Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1916-01-22

/ ace Ball Room, on Washington street
on Friday, January %, and the con-
| testants will be the now famous Joe
stecher, who is making a tour of the
/ United States previous to forcing
! Frank Gotch, the champion, into a
match, and Giovanni Perrelli, the
/ Italian champion. The men will
wrestle the best two out of three
/ falls at catch-as-c s-catch can style, to a
! finish. Stecher. it is claimed, is the
greatest wrestler in the world to-
day. and it may be that Gotch will
refuse to meet him. The purse for
such d contest will be SO large
! though that Gotch, 1t is expected,
will be unable to turn the proposition
down.
| o
| Stecher has an excellent record. He
will make his first appearance in New
/ York next Thursday night, and his
opponent will be Wladek Zbyszko. On
the outcome of this match, the pub
lie will be able to Judge Stecher. Joe
is a big favorite over Zbyszko, and he
has given out statement in which
he says he will surely defeat his
Polish opponent. Perrelli, the Ital-
ian champion, is a competitor in the
tourney now on at the Manhattan
Opera House in New York. His record
Is not a bad one, and it is expected
that he will make things interesting
for Stecher, but Joe, who is "A Bohe-
mian, is the choice for victory.
o
"Newarkers for Newark" should be
the slogan In the controversy over
the possession of the International
League Club In this city. President
Edward G. Barrow, naturally, is
anxious to have the club fall into the
hands of his old pals, Joe Villa and
Jim Price, who did such good work
during the war" However, there
are several local interests which
would like to secure the franchise
here. Oscar Lustig told me yesterday
that he was representing a syndicate
of Newark men who would like to
secure control of the club, and that he
expected to go to the league meeting
in New York on Monday and present
his case. Others who are after the
club are the Wiedenmayers, John
/ Howe, Frank McTague, Arthur Irwin,
George Stallings Miller Higgins and
p. T. Powers Powers has Newark
men back of him. Just at present
! p. r. doesn't know where he stands.
He Is on friendly terms with Barrow
who told me when I put the Powers
proposition up to him that there
would be no objection whatever tc
p. r securing the local franchise.
G
Though there has been much talk
there hasn't been real offer made
| for the club. Lustig is not inclined tC
give any money for the franchise, but
he is willing to pay all legitimate
debts against the club and to issue
new stock to the Newark men who
hold stock in the old club. 1t may be
baseball law to declare a club out of
existence and allow its debts to go
unpaid. but it is neither a good bust
ness move nor good craftsmanship to
do II. The men who get the Newark
club will have to come through clean.
The plan to leave all debts behind
will not be tolerated
G
President Barrow says that 1t will
take s25 900 to buy the Newark Club
franchise and that the money will
go to the International League. But
what has Barrow to sell? Nothing!
The club was taken out of this city
when the citizens refused to support
It, and now it Is to be brought back.
perhaps under foreiegn control, as a
brand-new organization, without
thought for the men who put their
money into the proposition to start
the club on its way. Despite Barrow's
declaration that the Newark fran
chise Is free and clear, he may find a
lawsuit on his hands If he attempts
to give the local people the worst
of It.
@
Larry Sutton. the scout, and John
Hummel, who has Just been released
by the Brooklyn Club, are in the field
for the Newark franchise. sutton, 1t
Is said. has backing Larry would be
a good man to run the club, for he
knows his business. 1t was sutton
who helped to give Newark her PEN
nant- winning team in 1918. He got
Hick Cady, the catcher, for Joe Nc
Ginnity and he engineered other
deals that greatly strengthened the
club. Hummel, for manager, and
Sutton. for business manager, is the
plan of this combination, I under
stand.
Those who are interested in the
purchase of the local club should look
the situation over carefully. The In
ternatlonal League. as at present con-
stituted, is not the best in the world
nv any means. With Richmond at
one end of the circuit and Montreal
at the other end, the travelling ex-
penses are sure to be exceptionally
large. As neither Richmond nor Mon
treal has any bells on as baseball
towns, the visiting clubs will do
pretty we'll to get their carfare in
those cities. Dropping Jersey City
was a sad mistake, especially for
Richmond. Then there is Baltimore
to be reckoned with. There is a fight
on there, and the citizens say they