The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-06-19
The Men Who Saved baseball.

The Men Who Saved Baseball.
In 1881, ten players were expelled
from the National league for dissipa-
ton; SO today this evil has passed to a
great extent. rambling, crookedness
and dissipation were eradicated largely
by President Hubert, who died in
1882. OF him. Mr.. Spalding says:
while Henry Chadwick is called the
father OF baseball William A. HUI
bert was its savior-God bless his
memory-and it is no small honor to
have been the savior of nations
SPORT
Professional baseball was in sore
need of another savior" in the late
nineties. It was not gambling or
crookedness, this time, but rowdyism
and umpire batting. The National
league was at the mercy of a Tam
many politician, an intimate friend
man, who received a salary of $40, 900
year, as president of the New York
club seemingly to ruin the game. Not
only did he treat Metropolitan fans
niggardly in the quality of baseball he
gave his patrons, but he permitted
yes, encouraged open warfare on the
umpire, and made his team a refuge
for low-bred rowdies. NO wonder spec
tators were disguised. No wonder the
national game was falling into Hire
pute.
In this crisis a man appeared who
rescued the game from the umpire
baiters and gave new life to profess
sional baseball. This was Byron Ban
croft Johnson, Familiarity known as
Ban" Johnson. A Cincinnati news
paper man, johnson was elected to the
presidency of the Western league in
1893. From the outset he stood for
clean, honest sport, and with his I'M
falling support the umpires under him
showed backbone and nerve in dealing
with players. This, in large measure,
accounted for the success of the West
w h a
strongest of the minor organizations.
Johnson saw the state of affairs in
the National league-the indifference
of the public in the big league cities
owing to rOWdyiSm-and in 1900 he
inaugurated his expansion policy. The
name of his organizati ton was changed
to the American league, and a team
was placed in Chicago. Thus, direct
competition with the National league
was begun. Two years later a much
holder move was made, when clubs
were organized in Boston, Philadel-
phia, Baltimore and Washington. So
successful was the venture that in
1903, Baltimore was dropped, and an
American League club was organized
in New York city. This gave rival
teams in New York. Philadelphia, Bos-
ton, Chicago and st. Louis; while the
Am erican league controlled the cities
of Washington, Cleveland and Detroit,
and the National league held sway in
Brooklyn. Cincinnati and Pittsburg.
And so it is today-Henry Beech
Needham in Success Maya zine"
Negro Mammy's Love for ''NIiss."
Ray Stannard Baker tells the fol-
lowing story in his June article on the
Negro in the American Magazines:
THE mass of colored people still
maintain. as L have said, a more or
less intimate connection with white
enthusiastically very beautiful
and sympathetic relationship like that
of the old nammies or nurses. To one
who has heard so much of racial
hatred as 1 have since 1 have been
down here, little incident that I OBJ
served the other day comes with
charm hardly describable. I saw
carriage stop in front of a home. The
expected daughter had arrived-a very
pretty girl indeed. She stepped out
eagerly. Her father was half way
was a very old negro woman in the
cleanest of clean starched dresses.
Honey she said eagerly.
Nanny exclaimed the girl, and
clasping and kissing-the white girl
and the old black woman.
ST thought to myself: There's no
negro problem there: that's just plain
human lOve!
A Story of the Iron Duke.
The late Baroness Burdett-Coutts
used to relate with keen pleasure story
of the Duke of Wellington and Soult
On the first occasion the duke took
Soult into ApSley House the latter was
surprised at the absence OF pictures he
had known in Madrid.
How is it, Monieur lie Due he said,
that you have so few of the Spanish
masterpieces ?"
Marshal. you forget" replied the
duke, that my army was only in
Madrid after the one commanded by
yourself. "-Illustrated Bits.
QUAKER REFLECTIONS.