The Topeka state journal., 1911-09-28
OwnersUnfortunate in Selecting
Manager Start, O'Neil Says.
Believes Transfer of Games Was
Best Move for Town.
TEAM MAKES MONEY
Don Despain's Attempt to Give
Lincoln Pennant Is Costly.
Des Moines Club Will Be Sold
This Winter.

Norris L. O'Neill, president of the
Western league of baseball clubs,
dropped into Topeka Wednesday aft
ernoon on tour of inspection around
the circuit. He shares no knockers
views concerning Tapeka in class A
company and in truth is more opti-
mistic than ever about the whole
league.
Every club iu the league made
money this year except Des Moines
and Lincoln. Denver and st. Joseph
made a lot of money. Omaha made
some money and Sioux City made
some. Pueblo has made money; and
am quite sure the Topeka men who
took over this team will make few
thousand" said President O'NeilL
In regard to the Lincoln shoals and
reported sale, O'Neill who had not
heard of it previously, said:
II am not greatly surprised The
Lincoln people wanted a pennant and
Don Despair, fine fellow, set out
to win one. He spent lots of money
getting together his old ball players.
Then he lost eight or ten Sunday
games on account of the weather and
anyone who knows baseball knows
what that will do to the treasury
Des NIoines Club for Sale.
The president threw no more light
on the Des Moines proposition.
ST bought the club from Higgins
simply to get him out and save the
town to the league. Des Moines is
good town and with a close-in ball
park will be one of the best There
are several men who want to buy the
club, but 1 am going to carry 1t
through this year and talk trade this
winter. If I can not sell it this win
ter, I am going to put good man IN
charge of it next season and let him
run it as if I had nothing to do with
| it. But I don't want to have to keep
a club in my own league"
Tip O'Neil1s faith in Topeka is a
good example for the fans who are
getting discouraged He says the man
agement will not lose money by the
/ figures kept by himself and that their
bad percentage is merely i'll luck.
"Of course. the Topeka men lost a
good deal of money on players and
they seem to have been unfortunate in
lselecting a manager to start the season,
but no one can learn the baseball busl-
ness in a day or month. These men
had to learn the business. They will
make some money at that and another
season will show what they have
learned about ball players"
| Commenting on the wall OF other
clubs that Denver forced them to too
great an expense for this league by
buying big league players and paying
| them big league salaries, the high
moguI had to say:
| 1t 1SL SO muCn the ndlleT OF get
1 ting players from the major leagues
| out here as it is the paying of the
same salary. If a manager gets q
player from Chicago to come to this
league he can pay him what the league
will afford, not what they can pay in
| Chicago. They paid the high salaries
in Denver and could afford it, but
other towns could not. The men nat
urally tell the players of other towns
and then comes discomfort. The at
tempt of Lincoln to keep the pace has
resulted in disaster.
He Likes Young Players.
ct would rather see men come to
this league on the way up, men from
the Texas league, the New York
league, the South Atlantic, the Ohio
and those leagues. They have the gin
ger and the pick of them would give
US good baseball. But it is true these
older players coming back from the
majors invariably win from the young
sters and the managers after PEN
nant continue to bring them back"
Tip O'Neill has just begun his trip
and came here from St. Joseph where
he saw the KaWs arrive for their
transferred series. Tip does not agree