor. When Hart and Comiskey. owners or the rlVaI clubs in Chicago. were drawn into an argument over Taylor's action In the series of games for the local champion- ship, it brought to light suspicious game in which Taylor ohciated at FIX position Park. Taylor claims that ne is innocent of any wrong -dolng. ana ms ed guilty. The same would be true or any other ball player under slmlIGr suspicion. no matter how much talk there might have been over his actions in any particular game. Some people believe that only a pitcher could throw game to the other side, and Tor tnls reason twirlers are more naple 10 pc suspected than other players on teatn, A ball game however, could easily DC thrown without the pitcher being m with the scheme. A timely wild throw by an infelder,< or even an outnelder' with the bases filled would answer the purpose"
 Dixie will be literally smeared with baseball leagues this year. There will he no less than eight in action when the trumpet sounds the onset. and hardly a town of any proportions whatever will be without its clan of athletes H.s. ,
 Here is the promised list of organi- cations:
 Southern.
 South Atlantic.
 Cotton States.
 Delta.
 North Texas.
 South Texas.
 K. T., or Kitty"
 Tennessee Alabama.
 And still every now and then the sepulchral monotone of calamity bowler is heard suggesting that the game will not flourish long in the South. says The St. Louis Star. Ball dom has gripped the people this side of the border now as for years 1t has done across the great dividing line
 These eight leagues will foot up Q total of fifty or sixty teams. and with at least fourteen athletes hooked for each camp there should be over 500 enlisted men in action. This will be by far the greatest bulk of performers ever gathered in Dixie since base hits began to flourish