Norwich bulletin., 1914-12-30
SWOLLEN DoMEs
 RUINED ATHLETICS.

RUINED ATHLETICS. Baseball Writer Attributes This Cause
 For the Downfall of Mackmen.
 Hugh Fullerton. the baseball writ
 Connie Mack, verx wisely and with | great business sense, is breaking up one of the two greatest baseball clubs | ever put together. He says frankly | win next season: therefore he Is Hy- | ingto get a team that will Win or at least will try hard to win
 .'Phe breaking up the club is rather sad Before the season was half over was told that the Athletics l were done for; that they were qnarreling and badly disrupted. | Frankly. I refused to believe it Ii had too much faith in the good sense of the great majority of the players.
 My informant told me that the club twas sore at Baker because Baker was tswelled' on account of his hitting, and that there was an ac- tive feud on between Collins and his friends and Ira Thomas, who was MackS choice as captain. This pug zled me. Thomas is a smart, good natured and decent fellow. Collins is intelligent, well educated, and they played together for years without en- mity.
 'The point is that any player who attempts to play ball and write ball at the same time is certain to create trouble for himself and for his team. Either he must deal in Dunk and inn pose upon the public or he must be prepared to have half the ball play CTS in the country mad.
 "One time 1 wrote a series of ar icles by Joe Tinker. Joe stopped in the room each evening, told me a lot of interesting details and I wrote a every effort to avoid anl criticism of story. using his inside stuff made any of his fellow players, yet three or them were angry enough to fight ' until 1 told them I wrote it. Then they didn't care
 Charlie Dooin made many of the Phillies angry by writing. Ty Cobb got in worse with the Tigers by doing it. I even heard Jennings called all sorts of names for writing things. I have heard some of the New York club viciously criticise Mathewson for what he said
 But aside from Collins writing there is a big factor against the or not the American league players who are members of the Players 1 fraternity are bitter against the Ath- | letics. Some of the Athletics refused { to join the fraternity and others | dropped out
 "Mac<'s house cleaning may remove this danger-or increase it. He is not | the man to surrender to his players on any question of principle
 YANKEES STILL
 REMAIN UNsoLD. RuPpert and Huston Disposed to Hold
 of.
 In spite of all those repeated con- | ferenees between Ban Johnson, Messrs. l Ruppert and Huston and the other | parties connected with that much l talked-of sale of the New York Amer ican league club the property is still unsold, according to the latest reports | from New York, and baseball fandom | is getting pretty tired of the conflict | ing accounts of the negotiations up to date. For the, good of the game Ban | Johnson ought to step in and set a | time limit for Ruppert and Huston to arrive at an agreement with Farrel | and Devery.
 | Ruppert and Huston may be the most | estimable of men and their entrance into the fold of organized baseball. | unless they show a disposition to | something to be greatly desired, but meet the other parties to the deal half | wal, the general public will not be disposed to regard them as thorough | sportsmen Contrast their attitude | with that of President Joe Lannin, who dug down to the tune of S7O,OOO | and purchased the Providence club last | summer in order to save the Inter national league. Ruppert ct al may be | fine fellows personally but it looks were disposed to regard all the Ameri- can league owners to be in the class with Santa Claus.
 At a. recent conference in Chicago the American league heads came to | an amicable decision in agreeing to hand over half a dozen major league | ball players, these men to be accepted ! or rejected as the manager to be shortly appointed might see fit. but, | on top of shis they insist upon getting a manager as well, and a good sized reduction in the price that Farrel and Devery originally set upon their prop | erty.
 Undoubtedly there is some justice | in the contention of these gentlemen that in buying the New York franchise they are purchasing the claim to l second division ball club as at present constituted. and the good will of the American league without any grounds l to play upon; but there is big money to be made in New York by the Amer ican league with a fairly strong club playing there, and a sharp business man like Ruppert, who understands 1 this, is entitled to no wholesale meas ure of sympathy if he becomes the
 Rapport and Huston should come to a decision quickly and cease tempor- 1zing. There are other would-be pur- chasers in the field and if Ruppert and Huston do not intend to reach deci- sion they should retire into the back ground and give some other people a | chance.
 It looks as though Hughie Jennings | were going to New York to manage the Highlanders. after all. If the aIl- | burn haired leader does remove to the big burg, then the chances of Bill Donovan's landing in Detroit are ex- | treme1y good. Wild Bill is exceedingly popular in TigarviIle and if Jennings l should be released to New York he | could have no successor more agreea- ble to Detroit fans than the old-tine l eccentric twirler.
 WANTS $500 FROM GIANTS.