The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-12-21
 Troy.
Charles P. Taft, 71 Today
 Is Richest Baseball Magnate

We have lately read much sof the gr eat wealth of the Wards Weegh7 man, and other Federal League back CTS but organized baseball has at least one magnate who can put the Fed promoters in the piker class. if nancia1ly speaking. He is Charles Phelps Taft, who has long held 8 large interest in the Cincinnati Reds and, more recently, in the Chicago Cubs MrsSTaft is a native of Gin cfnnati and will De seventy one years old today, having been born Dee 21. 1s43 Besides being the richest mag nate in baseball, and an ardent fan, MT Taft has ether claims to fame. His father was encouragement of the United States in the cabinet of President Grant His half-brother was president Of the United States He is the editor and owner of the Gin cinnati Times-Star, and interested in more big industries than he can re- member all at once. MT. Taftss in come is estimated at over million dollars a year. which puts him in class all by himself as a financial packer of Americas national pas time.
 AIthough his baseball investments have doubtless been profitable, Mr. Taft has always had more than 8 mer- cenary interest in the game and he was animated largely by sentiment when he bought into the Cincinnati club MT sTaftss ambition was to re- store the faded gIories of the C1Hc1n- natl Reds, the pioneer professional club or baseball, and to win Q pen nant for the Queen City In that that aspiration he has met only with bitter disappointment There is no doubt that he helped largely in putting Brother William in the presidential chair but that was an easy job as compared with copping a National League flag for Zealand
 MT. Taft is responsible for the ap- pearance in the role of a magnate Of Chubby Charley Murphy. the great est of all disturbers of the baseball congregation, who has recently resur- rected himself and injected his retund and rubicund personality into 2 sltuA- ton from which it was thought he had been permanently elected. Tn his cal low days Mister Murphy was employ ed in the humble capacity of soda squirt in a Cincinnati drug store At a later period Charley became a base ball reporter for Cincinnati paper.
 As a scribe Murphy was in a posi- ton to get inside information about matters in the baseball world. One day he get a tip. that the Chicago club was on the market, owing to the failure of John R. Walsh, the Ch1ca- go banker. who had controlled the Cubs Charley didn't sit right down and write a story about it for his pa per. Stead of that, he took 8 good look at himself in a mirror, and tried to imagine himself as a baseball mag nate. It looked good to him, so he hiked to Cincinnati to get the money. While the club was being offered at a bargain price. Murphy's capital was hardly equal to the strain. Base ball reporters are not usually men or great wealth, and Murphy's re-. sources at the moment consisted of his clothes and a little loose change. He hunted up Mir Taft and told him of his ambftio ons MT. Taft obliging- lys consented to finance the deal, and ''Shoestring Charley became the owner of the Cubs. The next season the club opened the worlds flag, and Murphy made $165,0 on the sea son. Charley paid off his debt and waxed wealthy and plump, but he didn't exactly make a hit with the fans and. eventually popular disfavor forced him to sell his holdings in the Cubs to his benefactor, MT. Taft. Charles Webb Murphy then oozed off the baseball map. but recent revela- tfons indicate that his retirement wasn't as retiring as was thought.