The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-20
RACEFOR 1OOONEW | CHAMBER MEMBERS 1 WILL BEGIN TODAY Birmingham Spirit Week" Ushered in At Stroke of
 12 Last Night TEAM CAPTAINS
 ARE CONFIDENT Every Captain of the Nine Teams An nounced Yesterday That He Ex-
 poets to Win the Rag of Honor

Birmingham Spirit Week" was ush- cred in by the tolling of the court house bell at 12 o'clock last night.
 A weeks time in which to secure 1000 new members for the Chamber of commercei Such an undertaking will require spirit. and spirit of the made In Birmingham" type
 Nine teams will start out this morn- ing at 10 o'clock for a two-hour ses- sion. The lineup of the teams con- tains the flower of Birminghams civic organization men, all of whom are ready to do or die in the interests of their cause. The rivalry between the teams is intense and there Is no doubt but what records for membership cam palgns will be broken before the end of the campaign.
 Birmingham has been made into nine districts for the campaign. Each of the nine teams has a separate district to work in and two hours every day this week will be spent in securing new members for the Chamber of Com merce Each team must report that they have secured Ill 1-9 new members in order to bring in the necessary amount.
 The captains of the teams are en- thusiastic over the prospective outcome of the campaign There are a num- Der of prizes at stake and every team Is trying it's utmost to win all of them. Badges have been sent to the members of the Chamber of Commerce with the hope that the members will wear the badges this week and help the teams along This way no time will be wasted in trying to get a man already a mem Der of the chamber to join again.
 Captains Ready The captains are all ready for the game and each one had an optimistic story to tell last night.
 Capt. J. A. Gorham said: 'I do not care to appear overconfident, but 1t is my honest opinion that I have the best team in the league. If they play to form we will win the pennant."
 Capt. G. T. Stafford There's noth- ing to it. We have the rag as good as copped. This is just the kind of weather for my team to show It's real ability"
 Capt. c. McLalleG T am willing to let others do the talking, but watch the scoreboard. It's action that counts. We confidently expect to win the open l Ing game"
 Captain II. E. Shaw: We can't lose l We haven't a single bush leaguer on the team We intend to play inside ball from | the start. My team is in the pink of con dition'
 Captain A. M. Douglas; T have the best corps of pitchers in the league. The report that Southpaw Harry Jones had de- veloped glass arm is all nonsense. With the heavy hitters 1 have signed l regard the race as good as won"
 Take World Series
 Captain E. B. Crawford: T have the best balanced bunch of the lot. Just watch out for the phenoms l have de- yeloped. We expect not only to grab the gonfalon. but to take the world series as we'll"
 Captain II. C. Bryson; T have been especially pleased with my teams prac- tice work 1 have the sluggers of the league, and 1t will be hard to keep the ball in the lot when we come to bat
 Captain F. c. Cairns: My infield is unbeatable and the receiving end of the team is without a peer. We expect to show some new stunts that will paralyze our opponents of course we will grab the banner"
 Captain H. P Presley: T picked my team for speed. l have the fastest out field in the world. We will steal bases with the best of them. Yes, we will head the list when the race is over" With this brew of spirit in the teams It is certain that there will be some tall plavinR this week. The first reports will be made at the luncheon at the Turn yerein today at 1 o'clock A large black board has been secured and the luncheon will be served In a private room. The number of new members secured by each team will be displayed on the blackboard. I,uncheons will he held at the Turn Verein every day this week at 1 o'clock except Wednesday, when the teams Will ,oin the regular Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Gold Lion tea room.