Evening star., 1923-12-19


This man, who has secuted every
part of the United States. and who
has spent as much money for players
as any single individual in the world
not his own money, of course-says
the ball player hereafter will bring
nothing like the high price he has in
the past.
There must be a reason for such a
condition if it exists. and the, reason,
according 10 this prophet, lies in the
showing made in 1928 by the players
sums. The 1923 crop of lemons never
was surpassed in the history of base
ball Three hundred thousand dollars
went to waste without raising any
thing but thirst, and the base ball
owners who had gambled and lost all
that money felt offended. They didn't
hold themselves responsible. though
OF course they are. because they took
the gamble. They hold the players
responsible because they didn't make
good, and they hold the selling clubs
responsible because the latter have
got the money.
Only Ruth Has Made Good.
The only player ever purchased for
100000 or more who has made good
IN base ball is Babe Ruth. according
for a living. He thinks there is no
ball player selling for $4,000 who has
made good for two years. Possibly
this opinion is the result of observa-
tion during the past season. Ger,
.tainly there was not enough actual
profit made on the players of high
cost In 1923 to warrant continuing top
figures for ordinary men.
If the opinions of this man are
proved. to be correct it is probable
he he
as that of the high-water mark IN
base bali valuations, but the order
Of the Brooklyn club must be given
its proper standing with the offers
top price is more than quarter OF
:, million dollars against the few PEN
nies which were given for the hrst
ball player ever sold from one club
TO another. There is an interesting
fact in connection with that first ball
player who was sold. He is worth
1now something like one million dol
lars, so his friends say. Ciphers run
prodigal races in base ball.
Has Made the Most Money.
Another point to be raised in con-
nection with this matter of ball play
ers and their capitalization is that
Ruth, the most successful investment
of all, has made the most money as
a single individual of all the players
in base ball history.
Ruth said Jack Dunn, who
brought the young man up in base
ball. should have a monument to
himself in the American League, and
the National League should coop
crate in building it. Ruth made base
ball when it needed help the worst
kind of a way after the war.
Some one said that Col. Rupert
values his base ball holdings at s1o.-
100000. If that is the case. Ruth is
the only ball player in the world who
has made s10.000,000 for another man.
BY that ] mean the only player to
whom that sum can be directly at
tributed as downright earnings, for
what was the New York American
i League club worth before Ruth joined
UT? 1t seems to me that this is an
snstance where the ability of a player
TO make money is proved. and If he
made that much for one man what
did he make in addition for the re-
mainder of his league and indirectly
for the National League? d know
that sometimes base ball men say
players do not make money for them.
bue All submit my argument in this
case to any court on earth"
Babe Is a Century Plant.
There seems to have been but one
Ruth in all base ball history. and the
men who let hundreds of thousands
of dollars filter through their fingers
without success, trying to find an
other Ruth, are getting ready to shut
down on the big gamble for the i'm
possible. 1t seems that they grow
only one Ruth to the century He's
the century plant of base ball.