The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-11
WHAT OFDOC. LOWNEYe
WILL HE PLAY BASEBALL OK
 PRACTICE MEDICINE.
Tom O'Brien Would Like to Solve This Question--He Has Secured shan-
 non for the Pretsel Inaeld.


 .tunts in the Pretzel shortfield this
 Last fall Lowney graduated as an M D.. and forthwith shouted rom the lousetops that not for him any more would there be pair of spiked shoes. Instead of running shoes, cap and bats his outfit hereafter will be tall SIX nat. patent leather shoes and swell toggery generally This IS not the frst tme that Lowney has threatened to quit baseball. but Newt Fisher svidently got leary of the threats. and when he found a chance to swap Jam sing for Lowney jumped at 1t.
 OBfien is under the impression that [Iowney Is talking through his hat again, but to be on the safe side he has made arrsnEements to be next t. not. He has virtually succeeded in landing Shannon. a youngster, who has the reputation of being a very fast in- fielder and a good hitter. In 1903 Shannon was in the New York League and ranked third among the ehortstops eighteen games; thirty-eight putouts, assists and seven errors, an average of 1928. Seven errors out of chances at short is not half bad. In batting he had fifteen hits Tn 1894 Dan Shannon had charge of the Macon team in the Southern League. It was a swift aggregation but resulted in bankrupting the Macon people.
 Whether this Shannon is relative of Old Dan or not is not known, but 1t Is presumed that he is.
 With Kid Busch, Lowney and shan non there is hardly any danger of the Pretzel infleld suffering this summer
 Down in Major E. E. Winters office is, or was. big wall poster of LaJoie the king pin of batters who will man age the Cleveland American leaguers this summer
 Yesterday morning Molesworth, one of the star outhelders of the Southern League was given the alluring poster to ornament his bowling alley. Local rife hitter. his reputation not being confined to the Southern League. The Spauldings turn out a bat which is called The Molesworth bat" thou sands of them being sold on the strength of the name, the Spauldings sending four of the sticks to Moles- worth some time ago.
 While in baseball headquarters yes- terday a discussion began about the Napoleon of baseball. There have been baseball players perhaps who have secured larger salaries than Now that war time has ceased to be, and that peace is reigning in base bali the magnates are paying more at tention to the money end of the game and are looping off excessive rewards for little 1abors.
 There was a time when Keeler re- ceived, or wa ssaid to receive $10,000 a year for batting .331 in right field for the New York Americans. His. war time contract expired last year and he signed up again at a big reduction, said to be by some as much as a $6,000 drop from his former contract.
 But the contract of Larry Lajoie is stin good. This will make his fourth year with Cleveland and his last under the present contract. At the end of treasury of $30.SO0. And there are few who dare to say that he has not been worth, from a drawing standpoint every cent that has been paid him.
 Atlanta parties once had the South ern League franchise offered them on says Newt Fisher in The Nashville News. This year they paid $18,500 for it and were glad to get it. That shows the growth of baseball in the South.
 Charley Frank, Alb Powell and I went to Atlanta when we were first the league and offered the franchise to a number of men in At lanta. We tried to sell 1t. then we tried to give 1t away and finally offer ed bonus of $1,000 to the club to help pay it's years expenses. It was no use. A fellow in Atlanta who had pre- vlously experimented with a cheap league and had burnt his fingers knocked the game and the newspapers joined in. Atlanta would not touch
 well, we gave the franchise to Selma just to make up the eight clubs needed. The next year Peters trans ferred his Selma franchise to Atlanta, ard Alb Powell, who was then manag- II , New Orleans, took a half interest. The next season he bought Peterss in- terest and removed his interests to A few days ago he sold for S1S,500 the franchise which we once tried vainly to give away"
 Manager OBrien has secured the con- tracts for most of the new men, but the old men who are on the reserve list he is taking his time about. The re- served men will either be forced to sign a local contract or stop playing ball, and such men as Busch. Manners, Brandt, Hale and Gardner will certainly not stop playing ball.
 Schwartz signed his contract before leaving the Pretzels last fall, Mullaney doing the same thing, while the con- tracts of Jack Lee and Dan Brothers are in Major Winters safe.
 Millerick has written that he will sign at any time and there Is no danger of losing him.
 Manager O'Brien has the contracts of a trio of youngsters-McDon and pitchers, and Barry an out fielder, the youngsters being given & Lee and Frank Delehanty. Brandt Is doing some bruising work to get into tip top condition and in a few days and Busch will follow suit.
 Major Winters was to have taken 3 local architect out to Athletic Park yesterday, but there was an unavoida- ble delay. Plans will be arranged and carpenters begin work out there by the latter part of next week at the latest.
 Today marks the actual beginning of the turf war, the new track in New Orleans built by Corrigan and the peo- pie opposed to the Western Jockey Club opening this afternoon.
 The outlaws" as the Corrigan peo- pie are called. look veW formidable, and it may yet develop that the Vest 'outlawing" anybody going against their wishes.
 One effect of the new track in New Orleans being opened is that the purses of the old track have been in creased and the old meeting will con- tinue indefinitely, no time limit being put on the new track either
 The outlaw crowd is called the American Jockey Club and the old the Western Jockey Club. The two circuits are as follows, St. Louis alone being in doubt:
 American--Louisville Kansas City, Worth. Hawthorne, New Orleans, Nash yilIe IAxinRtOn Hot SDrings Fnrt Erie, Highland Park. Union Park (SL Louis), Latonia-
 Western-Harlem, Hot Springs, Mem nhis Fair Grounds (St LoniS l. Del-