The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-05
Rival Cities Have Plans Under Way to Capture
 Opening Day Trophy
MUST SUPPORT TEAM TO PRODUCE WINNER
Memphis and Nashville Already Pre- pairing Advertisement Derived From Baseball Unsurpassed
 by Any Other Medium

If Birmingham is to retain possession of the trophy offered annually by Presi dent Baugh for the largest attendance on opening day it behooves the civic or ganizations and the baseball association to get busy immediately
 Despite the fact that in no city in the Southern league save in New Orleans have players reported for practice. prep arations are already under way looking to the wrestling from Birmingham of hei laurels as the best city in the South. ern league.
 Memphis already is getting busy. a! Is attested by the following report iron the Ccmmercial-Appeal:
 Officials of the Memphis baseball club have already started O. campaign to land the trophy for the largest opening day attendance in the Southern league this sea son.
 fJohn D. Martin, president of the Mem. phis club, was yesterday pledged the SUD- port of the Business Mems club In help ing to boost the opening day attend. ance at Russwood park
 Mir. Martin appeared before the di-
 
 their meeting yesterday and in a brief talk stated that the club was going te do all in it's power to bring the pen nant to Memphis this season and asked the support of the local fans in help. ing to bring the attendance trophy to Memphis as we'll
 'The directors of the Business Mems club promised their support toward that end and stated they would get busy mapping out plans for a campaign"
 Nashville, too, is awake to the need for an early start in preparation fol bringing out every available paid admis- sion to the opening day. The following from the Tennessean tells of plans ir the Volunteer city:
 Another trophy is to be given for the largest opening day attendance an( Nashville is going to try again for the cup by stacking the Dell full of fans Local fandom is waxing anxious for the coming of the initial game and all in dlcations are pointing to a record break. ing crowd being on hand when the cur. tain IS raised on the 1916 season.
 ELABORATE PLANS FOR VOLS
 The most elaborate plans in the his tory Of the Nashville ball club are to bt made for opening day this year. which will also mark the prying off of the lie in three other cities. Gov. Thomas c Rye, who is an ardent baseball fan. will be called upon to pitch the first bal and it Is quite likely that Mayor Rob. ert Ewing will be at the, receiving end
 A gayly decorated box will be occu pied by the guests of honor and off. Noc 6 chxri1l To oI,, rs band will be on hand to enliven matters during the game. As usual a monster baseball parade will precede the game participated in by the ball players, fans and newspaper men, and 1t is going tt be one big gala day in Nashville Presi. dent Shropshire has set his head on out. doing all former opening days and noth. ing is to be left undone toward the real. ization of the plan.''
 Those citizens of Birmingham who look on baseball as nothing more than ar amusement and as being of no benefit to the city would be disabused of this ioea If they could grasp the immeas urable good of winning baseball team Birmingham in the last five years has won two pennants and has always beer up in the fight. The city is better knowr over the south for this reason than ro, all the industrial plants and beautiful residence sections with which 1t is SC abundantly blessed.
 Cities may boom and fail, business ma, wax and wane but as long as arms are strong and batting eyes are bright. base. ball will be with us. The public spirited citizens of Birmingham do well to lauC us commercial advantages, it's low cost of living. it's manufactures, it's schools and colleges, it's supremacy in all thai tends to exalt and embellish modern civilized life, for with all of these things Nashville Is abundantly blessed. But il the same citizens neglect to supports it. baseball team and keep the turnstiles spinning, all this advertising and boost ing VIII fall like sounding brass and tinKiing cymbals upon the ear of the baseball fan-and his name is legion.
 No one will deny that the fame ot Detroit has been greatly augmented by Ty Cobb and it's famous baseball team Philadelphia, Boston, New York, Chicago in fact, any city which has a winning team gains prestige thereby. For six months in the years 12, nothing can dc more than winning baseball team tc publish the name of Birmingham abroad there is no other agency here that takes the name of Birmingham into every daily paper in the entire south, every day for six solid months per annum.
 MUST SUPPORT TEAM
 It is impossible for team to win, no matter how good it's material, unless It is supported by the home fans. All loyal Birmingham fans and others should consider it not only pleasure and honor but duty to turn out in a body and at- tend the opening day of the baseball sea- son in Birmingham. And if every lover o1 the game will do his best to make the attendance at the opening day in Bir- mingham the largest in any city in the Southern league. this fact alone would be wonderful advertisement for this city.
 The officials of the Birmingham Base ball association have spared neither labor nor money to make the 1916 team strong enc; they, should be accorded the en- thusiastic support and backing that they deserve.
 The commercial organizations of this city should get behind the movement and make opening day the greatest in the history of Redwood Field. Let Presi- dent George Ward of the city commis- sion declare half holiday and let the game be preceded by the biggest parade that has ever been made in honor of the Birmingham baseball team.
 Birmingham will open the season here with the Mobile club on Wednesday, ipril 19 It should be gala day ir the history of the city, The fans will have had five days of real baseball in tho league and their appetite should be whetted keen for the sight of the Barona in nction The cl1b may ha f1auapdan