El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-06-08


" are pointing TO the failure Of the
L ' Players league back in 1890 and
citing II as an instance to show that the
Federal league will come TO the same
end. fail to take into consideration
some Of the important facts concerning
the Brotherhood war
At the time that the Players league
went to smash there were ugly charges
that some of the prime movers IN Il
had sold out to the National league al
Ter il seemed that they had whipped
the National league to a fraZzle by
taking practically all the star players
1t was said at the time that the num-
Der Of the ruling powers IN the Players
league figured that they could make
more by selling OUT TO the National
league than by sticking TO the new
league. And so they went the way
that promised the biggest personal re
turns If, so the charges declare, those
powers had not sold out. the Players
league would have become the mighty
Dower in baseball, and the National
league then on the verge Of bank
ruptcy, would have had 10 90 down and
out for all time
Just what means we're used in the
selling OUT process are NOT quite
clear but il said that some Of the men
deeply interested in the new league
made a deal with the National league
whereby the National league people
were to reimburse them for all the
money they had put into the new pro-
position and give them handsome
bonus in addition for getting out Of the
new leagues affairs, and using what
ever influence they had TO further
loosen the props OF the new league
Props Were Withdrawn
When a number Of the hackers Of the
new league suddenly w1thdreW their
E7JDDort in keeping with the alleged
s'sellfnsr OUT process, the foundations
Of the new league weakened the
players who had hurdIed 70 lle new
organization then became panicky and
we're quite willing to get back into the
National league fold
IT mas been said that the hackers Of
the Players league suffered a loss of
about 81 600 00O This figure seems
greatly exaggerated In the first
place a franchise, players, grounds and
nearly everything a major league CLUB
needed didn't cover cost OF much
over 100000 in those days ana every
dollar that was put into the enterprise
wasn't a dead loss
Also it must be borne in mind that
81 this story about selling OUT is
true, some Of those who backed the
PLAYERS league got out Of II with
profit, and that the total loss suffered
by the men behind the players league
didn't eclipse that which the National
league was made TO suffer
Therefore II these stories from
the past assume the proportion OF
facts IL viii be seen that the Play rS
league and the Federal league cannot
furnish any suitable parallel unless
some Of the Feds sell out TO organized
baseball a possibility that is very,
very remote
Made Great Showing
The Players league made a greater
showing, in some ways, than the Feds
have done The Players league opened
the season practically the cream OF
the talent Of the National league OF
all its stars Of the year before, the Va
tional league had left only handful,
and their Hneups looked strange md
very ''bush-leaguey-"
The Players league failed to live,
but il won out in its purpose to force
an agreement among magnates con-
corning the splitting Of the attendance
so that the small town players would
get nearly as much money as those IN
the larger ones
In the days before the formation Of
the Players league the visiting teams
were not given percentage Of the
gate, but were allowed something like
500 a day This hardly met travelling
expenses, and in small towns the own
ers OF the teams that had TO depend on
the home gate receipts for paying off
their players could afford to pay the
men only small salaries, Whfie in cities
like New York and chicago the home
receipts were very large and. Of course,
the players on these teams drew down
big salaries.
The players wanted some equitable
aLIallS ellellt1 ana mu5A the HdSualeS
Of the big towns refused to change the
plan Of allowing visiting teams only
500 instead Of splitting the income 30
90. the players decided to form their
own league and work along on this
basis.
Idea Was Rescued From Wreck.
However, after the Players league
went into the scrap heap, the National
league lifted the splitting idea from
the wreckage and adopted 1t to its own
uses.
Were the old plan Of guaranteeing the
visiting team an allowance Of about
800 a day still in existence il would
mean that such teams as the Giants