South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-12-23
MENKE TELLS HOW
BAN PUT 4 TEAM
IN OLD NEW YORK
Had Hard Shedding End Almost
Gave Up Until Frank Farrell
and Bill DeVery Came Along
and Put Up Coin.

NEW YORK. Dec. 28.-Once Upon
a Time there was a Fellow named
Ban Johnson who was Booming a
Base ball League. Those were PaT'Ous
Times. Money was Tight. Ban was
Leading New Organization against
Powerful Foe and pretty nearly
Everybody who was Approached by
Ban on the subject OF Money said
Whatcha Think ] am % Boob 20 Sink
my Money in a Baseball League that
amt got no more show than IA Rabbit
OF Living:
Well. in que course of Time. Ban
got enough fellows Excited about the
baseball Proposition 20 form an eioht
club Outlaw League. Ban placed
teams in an the Big Cities except New
York Ele tried i'm Every Way 20 in
terest Capital i'm New York but il was
tough Job Nobody wanted TO risk
Kale that way The National League
club was so Strongly Entrenched in
that Big CITY that it seemed like FL
nancial Suicide for anyone TO put up
Wad Of Money 10 start a club TO Com
pete against the Giants
Just as Ban was near Despair
Just when he THOUGHT that Never VIII
7 be able TO interest Capital i'm the
Big City along came Frank Farrell
and big Bill" Devery They said to
Ban;
Took Chance.
We viii Take a Chance.
And they Did. They put up a large
amount of Lucre A Large amount
was Necessary as il costs Money to
Buy Players and to pay their Salaries
Keepers and secretaries and pay Hotel
Bills and other Things But Frank
and Bill were Game. They were
Good Sports. They came through to
the Limit of Their Wads.
That Made the American League
Ever since the Entry Of the American
League into New York it hos been
quite "A Much i'm the Baseball World II
il Had not Horned into the Big city
il might never have Amounted to a
Darn. But Frank and Bill took q
Chance and they mace the American
League what il is tod'y. But Ban
wasn't Satisfied Not Him.
It cost Frank and Bill Quite a lot
of Money To Fetahlsh a Team in the
Bio CITY and Each Year thereafter it
cost them More and More. They inst
about Sunk their Rolls i'm Baseball
Somehow or other they lust couldn't
get Together a. Remnant Winning Ball
team. no matter how Hard They tried
Money was no object with Them
They spcnt Taviehlv They did every
parred Thing they could to make q
Winner i'm the Big City but they Just
couldn't
Couldn't Make Money.
WoI. I'm Due course of time Frank
and Bin. who once were Rich men be-
came Poor men They had FOUGHT a
Came Fight They had put Nearly
Every Dollar into Baseball but they
Sin1nlv couldn't make Money
The Reason that Frank and Bill
couldn't make Money on their Bali
club was largely because. the OppOsi-
ton club known MS the Giants were
winning pennants cutie regularly and
were a Big Drawing card. But in
1914 the Giants failed 10 Win the
Pennant. Another team that Came
from a town where Beans are eaten
won.
Times looked pretty rosy for Frank
and Bill. for the 1915 season. The
Giants had Ceased TO he a Drawing
card. The Team that Frank and Bill
had Assembled looked pretty Good on
paper and 10 looked pretty much as
hi Frank and Bill might get back
Some Of the money that they Sunk
i'm the other Years
And then Ban came along and or
dered that the club that Frank and
Bill owned should be Sold. Frank
and Bill objected They Asserted that
We've been Losing money a. these
years Now is our Chance TO let Some
of IL Back. But Ban said Nothing
Doing. I'm going 10 Sell that club 10
lake Ruupert who is "a Brewer. You