Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-09
virginia LEAGUERS
Organization Has Eight Clubs
and Bright Prospects.
HARMONY THE WATCHWORO
All the Managers Hard at Work
Strengthening Their
Teams.
HARMONY THE WATCHWORD


LYNCHBURG. Va. March 9.-The Vir-
ginia League will start the 1912 season
| with eight clubs. the circuit being COM
posed Of Richmond. Lynchburg. DanvilIe.
| Roanoke. Petersburg. Newport News.
Portsmouth and Norfolk, Newport News
and Portsmouth being the new members
of the organization. Such was the result of
the meeting OF the magnates in Richmond
| last Saturday, the enlargement of the cir
| cult being due largely to the fact that
Secretary Farrell held to the opinion
| that Newport News was a bona fide men,
Der of the circuit. and he refused to rec
ognixe any sort Of an organization with
| out Newport News. unless the occupants
| Of the franchise in that city voluntarily
surrendered. This Abe Horwitz refused
| to do, and there was nothing left for the
| maEnates to do but to 60 into an eight
team organization. Then came a spirited
| fight between Suffolk and Portsmouth,
| both of which towns had representatives
| ready to fight to death for franchise.
| The Portsmouth applicant, Capt. Charles
/ T. Bland, who owned the franchise in
| that city three or four years, finally won,
two Of the teams voting for the admission
| OF Suffolk. Just how the teams voted was
not made public, but 1t is probable that
Norfolk and Petersburg were the teams
voting for Suffolk.
| The meeting lasted nine hours. much Of
| the time being spent waiting for tele-
graphic instructions from Secretary Far
rell who was working from his Office i'm
Auburn.
| After 1t was given out that Portsmouth
had won the extra franchise the Suffolk
short treatment. but it, Is hard to under
stand where they were not treated
squarely by the league, for Portsmouth
| had exactly the same claim for a fran
| chise that Suffolk had, and a majority of
| the magnates thought the bigger town
| mouth has a population of 81, $50 and Suf-
| folk has only 1907 tells why such de-
cision was reached.
| The next meeting of the circuit will
| be in Richmond March 23, at which
time the clubs are expected to have
schedules ready for the coming sea-
son. Those expecting to offer playing
arrangements are to have these in the
hands of the other clubs not less than
| two weeks before the meeting. This
will give the magnates time to go over
the dates. and there should be little
trouble getting together at the schedule
| meeting.
President Boatwright has started
WOTk OH MS umpire StaH. II Is pTOD-
| able that Henderson will be brought
| back, but ne may be the only man on
the staff last season who will get a
chance to come back this year. 1t Is
not known what President Boatwright
| will do about the new men signed by
| the old league, but 1t is known that
he has made offers to other men who
have this offer under consideration.
| Earle Brunsman, who is said to have
been a reliable pitcher last season for
the Ellicott City tMd) team, has been
signed by Petersburg. and he will re-
port for a trial in April.
| Pitcher Perryman the Emory College
tGeorgia9 pitcher. who made a good
showing last season with the tail-end
Danville team will be with that club
report until the close of his college.
| late in May. Perryman ought to be a
winning pitcher with anything like
team behind him this season.
The Newport News club will go to
work Immediately on new grounds,
which are to be located in easy access
| of the business section of the shipbuild-
| ing city. A large grandstand and roomy
bleacheries are to be erected. and the
team will go about the arrangements
as though the city is permanent fix
| ture in the league. In other words, Abe
| Horwitz expected Newport News to
stick regardless of the one-year agree
ment.
the 1911 team to build from for the COM
| ing season, look to be the strongest fac
| tor In the coming race, as far as one can
judge this far ahead of a minor league
race. Last year the Tigers were in the
| fight from start to finish. At one time
| they led the league, but slump about
the 4th Of July put them out Then they
came back strong and finished a good
third. The only man not available Is
Manager Shaughnessy. who was drafted
| by Fort Wayne Of the Central League.
| To supplant him as pilot Buck Pressly,
| the first baseman for three seasons, has
been made manager. and the following
men are available to build the next team
Pitchers-Hall, Gardin, Efrd and
Draper. ENTHUSIASTICALLY. Shields,
Cefalu and McAuley. Catcher-Cooper.
Outfield-Ginn.
In addition to these men Outfielder Joe
Holland has been returned from the Pa
cifc Coast League and Newton, an in
| fielder, has been bought from Mobile,
while first baseman and an outfielder
have been secured from Charlotte of the
Carolina Association.
Since the team has purchased a first
baseman the indications are that Manager
Pressly expects to take his turn behind
the Oal InOu&n no Sucn announcement
has been made Pressly began his COL
lege work as a catcher, but developed
| into a good first sacker after getting into
| the professional game in the Carolina As
ISOLATION five years ago.
The Tigers look strong, and IL they are
not a big factor in the league 1t will
| be because some of the other aggrega-
lions are much stronger than they were
last year. II Pressly can get the work
out Of the Tigers that Shaughnessy made
| them do last season then the erstwhile
leader will not be missed much this year
at Roanoke
Norfolk has secured the signature of
Vic Miller to a contract. and If Miller
shows the form he displayed in the Texas
League last year with Waco he will
prove valuable addition to the Tar
fiinging staff. Something appears to be
wrong with Miller's record. The Norfolk
team gives out the fact that he won IS
and lost 6 games last season. while the
newspaper averages show he won IS and
lost 10, yet at the same time he figured
in only 26 games In fielding. Either rec
ord ought to make him good man in the
Virginia League. Miller was reserved last
year by Waco. and 1t is not known vet
how the Tars got title to him.
Manager Shaffer has also signed a
backstop named James E. Dillon, who
played. with the Logan Square (Chicago)
club last year. 1t is stated that Dillon
was with Saginaw,sin the Southern Michi-
gan League, in 1900 and 1910. but IL. he
was he played under another name. or he
has been omitted from the averages for
those years. Dillon halls from Chicago.
Perry Lipe is regarded as the man of
fI14 hn,,x 10 nd thn ma for N