El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-08-19
CROOKS CAUGHT:
LEAGUE FORMED
Fraud Attempted in Early
Days of Baseball Leads to
National League.
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the way the proposition was worded
meant that no reply from my players
to whom the MESA ges were addressed
meant that they would enter the plot
and would throw the game to the
Louisville club.
Those messages promised my boys
that is. those who were to be ring
leaders in bringing about our defeat
"a fabulous sum of money. And why
shouldn't they have been given a big
amount had they entered into the COM
pact? The gamblers behind the
scheme had planned TO bet every dol
lar they could get on the Louisville
team. The odds were big-something
like 10 l that Chicago would win the
series. 1t meant close to S1,0OO.00G
for that outfit If II could swing the
game to Louisville
Wood Kept Quiet.
Well, I tucked those messages in my
pocket and never said a word TO any
of the players When the Louisville
team arrived, kept my players under
cover. ] didn't want that Hall-Devlin-
Craver crowd to meet my boys and to
discover that the message never had
been delivered.
It was my aim to give the gamblers
what they had coming to them: TO trap
them with the very same trap they
had laid for others. And that is just
what happened
Gamblers Bet Heavily.
Assuming that the game wac fixed.
the gamblers went ahead and bet every
dollar they could muster on Louisville
TO win-and Louisville was beateni
Not being absolutely sure that my
players hadn't been tempered with in
person. I called them together before
the game began 1 told them that
there was a scheme afoot to have Chi
cago throw the game and the series
n al y
boys that the first imperfect play on
the part of anyone Of them would mean
not only his removal from the game
but his expulsion from baseball
Chicago Played FauItIes.Iy.
And, to this day, I regard the play
ing of my Chicago team that after
noon, as the most perfect I have ever
seen any club perform. Those boys
played beyond themselves; not one Of
them dared to make an error of hand
or head, fearing he would be tainted
Immediately with the suspicion OF be-
ing a crook
We won-easily-and the terrific
financial loss which the gamblers SUI
fered that day cured many Of them
forever of the plunging fever
Lays Plan Before Hubert.
Immediately after our series was
over. I went to William II. Hubert,
president of our club. and laid all the
facts before him.
This is the Climax" said Hubert
Baseball is sport and should be
kept a clean sport Gambling should
not enter into it Unless We take some
drastic steps now the game Will be
wrecked on the rocks of crookedness.
And Hubert, one of the finest
sportsmen the game ever has pro-
duced. then went to the other club
against Craver. Devlin and Hall and
brought about their expulsion. The
story of the frame-up was given wide
publicity at the time and Il served as
a lesson TO all other ball players
Until that time. baseball had been
controlled by an organization known
as the National Association of Profess
sional Baseball players.
Formed The National League
TT is not powerful enough and its
scope is too limited" said Hubert.
a new ruling body is needed-one
with absolute authority; one which
can stamp out dishonesty and gambl-
ing in baseball
And so Hubert. working increasingly
during the winter of 1873 and the
alton of the National league-the same
National iegue which has lived and
prospered during - years Of com
mingled peace and warfare
Hubert, in organizing the new cir
cult made it a condition that no club
can be a member of the National
league unless il has a population Of
-. 900 or more" The original National
league circuit follows: Chicago. st.
Louis, Cincinnati and Louisville. in the
west; Boston. Hartford. New York
Mutual team and the Philadelphia
Athletics. in the east.
Hubert Avoided Presidency.
Hubert was the unanimous selection
for the presidency Of the league. All
he needed to do was to indicate his
willingness to hold the office But
Hubert didn't want it to appear that
he sought the honor as a reward for
what he had done
I would suggest that in electing
our president. we dismiss the straight
voting plan" he said. Let US write
on separate slips of paper the names
of each club president Then drop
them in a hat The first name with
drawn shall be our president"
The suggestion was accepted: the
name of Morgan g. Buckley. Of Hart
ford. Conn. was extracted and TO him
was accorded the honor of being the