Norwich bulletin., 1914-12-23
LONGER SERIES COULD NOT
 kEEP INTEREST AROUSED.
New Suggestions Received Little, Atten.
 ton at Annual Meeting of National
 League. q

Although there has been considera- ble informal discussion among organ ized baseball magnateS regarding the advisability of increasing the number of games to be played in future worlds series, the club owners realize that the proposition is one of many angles and are slow to take official action tn the proposal. Two plans were suggested One called for nine games, of which five were necessary to win the title and with the players sharing in the receipts of the first five played. The other proposition was for an eleven game series, with six victories to clinch the championship, the players to share in the proceeds of the first five or six games.
 These suggestions received but scant attention at the annual meeting of the National league held in New York re- gently. The senior organization mag mates discussed the plan in a casual way without taking any action on 1t. One of the most prominent club own- CTS of the National league in reviewing the idea said that it was the general opinion that the 1915 season would be an inopportune period in which to att tempt baseball innovations. Further more, the plan involved a. number of puzzling obstacles which would have to be removed before the nine or elev- en game series could be considered feasible.
 He pointed out that if two clubs widely separated, such asi New York and Chicago, for instance, were to play for the championsllip the allot- ment of games would be a matter for the most careful consideration. On the nine game basis it appeared probable that the series would open in the city winning the toss with three straight games, after which the play would shift to the rival grounds. Presuming that the teams vert tied at the end of six games with the added possibility of bad weather and the extra days needed for travel, it appeared ques- tionable as to whether popular inter- where. the longer series would prove much more profitable than the seven game plan.
 That there is basis for this line of reasoning is borne out by the records of past worlds series. Even after making allowance for an increased in- terest in the championship series of recent years, the gate receipt figures show that the final games of the long drawn out series fail to approach the receipts of the earlier contests. In past world series where the title was won in four or five games the receipts each day were close to 100 per cent. of the park capacity. Wherever the se- ries ran into seven or eight games there was a sharp slump in attend ance and resultant receipts In the 1912 series there was a difference of approximately $16,000 between the re- ceipts of the seventh and eighth games In the 1911 games between the Giants and Athletics the receipts decreased with each game The Detroit-Pitt burgh series of 1909, in which the rival clubs won alternating games up to the seventh, failed to sustain interest, if the box office returns furnish accurate records.
 Careful observation has led the mag mates to the conclusion for the present at least that the baseball public de- sires a sharp, snappy worlds series as a climax to the season. Long drawn out play, covering ten days or two weeks, according to weather condi- tions. appears to be a hazardous un- dertaking under present circumstances and it is extremely doubtful if there will be any effort to alter. during 1915, the regulations now governing the worlds series.