The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-12-29
BIG BUSINESS IN BASEBALL,
THE ANSWER?
BY n. ID. Cochran

Isn't there angle to that Ty CobbTris Speaker
story that the sporting editors haven't touched?
Let's throw a few facts together and see what we
can make of them of the developments OF recent
years in the rise of outstanding stars
Babe Ruth Ty Cobb Iris Speaker, Rogers Hornsby
Eddie Collins and others with whose names all lals
familiar.
All were great drawing cards. Their sensational
playing brought money in at the gate and made base
ball a big money-making business enterprise Thou
sands paid their way to the big stars do their
stuff Babe Ruths home runs made the New York
Yankees hundreds of thousands of dollars. Ty Cobbs
sensational hitting and base running made the Detroit
Tigers big drawing card all over the American League
circuit
Shrewd managers paid big money for promising
stars who might Cobbs Ruths. Speakers Horns
bys Colnses They wanted attractions that would
pull money at the gate Organized baseball was so
geared up that of the clubs that sold stars got
all the purchase and the stars none of it, HUI
man beings bought and sold like cattle.
Owners of clubs got more free advertising than
any other business enterprise in America Stars be-
came conscious of their gate value and demanded
higher compensation for the services they
Owners had edge them, however, because they
were organized that playing star could sell his
services in open competitive market. There was
literally alright baseball trust
Fans didn't pay their way into the grounds to
see McGraw Navin, Dreyfus Comiskey Breadon or
any other owner. They certainly didn't to the
to Judge Lands Presidents johnson Heydler.
The owners and nonplaying managers didn't draw a
nickel the gate.
During the season of 1926 something happened.
Detroit Cleveland, Chicago and St. Louis let out high
salaried playing stars Cobb, Speaker, Collins and
Hornsby walked the plank after having played the
game with all their might and making big money
for their
But when the two big leagues met they gave Judge
Lands, of baseball seven-year contract
boosted his salary to $65000. Shortly after that
Lands made. public story the lone word of
Dutch Leonard, former Detroit pitcher reflect
ing the integrity of Cobb Speaker The charge
that these two stars had conspired to throw a
game back in 1919, between Detroit and Cleveland
that conspiracy entered into concerning the game
and some betting done None of it by Cobb and
Speaker, but bare 5000 by Leonard and Pitcher Joe
Wood.
There is more to the story, but these the
bones of it. Now certain questions suggest them
selves: Why the story kept under cover seven
long years? Why did it come out when so many own
the national game the junk pile? Why did Breadon
Rogers had piloted the Cardinals to a worlds cham
pionship and merely because Hornsby wanted more
pay for his very valuable services-and then vote to
raise Judge Lands pay to $65,OOo year?
Were the salaries of mounting too high?
Did the owners get greedy and want to hog more of
the profit? Did they get their heads together de-
eide to cut wages Of players? And the old
story-seven years olddug up to alib them and quiet
the indignation of fans by smrching such baseball
heroes as Ty Cobb and Iris Speaker?
What did Lands do to a boost in pay to
$4,000 a year for seven more years? Figure it out
yourself | have some suspicious of my own It looks
like big business in baseball to