The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-07-17
Even Second Berth Clubs
 Enjoy Profit

New York, July IT. CUP) The most astounding baseball patronage of all time made it virtual cer- tainty today that more than half of the 16 major league teams will set new attendance records for single campaign, long before the 1946 season is ended.
 The New York Yankees, who already have passed every existing American league mark for a single season, will set new major league attendance figure today when they meet the St. Louis Browns in a double header. The Yankees, with 1,480,775 paid admissions to date, will pass the all-time major league high of ,485, ,166 met by the Chi cago Cubs of 1929. And with 29 more home games to play, there is a reasonable expectancy that the Yankees will play to more than 2,375,000 fans for the season un- less there is sharp drop in crowds from hereout
 The tremendous upsurge in crowds in general with even the hopelessly outclassed second division clubs sharing the increased revenue according to United Press atten- dance survey.
 Phillies PsOper
 To date, the eight American league teams have played to $685. 453 fans and within another week should go beyond the final l945 league totals 5,865,8 The same story holds for the National league clubs which have sdraWn 4,858,342 paying fans to date as compared with 5,258,338 for the entire l945 campaign.
 Four clubs, the Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the American league and the surprising Philadel- ohia 1'hillies and Boston Braves in the National league, have topped their all-time previous high attend ance totals with better than a third of the season to go.
 Easing the final estimated 1946 crowds in each park to date, all but three National league teams, The Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pi- rates and Cincinnati Reds, and three in the American, the Phila- delphia Athletics, Cleveland In- dians, and St, Louis Browns seem destined to set new high totals for a single year
 The following tables show the trends in turnstile turnover in the 16 major league parks in the first postwar boom year of the golden era in sports
 National Loop Hot
 Thus, if crowd at all parks con- tinue, and Wth the increasing in- tensity of the National league pen- nant race, they may even go be- yond previous levels for the season. 1 the two major leagues may be ex pected to play to close to 10000 GOO 1 paying fans for the sampaign.
 It is even reasonable to assume l that the final 1946 attendance fig 1 ures will be higher than the cumu- lative total of all the season l records of the Is teams in their | best years which is IA. BOT ,695
 Just how much greater the crowds would be if they were not limited l by the capacity of the ball parks | is a matter of conjecture, but it is certain the increase would be a | mammoth one. Even mammoth | Yankee stadium in New York, ire quently is sold out on Sunday, holi- day or night games, and turnaWay crowds are almost daily occurrence at FenWay Park home of the run away Red SoX in Boston and at Ebbets Field where the ever loyal supporters of the Dodgers hold forth at Brooklyn.
 In addition 70 the Yankees, Red Sox, Phils and Braves who have set new all-time reason attendance records, the Cincinnati Reds of the National and Cleveland Indians of the American already have topped thelr 1945 season totals. The Wash hgton Senators in the American, and the Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals in the National are ex pected to go beyond their 1945 to- tals shortly
 The comparison with 1945 crowds is significant because both leagues ret all-time attendance records during that campaign. ..