New Britain herald., 1919-09-03
COMING SERIES MAY BE OF g GAME PLAN
National Commission ReCom- mends Change to Major Leagues

Chicago, Sept. 3.--BeCause of the unprecedented demand for worlds series seats this fall the National com mission yesterday recommended that the series be increased to nine games instead of the usual seven. The pro- posal was sent last night to the club owners of the American and National leagues for immediate ratification.
 Under the proposed plan the rival clubs would share in the receipts of the first five games instead of the first four as in former years. The vic torious team would have to take five of the nine contests to win the worlds championship. Heretofore the cham pionship was decided when one of the clubs won four of the seven contests. The players would divide their appor- toned share of the five game receipts on a 60 and 40 per cent. basis, 60 per cent going to the winning club.
 Would Benefit Public.
 August Hermann, chairman of the commission, explained that the recom- mendation was made for no other req son than to benefit the public by per hitting larger number of persons to see at least one of the games. Al though the Cincinnati club has not clinched the National league pennant, Hermann, who also is president of the Reds, said he had received 29,00O applications for seats from outside of Cincinnati
 There are more than 100, ,0O0 per sons in Cincinnati who want to see the series and it will be an impossibility to accommodate a third of them un der the seven game plen,' he said. The city is baseball wild. It seems that the entire south is planning on coming to Cincinnati if for tunate as to win the National league flag"
 Hermann announced that plans for the series would not be made until the pennant races are definitely decided, which probably will not be for ten days or two weeks
 The nine game worlds series was tried once before, back in 1903, the first year in which the champions of the National and American leagues met. The Boston Americans defeated Pittsburgh in his series in eight games, the Red Sox winning five games to three for the Pirates.
 The rival teams conducted their own series that year and in 1904 the New York Nationals refuseds to play the Boston Americans. When the National 
 worlds series in 1905 and drew up the worlds series rules 1t decided on a series of seven games, having decided that the series of 1903 had been stretched out too long.
 Since then there have been several efforts made to increase the length of the worlds series to nine games, the main argument used being that so few series ever run out to the full seven games and that the fans would like to see more of the games.
 Few Series Go Limit.
 The only series that stretched out to the full seven games since the Ma tional commission took charge were the series of 1909 and 1912. The 1912 series lasted eight games, as there was one tie. One series, that of 1914, was played in four games. and seven have been played in five games. That seems the favorite length. Four have gone to six games.
 Heretofore the National commission always has drowned on efforts to in crease the length of the series, and in justice to tho commission 1t must be said that it did this in spite of the fact that by keeping it in a seven game limit the rival clubs lost considerable money Worlds series have become so popular In recent years that clubs sell tickets for the series, and usually 1t Is necessary to refund quite an amount after series have been termi- mated in five games.