Bisbee daily review., 1916-02-27
FRESH MILLIONS TO BACK BALL FORTUNE
 OF MAJOR LEAGUES
Armour and Wrigley Cast
 Their Shekels Into Cub Cof- fers; Many Millionaires h.
 terested Tn American Game.

NEW YORK, Feb. 26. - The an-
 nouncement made by Charles Weegh-
 man that among his partners in the re-
 gently purchased and reorganized Chi
 cago National League Baseball Club
 are J. Ogden Armour, William Wrig-
 ley, Jr, in addition to one or two oth-
 CT unnamed business men of great
 wealth, calls attention to the entry of | fresh millions of backing into the big | leagues within the past year.
 Four major league clubs have chang ed ownership in a little more than twelve months and in every case the
 buyers are men who have made large fortunes in other lines of business and to whom baseball will'always be more of a sport than a dollars and cents proposition. Yet these men have eith- CT made millions or increased fortunes left to them by ancestors, through shrewd business ability and up-to-date, efficiency and they will naturally eX
 pect that any ball club in which they have money invested will be conduct ed along the same lines.
 It only requires a cursory glance at the list of the new club owners and the money they have invested and rep resent to realize that a new era is dawning in big league baseball. A lit tie more than year ago Col. Jacob Ruppert, Jr., and T. l.. Huston paid a.
 bout $410,000 for the New York Ma tional League Club. The combined wealth of these two men is over S25,- 100000 and they have already demon strated that they are willing to spend big money to secure proper diamond talent as the recent purchase of Lee Magee as a figure over $20,000, proves.
 Following the peace agreement be- tween Organized and Independent baseball the Chicago Nationals and the St. Louis Americans changed hands. Weeghman was the moving figure in the purchase of the Cubs and it now develops that Armour, Wrigley and possibly one other capitalist are a. mong the stockholders. Close to half a million was paid for the Cubs and the combined financial resources of the new owners is easily S75,000, 900, so it can be seen that the Cubs will have excellent backing in the future.
 Phil Ball, Otto Stifel and J. w. Gar neau were the announced purchasers of the St. Louis Americans and the price was given out as S525.000. At least one of the trio is understood to have the backing of a millionaire so that it is safe to set down the rating of the new owners as close to S5.000, 000. The sale of the Boston Nationals to Percy D. Haughton, Arthur C. Wise and others for about $5O0,O00. 1 brings another group Of capitalists and keen business men into baseball with resources at close to S30,000,000.
 Negotiations for the change of own ership of two other big league clubs have been under way for some time and, while the outcome is problemati- | cal, both the New York Nationals and the Cleveland Americans may have new packers before the 1916 pennant season opens. The Cleveland Club is undergoing financial reconstruction and is on the market but to date the , price set is considered too high by prospective investors. President liar " Hempstead of the New York Giants 1 has set price for the sale of the club ! out almost a quarter million dollars separate owners and bidders al this time.
 FLIGHT AROUND WORLD