Evening star., 1916-05-07
BASE BALLS GREATEST DEAL
AS DETAILED FROM THE INSIDE
Iris Speaker Is Figured to Have Cost the
Cleveland Club $57 500, the Largest
Sum Ever Paid for Player

a deal was on between the Red Sox
and Yankees, whereby the latter club
was to turn over Fritz Maisel and
large sum of money to Boston in ex-
might be too late. but I hadn't talked
to Lannin five minutes when he dis
abused my mind along these lines.
1 asked him point blank il he would
consider the right kind of an offer.
Said offer would entail money and
players. the former in an enormous
amount. and the latter two in number.
We talked the matter over all day
Friday. late into the night, and finally
the next morning we came to terms.
Terms Agreed To.
Those terms were $4,000 and two
players. Pitcher Sam Jones. whom
Manager Bill Carrigan of the Red Sox
insisted on having, and either Bill
Wambsganss or Fred Thomas. infield-
ers. Carrigan wanted Joe Evans, third
baseman, at first. but insisted 1 would
have to talk the matter over of the
players involved with Manager Fohl
first, especially if they insisted on
Evans. Finally Carrigan decided that
Jones and Wamby or Thomas would do.
That settled it as far as / was con-
cerned, for | felt certain that Manager
v
two players mentioned if he could OBJ
tain star like Speaker. And l was
right in my reckoning, too. for Fohl
readily agreed to the transfer.
l believe that Jones is worth $1,000
of any clubs money and the Cleveland
club would have willingly given a.
check for this amount to Boston and
retained the title to Jones. AS for
Thomas. the man finally picked by
Boston, he is surely worth the big
league waiver price of s2.500. Add this
to $4,000 cash. which we paid Boston,
and you have total of $57,500, the
largest amount ever paid for a bali
player. Heretofore the Chicago-PhiI-
adelphia deal for Eddie Collins a $780,
900 transaction, held the record.
1 felt that the Cleveland Indians as
they shaped up prior to the Speaker
deal might run as good as sixth if
ers in the lineup throughout the sea-
son. But sixth place team wouldn't
mean much of return on the invest
ment to President Dunn and the other
owners of the Cleveland club. With
Speaker in the lineup the chances for
forging ahead couple of notches in
the American League standing were
brfght-that is, run third or fourth.
And / felt with first division team in
Cleveland, where fans had to be salts
fed with an eighth place team in 1914
and seventh position team last sea-
son, there was an excellent chance for
the fans to turn out in large numbers.
Therefore, l believed that the $57,500
that Iris Speaker cost US was a wise
investment
Drew Great Crowds.
At least, Cleveland has not seen
such crowds as those that turned out
the opening game of the season, April
II. when new opening day record of
1881 paid admissions was established
in the face of inclement weather con-
ditions 1t raining until an hour before
the game started, and the first Sunday,
when $4,000 packed the park and fully
10000 others were unable to gain ad-
mittance.
Speaker will be big attraction for
the Indians at home, where he will be
seen in Seventy-Seven games instead
of appearing in only eleven in alien
attire as heretofore, while he also will
be a big drawing card on the road
The sixth city is destined to do a
big comeback in base ball and you
can bank on it that Iris Speaker and
that $57,500 had considerable to do
with it.
When Stanley Coveleskie. Cleyeland's
sensational young spitball pitcher,
stacked up against the Detroit Tigers
at League Park ten days ago. the Ben
gals faced a twirler who was not an
entire stranger to them. Stanley was
member of the House of Mack in 1912,
and was tossed against the Jennings
tribe on three successive days.
September 10 he finished up a game
for Carroll Brown, pitching hitless and
runless ball for one round. September
IL Stanley went to Byron Houck's re-
lief in the eighth with one down, and
in turn was relieved by Eddie, Plank
in the ninth. no one then being defunct.
September IL Mack started Coveleskie
against the Tigers and he responded by
shutting them out and limiting them to
three hits-a double by Tyrus Cobb and
singles by Bobby Veach and Eddie Ons-
low. The score of this game was 80.
The tall tactician banished Stanley,
who is a right handler weighing ITO
pounds and standing 5 feet III y inches
high. to Spokane. Wash, the next
spring and Southpaw Harry's kid
brother remained in the northwest un-
til last fall. His final hurting out that
way was done for Portland, and as
Stanley. before he Joined Mack, was
with Atlantic City. he can lay claim to
having pitched from coast to coast.
Stanley started pastiming profess !