Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-12-16
FEDS ARE FIRST
IN WAR, THEN
LEAD in PEACE
Fight on Organized Ball
Began When Joe Tinker
Jumped"
EBBETS' D R E A NJ HURTS
BY SPICk HALL


THE Federal LeaEuers beat the Kaiser
i to it, coming and going. They were,
like our well-known Pater Of the Poto-
mac, first In the war and first out of II.
The vicious drive on organized baseball
was begun just two years ago 1t had
Its inception at the annual meeting of
the National League, hence II Is fitting
that the finish, after two years of tur-
moi also should come as a hyproduct
of this momentOus gathering.
When the facts are closely scrutinizcd,
one can readily see that Augustus Herr
mann and Charles Ebbets were the real
though innocent, instigators of the most
disastrous baseball war the national pas
time has ever known.
In 1913, Joe Tinker, eX-Cub. was man
ager of the Cincinnati Reds At the
meeting of the National League that
season Charles Holiday Ebbets had
brilliant idea one evening within the con-
fines of the cafe in the Waldorf-Astoria
Hotel, New York. He confded in Herr
mann. The idea was, In effect. that he.
Ebbets, would like to give poor Mr.. Herr
mann the sum of $4,000 for the release
of Mr.. Tinker, who would act as man
ager of the Brooklyn club. This sum
looked good to Hermann. He was on
the point of closing the deal when he
decided that Tinker should be consulted.
Tinker was dee-lghted but intimated
despite the fact that he was getting out
of Cincinnati honorably.
Tinker Jumps First
After much dickering, Tinker became
pecvcd and turned respectful ear in
the direction of Charles Weeghman,
owner of the Chicago Federal League
club. The outcome was that Tinker
Jumped, signed and took the job to man
age the Whales. He has been there ever
since
This WIS only the beginning. Later on
other stars of organized baseball were
lured from the straight and narrow path
and taught that jumping contracts was
proper, in as much, the Federals claimed
that the documents were not mutually
binding. Furthermore, the outlaws OF
fered large salaries. long-term contracts
and IN a number of cases put real money
in the bank to pay the salaries for three
years.
The first club in organized baseball 10
be hard hit by n Federal bomb was the
local National League company. Otto
Knahe was induced to sign a three-year
contract by Secretary Goldman. of the
Baltimore Feds. Ottos first duty was to
get some of his Philly teammates to jump
with him. These We're Doolan, SeatOn and
later Brennan Other players of high
baseball ranking were drawn into the
Federal maelstrom until at the begin
able to Toast of a fast circuit one about
on n par with Glass AA in organized
baseball.
Money Behind New League
All of this time the powers in organ
ized baseball, meaning Ban Johnson and
Hermann, largely, were busy giving out
statements to the effect that the Federal
League could not last, because, they said,
IL was not run by baseball men and II
did not have sufficient financial backing,
As a matter of fact, the organization was
well financed, having behind 1t the Ward
and Weeghman millions.
These wlelders of bread and restaurants
went into baseball because they thought
Il was a money-making proposition. They
argued that they could run on far less
CAPITAL than organized baseball clubs be-
cause they had to buy neither franchises
nor Dlayers They created the former and
lured the latter away from o. b. Then,
too they had seen holdfaCe figures N
the newspapers showing the vast amounts
received at worlds series games. They
thought they also could have a worlds
series and "clean up
But baseball did not prove TO be as
profitable as these gentlemen imagined
The attendance in 1914 was poor all over
the circuit The clubs had TO build ball
marks. The players were getting big
salaries, most of them far out of pro-
norton to their real worth. Rumors
tloated around baseball circles that the
Federals would be forced to close their
gates before the end OF the season. But
the gates didn't close, in spite of the
fact that all of the clubs were losing