Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-11-13
THE ONE SAFEST WAGER
WORLD SERIES TO REMAIN;
TOO MUCH MONEY AT STAKE
Receipts From Bic Event Suppurt
COpimissIOn nnh Provide Incentive
for Owners md Fans Alike.

Don't get EN- wrong. gentle reader:
the baseballing folks aren't goini: TO
abolish our little world series. OH
yes. much conversation has been cx-
uded concerning. the possibility Of it's
being done. and one of our best littl.
baseball leaders has cove right out
and denounced the present "goug.-tho-
public" arrangement Hut that's all
that's going TO be don" about IL, or We
miss our guess by sixteen kilometers
Did you ever know - amy baseball
folks doing anything meaning Il iiuan
ciai sacrifice for them? Kigh,o! They
never have. And you cant teach old
dogs new tricks" y'no. Those mag
mates have fallen into the habit Of
extracting every possible kopeck from
the jeans OF fandom--and such habits
are Of the unshakcable variety.
1t Is one of the safes, bets IN this
wide. wide world Of ours that the blue
ribbon event Of baseball won't he ahol-
ished. nor viii IL be permitted to laps"
for TWO or three years. Any such at
tempt would bring about howl from
the nagnatcs that would Sil"uc" an ar
tillery duel along the Somin" and YER
dan fronts. Yea Ban johnson has boon
discours!ng along the "diac"utinu."
lines. but Ban occasionally takes 10
making threats that never are fulfilled.
And this is one Of them.
The demand for the elimination Of
the world series hasn't come from fan
dom. And it's faudom that pays the
freight. All that the fans wan; II
reduction in prices for seats AZ thos-
But tho killing off Of the scricS--iIix.
Ban IS powerful person ia baseball.
but II he attempted 10 pu, the world
series on the blink he would mad him
aloDe-anI il. -,
of the competing teams In the last iivc
world series events have split some
thing close to 100000. It's ctnch
that no c!ub owner would sanction any
move destined To null his Individual
chance to win Il aennant and get a hit
Of that easy money ia the years TO
come.
Furthermore, the operating cxr.ns.s
Of the national commission haze been
met with the money II has received ava.
nually from world s..rica clashes Tht,
year its share was s3..5S9. Ii no WORLD
series were staged who would have
TO contribute 10 the support Of tho
commission? Righto, The nagnat".
themselves. Aud wouldn', the" relish
doing that. after the commission. al.
most since It's inaugural. on. has been
self-support!ng due 10 the world scri..
income7
Would Smile Finances Hard Blow.
II the world series were abolished
II would lie a terriuc wallop 10 the
financial side Of baseball. tndouht.diy.
10 per cent OF the club owners would
place their holdings on tho market.
with the proTiso that mo fair off.r
VIII be refused" Prospective buyers
would he as scarce a. soda water foun-
tains in desert. The magmatcs ar.n',
In the game merely for pleasure and
purpose and they don't deny IT.
baseball has made gian, strides in
financial way in the last thirteen
years. Hundreds OF thousands Jan,
their way into the parks nov where
the count was thousands in the other
days crowd OF 10000 was regarded
Immense" in the bygone era. Now
no one gets In any Wa? excited oyer
10000.
Just mere pennant tight. withOu,
any post-scasop battle wouldn't bring
out such crowds. y world series stimu-
folks come now TO see the teams shat
In the fight 10 get a look al tho
prospective champions and get "a line"
for Themselves on last what each LEI,
in the rival leagues could do against
each other in the world series battles
The fact that the big series follows tn.
regular season keeps interest in the
races at fever heat until the issu. IL.
both circuits is decided. It's a sort OF
lure that draws the multitud" to tho
ball parks and makes II possible for
the !nagnatcS 10 earn dividends on
their investment.
Without a world series. The intercs,
in baseball would not be 50 intense
Some OF the enthusiasm would die out,
The crowds would thin and so would
the receipts. MaSnates quickly would
tind that the ou;go WAS far greater
than the income. They would iinh
themselves backed 10 the financial wall
emitting shrieks for succor--and more
succor.
/, is the hope Of owning a champion
ship team that Will grab of for them
huge slice of the world series melon
that influences many nloneyed men 10
want to get into baseball. 10 YOU
think there would he such "A mad
scramble to get ball club If no world
series was played? DO you think that
men would pay sums anywhere near
the present average for clubs If no
post-scason series was played? Rishto.
they wouldn't.
Aholishing the world series would
mean the assassination of the fowl that's
been laying the tinted eggs for tho
magnates. and you may be more than
reasonably sure that the moguls never
Will do any such trick-intcntiou-
ally.
EENERhI G DpEDhDIMc hCMI