Evening star., 1939-02-22
Fost Signing Indicates
Foxx's Terms Were Met

InOSe may be correct. On the
other hand, public estimates of ball
players salaries seldom are sound
and information has come to the
spacious ears of your correspondent
to the effect that Mr.. Foxx is the
leader, with the lineup somewhat as
follows:
FoXX-$35 900.
Gehrig-$34,000.
Greenberg-$30,000.
When Foxx signed on with Uncle
Thomas Yawkey's outfit, Uncle
Thomas gave him a one-year con-
tract for $4,000. Mr.. Yawkey oper-
ates 10-dollar-bill ranch, feeding
his livestock on nothing but the
tender inside leaf, except for the
goats, who nibble away at $2's and
SIS and seem to like it. 1t was the
work of moment for Uncle Tom
to pluck $500 ripe specimens from
the sawbuck grove and ship them
on to FoXx.
Jim had bad year in 1887, and
the boss, though still richer than
March mud, Topped $4,000 off the
slugger's wage. Last year, FoXX was
the biggest thing in baseball, by
official vote, and I hear that, when
he dickered over terms this winter,
he insisted on the restoration of the
lost five grand over and above his
standard fee of S25 900, plus a raise
of $4,000 for services rendered.
making S35 900 in all.
The fact that Mr.. Yawkey wasted
very little time in signing his favor
ite slave seems to indicate that he
fell in with Mr.. FoxX's wishes-all
the more willingly, perhaps, in con-
sideration of the fact that, if he
doesn't get rid of certain amount
of money, the Government tax
, collectors will nail him in higher
bracket.
Thus, there is a good possibility
that FoXX-of whom William Har-
old Terry once exclaimed. MY gosh!
He's even got muscles in his chin!"-
now is the highest paid athlete in
the game. which always has been
his ambition.
Hard -Swatting Medwick
Gets in Wrong Loop.
Gehrig, custodian of that honor
since the retirement of Babe Ruth,
also may be getting S35 900, but it
seems pretty certain that he was cut
full $1,000 from his peak of
$4,000.
AS for Greenberg, I do not deny
that his home run putsch in the last
half OF the 1888 season drew almost
as much money through the wickets
as the efforts of all the other dis
illusioned Tigers together, but Hank
Is a newcomer compared with FoxX
and Gehrig, and 1 doubt if he has
caught up with them yet, fiscally.
His owner, Walter Briggs, probably
will have pointed out to him that
FoXX and Gehrig are tops and de-
serve to stay there another year or
two.
The man who is fuming harder
over the wealth and position of these
three American League first base
men than any one else is Joe Med
wick. Fate has been harsh with
Joseph.
Few active ball players deny that
MedWick is the most valuable indi-
vidual in the National League.
Playing with the Yankees, Red Sox,
or Tigers, he would be knocking
down 30-thousand-o odd dollars per
annum himself, if not more. He is
a better natural hitter than Foxx,
Gehrig, or Greenberg and more use
full defensively. Beyond this. he prob
ably would collect more home runs
in the other league than he does in
the National and he hits a good
many where he is.
But Medwick's destiny led him
to the doorstep of Mr. Branch Hickey
and Mr.. Sam Breadon and dumped
him there, and the Cardinals simply
do not lay out the kind of money
that Joe is entitled to- He is stris-
ing now for something in the neigh
borhood of $25.0O0, and the chances
are he will settle for less.
You cannot blame Mr.. MedWick
If he mutters lucky bum!' when
he sees Greenberg, Foxx, or Gehrig
pass by. Stuffed shirts, is the way
Joe feels about it. And he'd sell
his soul for the same sort of stuffing.
Copyright, 1889. by the North ATerican