South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-07-01
FEDERALS HAVE
CHANCE To MAKE
CASH THIS YEAR
MagnateS Say Attendance in at
Least Two Cities Is Better
This Year Than LaSt-Pit-
feds Declare Big lump.
BY Frank G.. Mcnke.

NEW YORK. July 1.-The Federal
league, as a whole, has q fine chance
at this writing 10 clear expenses TINS
season. Several clubs in the league
will show a profit at the end of the
year # the attendance to date is man
tanned TO the end of the season.
The biggest surprise in the financial
way has been the support sven this
season 10 the St. Louis and Kansas
City clubs. The Federal mosuls, dur
ing the winter, decided TO drop kansas
City from the circuit. They did drop
il but had to pick il up again upon
orders from the courts granting The
plea of the Kansas City stockholders.
From the opening of the 1918 sea-
son to June 20 the Kansas City Fed
erals drew a larger total crowd than
they did all last season. Facts ana
figures to back up this statement were
show1 to the writer recently. The
Kansas City Feds drew $4,000 Sun
day crowd recently and during one
series drew about Is 900 paid fans.
Crowds Improve.
Kansas City has been up in the
fight Last year il was in the rat.
That the fans love a winner and VIII
not support a loser is proven IN the
case of Kansas City. which had been
termed the worst baseball town in the
country"
largest surprise. SO far in the 1919
season. period of less than II
weeks-the St Louis Feds have play
ed to a larger crowd of home fans
than they did during the entire 1913
and 1914 seasons.
St Louis began moving In an up
ward direction about six or elGht
weeks ago and the st. Louis rams
taking due cognizance of the fact
have been supporting them noDly.
The Sloufeds play to thousands at
home now where they played to hun
dreds before.
out i'm ST. Louis there's a sort of
Boost the Cardinals" plan In opera
ton. And Bob Hedges, owner of tho
Browns, is trying TO lure fans to ms
park through the medium of adver-
Using schemes. Despite this, the Feds
are said to have outdrawn the Cards
and Browns i'm home patronage during
the past six weeks.
Pitfeds Draw Well.
The Pittsburgh Feds claim they are
outdrawing the Pirates in Pittsburgh.
They say they are perfectly Wiling 10
produce sworn attendance statements
il Barney Dreyfuss will do likewise
and that the comparison will show the
Feds patronage In Pittsburgh great
er than that of the National leaguers.
Buffalo and Baltimore aren't doing
as well this year as they ala laSt, Out
that is 20 be expected with both teams
in the cellar. Brooklyn is doing at
least rs per cent better than last year,
and the attendance has increased
gradually since the season opened.
Newark supported Its new club
royally during the early part of the
season. Then the team slumped and
the attendance, naturally. did likewise.
But Newark's early attendance re-
ceipts were stable enough 10 place
the balance on the right side of the
ledger and ONLY the almost utter lack
of patronage during the balance Of
the season can swing the balance TO
the LOSING side Practically every
club in the Federal league is operat-
ing at less cost than In 1914. Some
clubs have chopped of as much as
$4,000 from their expense bills. Very
few of the clubs are carrying more
than % or % men,. The average was
from 25 TO 27 last year.