New Britain herald., 1925-02-13
WINS WEALTH AND
 GLORY WITH TEAM
Frank J. NaVin Has Made De. trolt a Big Baseball Town

Detroit, Feb, 1S.-Unlucky h politics, lucky in baseball, is .he way Frank J. Navin, preslden. of the Detroit American League A-se- ball club, probably would say T.
 Mir. Navn, who has transformed Detroit from a rube baseball town Ito one of the capitals of random, eonfesses he was a false alarm as a politician, a sort Of modern Don QuiXote joustinG with the wind mill, He could not convince several hundred voters in a Detroit sub- urb that he should be their choice for justice of the peace, but in the years that have followed he has been elected to important places in the baseball world by his fellow magnates. He rose recently to mem- bership on the Advisory Council, highest tribunal of baseball, by re- placing Ban Johnson as the Amer !can Leagues representative.
 MT. Navin set out to become a lawyer. Coming 10 Detroit from Adrian, Mich. where he was born in 1871, he worked his way through school and graduated in law, a pro- fession he never followed, however. His initial flyer in politics proving A failure, he was mentioned for a oity hall clerkship paying $2,5O0, and then he took up baseball. He became an employee of S. F. An gus. owner of Detroit's drowsy ball club. Angus wanted 10 get out of the game. Ban Johnson, president of the American League, came to De- troit In an effort to get rid of the white elephant.
 MT. Nayin. whose friends call him . modern Midas and who, they say, never gambes with fate, made his greatest gamble then. Without sui f1cient money himself to swing the deal, he interested William Yawlzey, wealthy sportsman. Yawkey put up the money and Navin became man. sger of the club.
 The rest of the story of the De- kroit baseball club and Frank J. Favin is the story of man taking a losing proposition, driving through years of Encouragement to bring his organization finally to the peak of financial and diamond success.
 Two major chapters appear in the book Frank Navin has written with bats, balls, mitts and money on the hard clay and green grass of Navin field. The first was his coup in bringing to Detroit as manager Hughie Jen ng - "Eeh-ah," grass-pulling Jennings. The second was the purchase of Ty Cobb,
 By many the signing of Jennings Is regarded as MT. Navin's great est stroke in baseball. The new manager, obtained for $500 from Baltimore, calked the seams of dis cord in the Tiger craft and devel- oped three pennant-winning clubs. He took Detroit by storm and Is credited with having aroused this city to the intense interest in base ball which 1t displays to this day.
 Mir. Navin's smartest piece of re- cruiting was done in 1905 when he got Ty Cobb from Augusta, Ga, for $500. To get the fiery Georgian in mid-season he had to pay an addi- tional s20O. This $7O0 has been call ed the most fortunate baseball tn- yestment ever made, insofar as player purchases are concerned.
 In carrying through his baseball policies Mr. Navin has had the satisfaction of seeing Detroit move from the joke classification of base ball cities to a city with gate ex- ceeded each year only by New York: and he has seen the Detroit baseball club rise from a liability to an asset which, 1t has been esti- mated, returns to its president S100,o00 annually.