Evening star., 1911-08-13
MAJORITY OF AMATEUR LEAGUES
HAVE HAD PROSPEROUS YEAR
Circuits Have IN Most Cases Been Successful
Financially and Have Furnished Good
Races-Other Gossip.

a few days at time. The league took
upon itself a heavy debt at the beginning
of the season. which it almost complete
ly cleared up The Sunday School and
Suburban circuits both had stormy
season, one having all that it could do to
weather the gale, while the other did not
finish its season. The Ninth Street-In-
gram affair which led to the withdrawal
of the Ninth Street club and the practical
disruption of the Ingram nine, was
hard blow to the circuit. The Ninth
Street club would more than likely have
been returned the winner had 1t remained
in the circuit. After the Christians
withdrew Hamline was left In the lead
and it was not showed out Of the position
until yesterday, when the Sherwood nine
came to the front and won the deciding
game for the pennant.
The Independence League, as has been
stated before, has had the most success
full season OF its career from every stand
point.
The Railroad Y. NJ. c. A. League had a
runaway race that practically killed the
interest in the games. The league, though,
was up to it's usual standard.
The Commercial League has had about
the same kind of a season that charac-
terized 1t last year. Two OF the ciuDs
which started in the circuit quit ana were
replaced by new ones.
Many of the league presidents, and. In
fact, all of them, deserve whole lot OF
commendation for the exped1tious man
ner in which they have handled the al
fairs of their different circuits during the
past season. There is no doubt that the
success which has attended amateur base
ball this year has been in the main caused
by the excellent manner In which the al
fairs Of the leagues have been taken care
of. The presidents of the various leagues
constitute the commission, and they also
should be given great deal or creoit
for their work az members OF that pooy'
there being few il any of them VINO nave
It'll - mi
done everything in Aheir power to further
the interests of the game.
It is a rather remarkable fact that the
season in three leasueS mad to De eA-
tended until yesterday thSt the champion
ship of tn ecircuits might be decided. In
the Independence. Sunday School and
Olympia leagues the pennants were not
decided until postponed games were
played off on the date when the post-sea-
son series was scheduled to begin.
That the Post Office team should lose
to Sherwood is something that can hardly
be grasped by the followers of amateur
ball there not being any one who thought
that the churchmen had a chance in
thousand to come across with victory
after having used its best tWirler~ In Its
effort to beat out the Hamline team for
the championship of the league. There
was no more surprised bunch than the
Post Office crowd itself. The Mailmen,
after scoring two runs in the easiest sort
of fasion in the opening chapter. thought
that they had about the easiest kind of q
proposition in front of them. But events
proved how erroneous was the idea.
There is no amateur club in the city
which deserves the commentator that
does the Sherwood team. The nine Is
made up OF boys, not one of whom has
hardly reached his majority, and yet, al
though they were in last place four
weeks ago. they came to the front by
trimming everything in sight. and losing
scarcely a single game In that period.
The bulk of the offensive strength OF
the team is in Loveless and Rhodes.
Rhodes is for the most part responsible
for the excellent showing of the club, as
he took hold of 1t when 1t was in last
place, and by signing up new men brought
it out of the rut, and put 1t in a position
where It can lay claim to being q con-
tender of the post-season honorS.
That the American Security and Trust
Company will wall1 away with the cham
in the class in which it has been
placed was evident before the series
started, and that it beat theS Petworth
crew by a 12-to-1 score yesterday was
not surprising when the strength of the
two teams is considered. 1t is more than
likely that the Bankers will be one OF the
clubs in the running for the final decision,
1t having both the offensive and defen-
sive strength to make itself q dangerous
factor at every stage OF the game