The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1918-04-08
Magnates Gather to Make
Final Plans for 1913 Season
Eastern Magnates Go Into
Executive Session at 2
O'Clock This Afternoon
President O'Neil on Sick
List and Unable to Attend.

= SN4NV41U ~ ANV44 O44 O1OA
List and Unable to Attend.
eastern League Baseball Headquar-
ters, Springfield, Mass, April 8, II a.
ih-Ihe Eastern Leauge will take def
mite shape for the 1918 baseball cam
palgn when the club owners gathered
IN session here this afternoon at 2
O'Clock at the Cooley Hotel. There
will be one absentee from the session,
President Dan O'Neil, for the severe
illness which has kept him confined
to his home in Holyoke, Mass, for
the past three weeks, will not allow
of his leaving his home to attend the
session, though President OfNeil is
rapidly recovering from the illness
and expects to be about again before
many more days have passed.
Some new faces will be seen when
the club owners gather for the meet
ing, chief of which will be Benjamin
P. Moulton, president of the Rhode
Island Exposition Company, which
controls the Providence Baseball club,
and which will buy the Portland
franchise and transfer it to the Rhode
Island capital; Eddie Eayres, the new
manager of the Providence club, and
Bill Hinchman, who will pilot the
new Waterbury club for Owner En-
mons when the transfers it from Law
renee to the Brass City
The addition of Providence and
Waterbury to the circuit, in place of
Portland and Lawrence, completes the
makeup of the league for the coming
season and sets all doubt at rest as
to what the fans may look for when
the umpire calls play balI' about six
weeks from now. Jack Flynn, who
Hooked after the affairs Of the Law
renee club last season, will attend the
session in a new role, representing the
New London club and the interests of
Morton F. Plant, along with George
B. Prest, the treasurer of the COM
pany directing the affairs of the New
lLori7on Planters.
There will be many matters to oc-
lcupy the attention of the league di-
rectors at this session, the first prob
ably being the sale of the Portland
franchise to the Providence club and
then the ratification by the league of
the request of r. w. Emmons, End,
for the transfer of the Lawrence fran
chise to Waterbury. AS these two
deals have been completely effected
during the past week, and need only
formal action by the league to COM
plete them, they will be disposed of
very quick.
However, it is more than likely that
the rest of the session will require
considerable discussion and action be-
fore being brought to a close, as many
matters of importance have been held
up awaiting the satisfactory settle
ment of the Portland and Lawrence
franchise, since it was expected right
after the close of the 1917 season that
these two cities would not again be
Included in the circuit. One important
matter is that of the schedule for the
season. The committee on schedule
was appointed at the annual meeting,
consisting of Messrs. Carey, Collins
and MdMahon, but was unable to do
business until the final makeup of the
league was determined. Now, how
ever, this committee undoubtedly will
receive suggestions from the club
owners regarding holiday dates and
other preferences, and will 1mmedl-
ately get busy and report a draft at
the following meeting of the league.
The directors also have the problem
lin front of them of determining the
manner in which the war tax upon
admissions to ball games will be col
lected. 1t is very likely that they will
follow the lead of the major leagues
in this action, though the fact that in
Iall of the ball parks of the circuit
1.-TWO ticket offices are maintained, one
for the gate and one for the grand
stand, means that this is no light
problem to- be disposed of and will re-
quire considerable labor on the part
of every club to handle throughout
the season.
Some of the club owners are pre-
pared for the coming season in many
WAYS but others as yet have done little
to get ready for the league opening.
The new Providence club will have
plenty of material to build from in
view of the players it has retained
from last season, together with those
which it will buy from the Portland
club, along with the franchise. The
Waterbury club will have the reserve
list of the Lawrence club to build up
on, and all of the other clubs in the
circuit, with the exception Of Worces-
ter and Hartford, have sufficiently
strong reserve list from last season
with which to begin operations. Wor-
cester has lost a number of its best
players through sales, the most recent
being the purchase of Southpaw Cana
van by the Boston Braves. Hartford
has reserved only three players from
last year, Eddie Goodrich, Ralph Head
and Fletcher Low, and only two of
! these are available, as Goodrich has
, been drafted for service with Uncle
Sam.
Three clubs will retain the mana
: gers that guided their destinies last
season, Danny Murphy again being at
, the head of the New Haven cham
( pions, Paul Krichell with Bridgeport
: and Jack Mcmahon, the Worcester
pilot Jack Flynn has gone from
> Lawrence to New London; Bill Hinch-
! man will be the new Waterbury man.
, ager, and Eddie Eayres, the Providence
= pilot, also will be a new face in the
l managerial ranks. Springfield and
= Hartford,a as yet, have announced moth
\ ing in the way of managers for the
, coming season, though it is not un-
= likely that Owner Carey may tell his
= brother club owners of his selection al
/ tadays meeting. as 1t Is said that he
|, has been doing business with a mum,
,. Der of noted baseball leaders for the
l., past few weeks, and that he is about
|, ready to make decision and sign III