Evening star., 1939-05-18
Sees Major Loop
On Pacific Coast
In 50 Years
AirpIones Would Put
Inland Cities Into
Far West Group
BY GAYLE TALBOT,
AScociotad prace Cnortr uTri+ a p


NEW YORK, May 18.-Ford Frick
youthful president of the National
League, foresees lot of things, in
cluding a third major league on the
Pacific Coast within SO years, but
he doesn't think any of us will live
to see change in the present line
up of big league cities.
He had been asked if there was
anything to a red-hot rumor going
the rounds that the baseball mag
mates were toying with the idea of
reducing ST. Louis and Philadelphia
to one-team towns. It's a rumor
that crops up every year about this
time, springing, no doubt, from COM
mon knowledge that the four club
owners in the two cities gradually
are starving to death and that
everybody concerned would welcome
such change
It's great idea" Frick admitted,
but nothing is being done about
it because nothing can be done
absolutely nothing. It's just one of
those things Maybe Id better ex-
plain the situation.
Take, for instance, st. Louis.
There's no doubt it doesn't need
both National and an American
League club. President Sam
Breadon of the Cardinals makes no
secret that he would like to move
his team TO Detroit, which is a great
city and a swell baseball town. 1t
surely would support another club.
Briggs Is Invulnerable.
But what does Breadon run into
there? Only the fact that Walter
Briggs of the Tigers owns the De-
troit franchise and has exclusive ter
ritorlal rights. No other team can
move in without his permission.
All right, suppose Briggs says
he'll make deal and let the Car
dinals move into Detroit if Brooklyn
will move over and make room for
an American League team. It's
doubtful Briggs would make such a
proposition and even more doubtful
the Brooklyn owners would agree to
it. But if they did then you would
have 4 of the l6 big league teams
concentrated right here in New
York. Maybe the Giants and the
Yankees wouldn't like that
so, you see, the whole proposition
is so involved that it doesn't seem
worth the effort. The one thing we
really have in baseball is ironclad
territorial rights. Even a class &C.
team could block any change we
tried to make if it thought we were
infringing on its territory.
Can't Get Into Jersey.
There's been a lot of talk about
moving big league team into Jersey
City. 1t couldn't be done unless
every club in the International
League gave its consent. and you can
guess how much chance there is of
that happening. Newark would be
the first to block such move, which
would put the Bears in direct COM
petition with big league ball
Ihe same goes Tor any other city
we might select-Baltimore, Min
neapoliS, all of them. There's only
one chance 1 can see for there to
be new big league city. One of
these days we might have eight of
them out West.
The way that whole country is
growing so years from now there
might be third major league COM
posed of the biggest coast cities
and taking in cities as far east as
Houston and Kansas City. Their
long hops, of course, would be made
by airplane. For the reasons I've
already given, Los Angeles and San
Francisco never can hope to be
taken into the present big leagues. p"
Just returned from a lengthy tour
of the country, Frick says the best
baseball town in the country right
now is Cincinnati.