The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-04-01
ORGANIZED BALL
LOSES HEAVILY
MAGNaTEs HAVE SPENT FORTUNE
BEFORE SEASON
OPENS.
FEDE RAILS TO BLAM E
INVASION HAS COST MAJOR
LEAGUES CLOSE TO ONE
MILLION DOLLARS
ALREADY.
FEDE RAILS TO BLAM E

NEW YORK, March 3i---The raid
Ing Federal leaguers already have cost
organized baseball more than $1,000
600, according to the best estimates at
hand And the playing season stu Is
six weeks away.
This loss has been occasioned to or
g.nizcd baseball through being forced
to pay increased salaries, under long
contracts. to ali players who remain
ed loyal and through the fact that
every major or minor Lacquer who
jumped TO the Feds meant a monetary
loss.
Brennan, the Phllies' pitcher, would
have brought at least $4,000. Russell
Ford. the Yankee twirler. could have
been sold by Frank Farrell to the
Cleveland Maps or to any one of sey-
eral other clubs for about $1,000. Cy
Falkenberg, the elongated Nap twirI-
err would have brought around $1,000,
perhaps more, had he been placed on
4 sale. Blanding and Kohier. the other
Nan twirlers who jumped to the Feds.
would have brought at least S4,ooe
each.
Thinkers value was fixed at $4,000:
George Stovall Mordecai Brown.
Pitcher Hendrix. Catcher simon and
the others who jumped from the ma
{
amounts ranging from $4,000 to $4,000
or $1,000 More than forty PLAYERS
from the class IA organizations have
Jumped to the Feds, and each or these
al a conservative estimate has cash
value around $4,000.
Have Many Valuable Players.
Included in the ranks of the Feds
are some players from the class A and
class n teams many Of them diamonds
in the rough, that some day may nave
had a value of ss.5oo or more.
President Gilmore. OF the Feds.
states that his organization already
has corraied lac players and that be
tore tho season opens he will have at
least zoe players lined up. OF this
number. $50 will be players that have
been taken away from organized base
ball Placing the average value or
each Of these players at $4,000 low
cstir1,ate--it will be seen that organ
lied baseball has lost something like
$40, 600 worth of players during the
.wn months OF Federal activity.
The other great loss suffered by
N me organized baseball maganates is
in the high salaries they have mad TO
nay their men. not only for the eopi.
anE season. but for the next TWO ana
three seasons The Brooklyn club
furnishes an excellent example OF
this.
Charles T. Ebbets, the Dodgers own
or. was In Porto Rico when the news
III Thinkers desertion and the raids OF
The Federals came to him. He jumped
she flrst boat for the United States and
IL Immediately upon landing set out TO
iasso his players and tie them SO that
they couldn't get loose.
Ebbets found many of his PLAYERS
very coy about signing. Ebbets knew
Il was a case Of paying the men the
slNv~ mr.
them open to jump to the Feds ED
Z aets didn't parley much. He paid
ne men what they wanted-and that
4 means that he paid many Of them
M from 81. 900 to $4,000 more than they
Il rnf last year and just that much more
han he would have paid them TINS
year II II hadn't been for the activity
4 IL the Feds
4 Not only did Ebbets sign up his
nan FOR one year, but he got their
sirnatures for two and three years.
Il ~ wanted Ed Ruehlbach. the big
Ditcher.' to sign up for fTe years, put
Il IA turned him down. II is said that
Grhhets even went so far as to go to
Rss s,iavers who were under contract for
s2tA14 and thus immune from the Fed
rra1 attacks for the present and offer
Z "a them contracts for 1915 and 1915
It Increased salaries.
SS Ehbets admits that the signing UP
II NJ Ms players this year cost him be-
\ sr,cen $4,000 and $4,000 more than
III X expected 1t would cost Ebbets
Il nerhaps lost more money this way
shan did the other sixteen magnates
4 IN the big leagues, because he had
NJ more players on the reserve list than
ala the others.
II These figures totaied together will
sssg,rv, that the s'joke" Federal league
49, cost the organized baseball people
saxinrt about half the combined profits
sfhey looked for In 1914. And from
sall that can be noticed Just now. y
n lrnfo the attendance Of organized base
NJ |R ri iu 1914 IN -such way that orgnn-
4 basabalHs vast prOfits Of the Nears
~ NIL ~ = thing of' the past