The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-24
President Tener, g Sunday, Once Jumped
 National League

National League
 John Kinley Tener, president of the
 National League and former governor of Pennsylvania, United States con-
 gressman, banker and star of the pro- fessiOna1 diamond, will celebrate to- morrow the f1fty-second anniversary
 of his bfrtI1--in. County Tyrone Ire land. The distinguished executive of the oldest major league must have sort of fellow feeling in his heart for the players who jump to the Feds, for he was once a jumper himself. A quarter Of century ago Tener> jump
 ed from the Chicago club of the Ma tional League to the Pittsburgh team or the Players League, an outlaw or ganization launched by the Brother hood of Players with the benevolent
 purpose of putting the old circuit out of business. It is tossbe said in ex- tenuation,. however. that everybody was doing it, for all the Windy City ! players deserted et'Pop,sg Ansen with ] the exception of Tommy Burns and William F. Hutchinson.
 i Johnny Tenner came to the land of baseball when he was twelve years old, and settled in Pittsburgh. His father was dead, and there was a large family of Teners, so Johnny
 the Teners had known the family of 1 OIivers, afterward represented in Pittsburg nillionairedom and the Unted States Senate, and Johnny was l given a r-doIlar-a-week clerkship with Oliver Bros. & Phillips On, Sat- | urday he pitched for 9, semi-pro. club at dollar a. game, and eventually, kwlhen he had grown into giant of lsix-foot-four, he was given a chance with the Pittsburgh Nationals. Pitts
 burg turned him over to Baltimore, and from there he went to Haver- hill. Mass. At that period he alter
 mated between the pitchers box and
 rst base. In 1888 Tener was offered job with Ehe Chicago White Stockings and he
 sooon developed into one of the star
 twirlers jof the National League. The
 credit for discovering Tener's pitch
 ing prowess has been variously, at
 tributed to Tim Murnane and Cap, Anson. When Spalding and Anson
 cooked up the world tour scheme, Tener was made secretary of the com
 pany He made the trip with the
 other players and in England was del egated to explain the game to the Prince of Wales, afterward King Ed ward. Tener convinced His Royal Highness that baseball was a pretty good game, but he could not make him believe that it was equal toscrick- ct.
 At HayerhilI Tener's catcher was WiIbert Robinson, now manager of | 1 of the Haverhil1 club was William H. Moody, afterward a member of the l United States Supreme Court In l Pittsburgh Tener had many wealthy
 and influential friends. and the poor Irish boy had lots of friendly counsel and assistance in his upward climb. In 1890 the future Governor and National League President helped to I organize the Players League and was I a leader in the Brotherhood move
 'ment He was one of the directors of the Pittsburgh club of the outlaw cir cult. as we'll as player When I that short-lived league blew up Ten 1 CT quit baseball and, with the money he had saved, started a national bank in 4CharleroI Pa In 1908, with his
 baseball record as great help in his l lcampaign,- he was elected to Congress | and retired from that body to become governor of PennnsylvaniaL for four | years. Except that he was born in Ire I land, Tener might aspire to an execn- tive job higher than that of Presid ent sI of the National League, and he would T be certain of getting solid vote from I the fans. As governor of Pennsylva-- ! mia MT. Tener received $10.0O0 per l year, but as head of the National League his yearly salary is $25;000. Ii I is fortunate for the old league that ii I has such a man at his head, for no body doubts that MT. Tener has the I welfare of the game at heart.