The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-12
.ELLAM HITS SNAG IN PLUGGING GAPS
 ON HURL|NG STAFF Two Gaps Still Open in the Twirling Department of Nashville Vols FANS CLAMORING
 TO ANNEX PERDUE Ellam Will Start Practice With Squad of Battery Candidates Wednes.
 day-Gabby Street May Be
 Sold to Richmond
By BLINKY HORN

NasnVille, March 11-(Specfaf) Pilot Roy Ellam. though he has been at the throttle for less than two weeks, has already learned the truth , of the old saying that uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" The new Vol boss already has stumbled on a thorn patch on the hurling hill and behind the rubber that has kept Man ager Ellam lying awake nights trying 10 figure out some way to plug up the two gaps
 With reporting date fixed for wed- nesday for the battery candidates ana an admitted weakness in the hurl,n1 | corps and backstop candidates Ross Ellam has but limited time in which l to SCOUT the bushes for talent that will bolster both departments. The hat tery situation has been further com piicated by the baking attitude of Floyd Kroh and Gabby Street. neither Of whom shows the remotest sign of coming to terms. Street, it now de- velops. is anxious to land a berth with Billy Smiths Richmond club. which ! py the way Is the Mecca of George k1rchers hopes. while Floyd Kroh has ! Hung defi at the Vol boss that has ] been too hot to handle"
 ! Kroh's grievance against the Vols consists of an alleged promise of a 1 raise in salary last season amounting 1 to $25, which was never given him. l the local moguls contending that the 1 conditions upon which it was prom ised were never fulfilled. In an effort to replace the recalcitrant Kroh, Man ager Ellam has started a deal for Her 1 bert Kelly, the former Cracker port slider, who lately was handed the pink | slip by the Pirates
 MAY ANNEX PERDUE
 Popular clamor for Hub Perdues an- nexation to the Vols slabbing roster has assumed such alarming proportions | that the Vol moguls have begun to
 take the matter seriously. Nothing has come of tho negotiations thus far save considerable conversation, for the former Cardinal. who helped pitch the
 Vols to pennant in 1908, demands a
 fat bonus for signing his name to a
 local contract and juicy salary in | addition. To both demands the Vol magnates have turned a stone deaf
 ear, but lately Perdue has shaved a ! considerable amount from his demands. Still the salary wanted by the discard ed big leaguer Is beyond the valua- tion which the Vol bosses place on his services.
 1 The Gallatin Squash insists that he can win 20 games for the Vols, which
 
 as 1t appears in the Baugh league in
 view of the fact that such clouters as Jacobson, Kniseley. Waiker ct al, are | coming back to the Southern Much ! amusement was caused by President Shropshire's testing proposal that tho
 Vols pay Perdue $100 for every game he won, while he was to pay the Vol management $25 for each game lost
 Hub exhibited little faith in his own
 winning ability by declining the pro- posal, unaware that the rules of the league would prohibit 1t.
 Il TRANSPORTATION MAILED II Transportation has been mailed to a squad of battery candidates, but sev- eral of the outfit admittedly are not up to Southern league calibre. In tho number is included Wylie Taylor and ] Bill Ellie, two Louisville recruits. the former being counted as a fixture in Manager Ellam's rifle corps; Wells, a recruit from Davenport, Ia, where he won 16 and lost IA games last sea- son; Lou Fiene, the veteran pitcher and utility man, at one time with Mo bile; Decatur, rookie from Talla- dega, who is touted as a wonder, al- | though with but little experiences: Tom Rogers, who with Floyd Kroh Is the :: only remaining twiAier from Bill Schwartz's pitching collection; Her. bert, a member of the Slpufeds pitch ih5 Soi Po III ASAos "fO AiAiSfcA ooSS- lute1y last in the list of box artists. but whose worth Is pledged by Fielder Jones and several semi-pros.
 | Should Gabby Street be sold to Richmond. which club has already been given price on his services, the Vols
 will be compelled to hustle around to find a capable receiver. Marshall. traded to the Vols by Memphis for Dolly Stark, will hardly do better than to make second string place; Gooch, a semi-pro, is an unknown quantity land "Stuffy'' Johnson, given short trial by Birmingham last spring, Is the other backstopping possibility
 Il But Roy Ellam is getting toe hold on affairs and is busily engaged in lin- | ing up deals for material to prop up !. the weak spots on his club at a mo- ment's notice.