Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-07-20
TRUE q HISTORY
OF RED PERKINS
ADMlRER TELLS OF CAREER OF
MAGNATE
BEGAN AS ORGANIZER WAENlA
TENDER AGE
No Breaks in His Chain of Success IN
Life, Every Change Being Pro-
motion - Writes Baseball
Dope for Pastme
BY A. N. ADMlRER

RED" Perkins, known and liked by
every sporting man, newspaper man,
business man and "newsy" in Los An
geles, was born at Sacramento, Cal,
twenty-eight years before the big fire.
AT three years of age Red" first ex-
hibited signs of being leader and pro-
moter by organizing baseball team.
He was organizer, manager, captain,
ticket taker, official keeper of the bats
and balls, pitcher and star batter.
After walloping every other team in
the 4capital under ten years of age
Rcd" began laying his plans to or
ganize a state league, realizing that
there were money and glory In such an
undertaking. 1t was slow work at
first, but eventually the state amateur
league was a reality, and while very
little real glory came to the Sacra-
mento baseball promoter, he saved
thousands of dollars and now owns
bank and several of the finest office
buildings in Los Angeles lin his vivid
imagination).
But, to get back to the state
capital, and also to the time when
"Red" still was young man,
the writer must tell of the time
when Sacramento became too small for
our fellow townsman and he took pas
sage on potato boat bound for Frisco.
Before Red" had been in town two
Abe Ruef, Willus Britt and Jeems Coff-
roth. This partnership lasted until
Britts brother began to hit the tobog-
gan slide of the pugilistic game. Seeing
that Willus was bound to stand by his
brother and that Jeems because of his
associations with the curly boss, was
in bad on the first game, Red decided
to cut loose.
"And to this day" says Red" II
thank my lucky stars that | did, for
was very fond of Abe and who knows
but what l would have been indicted
on S23 counts for Matchmaking the
'Newsboys' union or accepting brides
from the Amalgamated Order of Boot
blacks in trying to have an ordinance
passed compelling people to have their
shoes shined twice a day and fixing the
scale at two bits a shine?
In 1906. just after the small shakeup
in Frisco, RED" decided to come south.
Hen Berry, Jim Jeffries and other
sporting men wrote him glowing ac-
counts of the money to be made in
promoting amateur baseball in the
Angel city, so Red" traded his San
Francisco holdings and hit the trail.
Arriving here RED" got busy at once.
Before a day had passed he had
three-team league organized and forty
six dollars and ten cents in the treas
Hury BY the time q week had gone by
the league was increased to six teams
and still was open for more.
Intoxicated with his success thus far
"Red" plunged into the amateur base
ball business with all his energy. 1t
often happened that as many as four
leagues would be started in single
day. and as Red" received all that was
left after the players had divided the
receipts, he was soon on Easy street.
But even success did not turn his
head. Wisely investing his money IN
ha .AAn
his efforts at placing the business on u
lofty and substantial foundation, ana
within a year Los Angeles had 4325
amateur teams, more or less. AS might
be expected it was only short time
before there were so many teams tnat
several would be fighting for grounds
to play on. Once again, however,
"Red's'' noodle was equal to the occa-
sion and he arose to 1t like duck.
After obtaining a long mental lease
on all the vacant lots in the city Red
conceived the idea of having electric
lights placed around the grounds SO
that night games could be played. This
happy thought not only mace nit
dollars as we'll, and Reds" bank ac-
count grew so rapidly that he decided
to start a bank of his own.
But. ever appreciative of his EFFORTS,
the CAPTAINS of the thousands OF teams
decided to give him a big benefit. Inc
affair was advertised as far away as
watts and when the demonstration, ova-
tion or whatever you are pleased to
call it, was over "Red" was the richest
man in town.
At this stage of the game Red de-
olared he had enough and retired.
Nowadays he writes sporting dope Tor
The Herald as pastime, contributing his
salary each week to bolstering up
financially embarrassed friends.