The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-02

.stt 4 s t .4
 Back in the days before the National
 league came into being, crookedness
 existed in baseball gamblers, in a
 large measure, dominated the sport
 and their shabby dealings with dishon-
 est players frequently turned the tide
 of battle on the ball field. For num-
 Der of years club owners suspected
 there was collusion between gamblers
 and the players, but always were they
 foiled in their efforts to "get the goods" on certain players.
 However, in 1875 discovery was made that Players Hall, Craver and Devlin, of the Louisville club, had been bought by gamblers and were pre- pairing to throw an important series. As soon as the facts came into possess sion the baseball powers of that day took drastric action by expelling the three players from baseball for all time
 And, almost immediately afterward. the National league was formed so that the club owners could have behind them compact. powerful organization with which to fight the gamblers. The story of how Hall, Craver and Devlin were uncovered as tools of the gamblers is one of the dramatic inci- dents in baseball history. And I shall give it to you as it came to me from James Wood, who managed the great White Stockings team of 1869 and 1875 and who was the man who discovered
 the crookedness of the trio in an ac- cidental way.
 Baseball was the real gambling sport in America in the period between 1869 and 1S75.' relates Wood. Tt was no uncommon thing for hundreds of thousands of dollars to be bet on the outcome of an important series. Gamb- lers circulated openly through the stands at the ball games, calling out for bets. They would wager on any angle of the game; on the outcome of the contest itself, on the number of
 hits. number of runs, errors, etc. And in each city which was represented by first-class ball club the fans who couldn't get out to the game, made their wagers in pool rooms
 For sometime prior to 1875 there was the belief in the minds of the pub | lie that gamblers were tampering with the players Stars would make seem- lHEly lHcAGuSiOlc DlQIQcTS dl CIlllCdl l moments; great pitchers would falter in a crisis where usually they were at their best; heavy hitters would strike out or pop out weakly when a hi. | meant a ball game. But no one ever could get any real evidences that these
 performances were prompted by money offers from the gamblers.
 Some historians have it that Hall. CSro nd in
 baseball in 1877. But. that is wrong. Those three men were forced out of
 baseball in 1875. And here are the facts to support me:
 "Craver, the chief tool of the gamn- lers, played on my Chicago team eari- fer but I had come to feel that some of his dealings were not exactly on the level So I released him and the Louis- ville club signed him up because he really Was very valuable player He was a catcher and because ..ne was a smart fellow and had lots of ginger he was named captain of the club.
 developments in the expose of Cra- yer, Hall and Devlin showed that soon after Craver became captain of the Louisville team he was approached by gamblers and for monetary consider : tion became their tool, But Cravcr told the gamblers that he couldn't throw ball games alones that he would have to have the assistance of at least two of his teammates. He assured the gamblers that he could get Devlin, tie first baseman, and Hall. center fielder to work with him if he wass given a good sum of money. The deal was made and Hall and Devlin became associates of Craver.
 "Just how instrumental the trio was l in the defeats of the Louisville team before 1t came to Chicago in mid