The Wilmington morning star., 1940-12-06
deal IS BIGGEST
OF DAY AT MEET
$4,000 Involved In Purchase;
BUGS Release Waner In
Other Action Of Day
BY JUDSON BAILEY

| when the winter baseball meetings
were about to die of melancholia,
the New York Giants tonight pur-
chased Pitcher Bob Bowman from
the st. Louis Cardinals for a sum
estimated at $50, 900 and set the
lobby gossips back on their heels
again.
Until this happen-l it had been
a dull day, so ~listless in fact that
representatives of several major
league clubs packed their satchels
and went home.
The minor league club owners
and league presidents held a long,
argumentative session in W h i c h
they voted on more than a score
of proposed amendments to their
working rules and the major league
owners and managers milled
around admitting, for the most
part, that the trading outlook was
hopeless.
The Pittsburgh Pirates per-
formed a sad but necessary duty
and released their veteran out
fielder, Paul Waner, outright. 9th
er clubs fooled around with small
functions, sending exces players
to minor league farms, fixing up
working agreements for the 1941
season and making last futile at
tempts at trades of Importance.
The one oasis in this desert of
nothingness was room 1885 of
the headquarters (Ansley) hotel
where Manager Bill Terry of the
Giants hid away to bargain from
early in the morning until late at
night.
At the time the Giants broke
the trading lull to announce the
Bowman purchase, they empha-
sized that Terry was working on
at least n and possibly other
deals of some magnitude. Til e
needs of the Giants were so nu-
merous that it was difficult to
surmise what was in the wind.
Bowman is the 26-year-old right
handed hurler who beaned Ducky
Medwick of Brooklyn last summer
and his acquisition by the Giants
not only gave them a first line
pitcher, but famed their famous
feud with the Do'~ers to a new
heat.
Bowman was raised up through
the Cardinal farm system and en-
tered the National league in 1889,
when he won 10 and lost five for
the Redbirds with an earned run
average of 2.61. Last season when
the Cards slipped a bit, Bowman
won seven and lost five.
Waner's unconditional release
was the days best sentimental
story. President Bill BensWangeI
came to the press room to make
the announcement that the little
fellow who had starred for the
Pirates for fifteen years was out
of a job.
1--WE didn't like to let him co.
said Benswanger, "because he has
been an institution in Pittsburgh.
It's different when a player spends
his whole career with one club
than when he sticks in the majors
a long time, but bounces around
from one team to another.
1--WE parted friendly. Paul came
here from his home il Florida ano
we told him to try to make a dea.
for himself. He wasn't able to dc
this SO we had to give him a re-
lease. He realized we didn't have
any choice-that youngsters were
coming up to take his job just
like he came in fresh to take
somebody else's in 1926"
Waner, elder of the famous big
and Little Poison brother act OF
the Pirates for {: many years
earned the National league batting
championship in 1927, 1884 anc
1886 and held many hitting records.
He batted over 300 in 10 out O.
Is years and in eight of these
seasons had more than 200 hits
He is 81 years old. His brother
Lloyd, three years younger, still
is on the Pirate roster, but his
status too is questionable now.
In the convention session itself,
the minors voted down two propo
sails to pare down the reserve FUND
of nearly a quarter of a million
dollars accumulated by the Nation
al association. One would have
ordered a distribution of $780, O(
back to the member clubs anc
the other would have sliced the
commission of the office Of Presi
dent William G.. Bramham on han
ding contracts from 2 per cent t.
l per cent.
The minors approved one amend
r ment that would place any playel
drafted to army duty on the vol
unfairly retired list without re
sriction and another which woule
allow a representative of n clul
to sign, as well as recommend
players for another club. The Latter
was the same rule in a differen
guise that Commissioner K. M
Lands vetoed last winter at the
meetings in Cincinnati.
crrIEnIII u IT'D NJ