Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-11
MAJOR LEAGUES
ARE EXPENSIVE
REQUIRES VAST OUTLAY OF
MONEY FOR SUPPORT
Players Receive Greater Salaries at
Present Than Did the Great
Diamond Artists of Past
Periods

4
has been something phenomenal anu
has more than kept pace WIN tt,,, tno ~.
crease In other values in TINS county c1I.
Is proven by statements MADE py no,,-
ident Stanly Robson curing
versation last week. ,.u,
can league, Detroit and Cleveland are
the ones to which particular reIere,lce
was made. Mr. Robson ana MS prothei
first became interested I'm basepall at
cleveland, when they were in the street
car business Baseball was put sue
line, to act as leeuei AOi ''O
car business. 1000 A. -.
r. cost something like $4,000 to float
tho Cleveland club, which was then III
the American association. The CLUB
aid not prove paying investment, and
the other stockholders dropped out uh-
tii the Robisons we're left to hold the
bag. Before they got tired of doing
this latter they were in something ike
$4,000. o,,,
Then they concluded that Cleveland
was ripe for major league baseball
with a higher price Of admission. De-
troit was on the market, and the fran
chise at this latter point was bought
at q cost of but $1,000, this, of course,
including players contracts.
The next move was to st. Louis, and
1t cost them bunch of money to get
in there, even with the club in bad
shape financially.
Value of League Clubs
Such values as Mr.. Robson mentions
in connection with the Cleveland and
Detroit teams look almost laughable
today Cleveland's franchise and play
ers could probably not be secured for
100000 today and Detroit would cost
almost as much.
And this would not include grounds
or improvements of any kind. Bos-
toms National league franchise was
but recently sold, and the price given
out was something like $275,OOO. This,
of course, includes the Boston National
league grounds and fixtures.
So far as the Boston players are con-
cerned, with but one o" exceptions,
they would not bring any kind of a
price on the open market. Probably
$275.O00 would be a fair price to pay for
the outfit, Tenney and Cy Young No. 2
being worth over half of that sum be-
tween them.
The Boston grounds were at one time
worth a large sum, because the rail-
roads wanted them for a yard. Since
then the railroads have found other
property and are not in the market for
the grounds, at any rate over their
market value.
The latter are situated in manufac-
turing district. and the property is not
high priced The improvements on the
property are not new and not notably
costly for a ball park. Possibly the
grounds and stands are worth $125,000.
That leaves a clear $125,000 the men
back of the club are paying for the
privilege of playing baseball in Boston
under National league rules.
As to running a club on a $4,000 cap
ital at prese4a that would virtually be
impossible Cleveland at the time Mr..
Robson had the club there in the
American aGEnpiaf finn a
good salaries as any team in the
league. Yet the salary list for an en-
tire season did not run above $4,000.
Twice that sum might cover the SAL
ary list of an American association
club at present, and it is probable that
er. In comparison with the price of the
Cleveland franchise in the American
association there Is the sale of the Min
neapolis franchise in the league a few
days ago.
Profits Amount to $4,000
How much Cantillion paid for the lat
ter club Is not known, but the man who
bought the club something like two
months ago pocketed a clean $4,000 as
his profits, so the price must have been
worth while.
Even a casual glance at the financial
side of the Amerisan sport shows that
1t Is one of the greatest businesses in
the country today. In fact, it is so big
that it has its own way of transacting
it's business and its own rules and regu-
lations for handling the financial side
of the game
Just how much money is tied up in
baseball at present, how much is taken
in and paid out and what the salary
lists of the country amount to it is
impossible to say, but the figures run
high.
IrN kI,oL l., III
top of the list. Rough estimates place
the average salary list of the clubs at
close to $4,000 year. If this is true,
1t means that the sixteen clubs in the
two leagues spend something like $780,
900 year in paying salaries to players
alone.
This does not include the money spent
for the purchase of players, which will
come close to averaging $4,000 alone.
That means $3.50 000 and, cutting off a
big chunk of this, there is still a lot
of money left. What it costs to run a
park during a summer 1t is hard to say,
but gatekeepers and park employees run
up good figure, outside of incident
ais. In addition to this, there Is ground
rent to be considered and interest to be
made on stands and fixtures.
one hundred and fifty Thousand dol
lars is o low estimate on the amount
each club Is Incorporated at and talk
MS every ylulnB lllLO consideration the
financial end Of the game in either the
American or National league cuts into
the 81, 100000 mark.
When the minor leagues are reached,
the latter make up for any decrease in
the money each club pays by the num-
Der of clubs there are. Three of the
minor leagues are in class A, and these
three rank well up with the major
leagues i'm expenditures and value of
property controlled.
The National Association of Minor
Leagues has something like thirty odd
leagues under its care, and these run
all the way down from the class A
teams to classes c and d. What the
clubs expend cannot be figured out, but
II must be something big.
Furthermore, since the association
look charge the baseball business has
become as safe as banking. For the
past two years not a club under the
care or the association has failed to dis
charge its obliga tions in the way of
paying salaries, and players contract
Is pretty near worth its face value.
ENenrwith such a disaster as the San
HrHnClEC0 aarfhCtIaIra ha