Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-03-07
COTTON STATES
 LEAGUE NEWS Team Arrangements Com pleted and Things Look Bright for the Coming Season.
VICKSBURG LINE : UP.
Blackburn and Sample, Former Pine Bluff Players To Figure Prom:- nently In The Affairs of Two Minor Teams-Other Players.

Former Pine Bluff ball players
 are to be prominent in the affairs of
 the Cotton States baseball league
 during the coming season. George
 Blackburn and Guy Sample, former
 ly manager and captain of the Pine
 Bluff team, are among them. Black
 burn is to manage the Vicksburg
 club and Sample will handle the
 affairs of the Meridian aggregation.
 Jack Law has been signed to man.
 age the Columbus, Mississippi,
 team; Bernie Mckay, Mobile; Bob bic" Gilks, formerly of Shreveport, Gulfport; and Ira Trevis, Jackson. From all accounts the season promises to be an eventful one. The managers are the best, taken collectively, that any of the old | timers can remember having seen i, in this league since it's organization |, in 1902, and they are all shrewd baseball men, led by Stacy Compton. president of the league last year
 and reelected this season.
 The members of the Vicksburg
 ball team for the coming season will 1 begin reporting for duty this week. Sunday game will be held with the ,, Blades of Shreveport, under leader. . ship of Johnnie Bammert.
 Manager Blackburn expects to put.his men to work just as soon as ,, they arrive. For the present u le
 working hours will be from 11:30 , in the morning until 3:30 in the af- players have become hardened prac- tice will be held twice daily.
 Mason, a young pitcher of Delhi, { La, who is to be given tryout as a pitcher under Blackburn, Is the 1 second of the players to arrive, ilav- 1 ing reached Vicksburg yesterday. 1 Toner went there last week. Fay . Tor, Brennan and Redmond were ;, expected to leave Cleveland today 1 on their journey south to join the
 Vicksburg club.
 Manager Blackburn's lineup is
 not yet complete, and he has not
 ceased his labors toward securing a fast club. An important deal has , just been consummated, by *bhh ivicksburg gets Pitcher Tom M{t,,' from the Lynchburg club. 'Vicks-
 burg gave Outfielder and former Manager Hooker. and also a bonus.
 for Taylor. Manager Blackburn has l seen Taylor in action and expects 1 good results from him.
 Three catchers will be brought i on to work for the position. Willis from New Orleans, who led the city ] league in hitting there two years ! ago, is one of these. He was rec commended to Blackburn by Bob 1 Fender. Brennan is a catcher from sCleveland, o. He has had two or
 three years experience and was rec !, commended by Bradley and other ball players with a reputation. Jear- gin is a young fellow from Mattoon, i Ill.,, aDout whom Blackburn knows 1 little, but who will be given a i chance to make good as a backstop
 With himself included, Blackburn
 will have five men from whom to l choose his inffeld. Blackburn ex- poets to cover first. At present he is in better trim than at this season in many previous years. He has pretty we'll worked off his adipose tissue, and looks forward to doing
 good work through the whole year. lsRedmond is second baseman who comes from Cleveland. He has had five years' experience. and those who know of his work declare that
 he will easily win out in this race for the middle bag. Cook, in in- fielder, comes from Lynchburg. He | led sthis league in fielding last year
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