The Washington times., 1916-01-11
Ban Johnson Is in Sixth City to
Assist in Sale and Announce.
ment of Consummation Is
Expected Hourly.
clark Griffith Goes to Char.
IottesviIIe to Arrange For
Training Of Club There in
March.
BY LOUIS A. DOUGHER.

Four bidders are seeking to pur-
chase the Cleveland Club from
Charlie Somers and, with Ban John
son on the job in the Sixth City to-
day, some official announcement is
expected to be made shortly. The
bankers committee, headed by A. V.
Cannon and George P. Steele, has
failed to find Cleveland capital suf-
ficient to keep the ownership a local
affair, and so Ban johnson is ex-
pected to let an outsider into the
deal. Here are the bidders:
Edward Gwinner, Pittsburgh street
railroad magnate, and his partner, c. B.
Comstock.
Harry Sinclair. Oklohoma, oil man
and purse Of the defunct Federal
Jake stahl. former player and man
ager of the Nationals and the worlds
champion Red Sox, with Robert G.
McRoy. associated in the ownership
Of the Red Sox in 1912. with Jimmy Nc
e. J. McDiarmid, of Cincinnati. and
John E. Bruce. secretary of the Ma
tional Commission. both owned stock in
the st. Louis Browns.
on the way. and this has speeded up
Ban johnson to settle the Cleveland
difficulties in order that a manager
might be appointed in time to bring
about necessary changes and to make
plans for the campaign.
Manager Clark c. Griffith is today in
charlottesville. searching for quarters
suitable to his club for the coming
training season. He has been refused
house ic
for the past three years. and will look
at two other sites. If they do not fiji
requirements; he will consider taking
hE CLUB farther South. though he pre-
Columbus Ga: Macon. Ga: San An
tonic Tex; Athens Ga: Raleigh. n. C.:
savannah Ga, and Hattiesburg Miss.
have made fattering offers to the Old
Fox. He Is inclined to look with most
IaVor upon Columbus and Raleigh.
thoush he has seen neither place.
That waivers must be oh aimed on all
reoeral Leaeuers now identified with
major league teams Is shown hy the
ASKING for waivers by Fielder Jones ON
iully Ia ri half Of his big squad. Manager
Joe inner has also asked for waivers
on Dig punch he considers useless to
MIN In 1916. and the great scramble for
Diayers VIII be on within a few days
both Jones and Tinker are said to pre-
.nd 1 seasral ieasuers on their teams.
on the market and available for ali
other teams in the circuits willing To
give them chance.
Those Federal League piavers wboso
contracts ended last October are now
hustllng around, looking for Jobs Rill
hsenworthy. who received a short trial
with the Griffmen. has written to F;clS.
er Jones, asking for a cnance to pIav
win the Browns. but will nardly get
II, as Jones now has fifty-p'ne PLAYERS
on on MS S roster: Hugh, bradley, once with
Pittfeds, has applied for d lob as man
aGer of the Worcester club in the New
England League
.
Here are words of wisdom from Wal
ter Trumbull in the New York World,
They, should be read by magnates ev-
erywhere.
"Newspaper men are mighty sorry 10
see Jim Gaffney get out of baseball,
Gaffney was one Of the first to intro
duce business methods in the handiins
OF the game off the cield He never
could see the need for the solemn m>s-
terry which used to attend all the meet.
ings of the league.
He never felt obliged to see his law
yer ana examine number Of court de-
cislons before answering any fair ques-
told the truth. This was an awful
shock 10 some of his associates.
He handled ball club just as he
"oulu any othcf business proposition,
and he was one of those mainly resron
sinie Tor the end of the baseball war
and the coming OF oeace. AS far as
the national game is concerned Gaffney
has left fine record behind him"
Tomorrow the, so-called reace COM
mttee, composed of the National Com
mission. Feds and the neal of the In
ternationai League. is due to meet in
New York. Ed Barrow, president Of
the Interna tional Lea g1Ic announces
that he will not be at the meeting. lie
has resigned from the committee. be-
lieving that his league Is about to be
made goat"