Evening star., 1951-08-05
Del Webb Indicates
Baseball Men Blame
Happy for Inquiry
By Miriom Gutenberg

BY MIrlom Gutenberg
A. B. (Happy) Chandler, de-
posed baseball commissioner. to-
morrow goes before the House
Monopoly subcommittee investi-
eating the game, and the investi-
gators have two days worth of
questions to ask him.
AS the erstwhile commissioner
prepared to take his turn at bat,
one of the owners who will pick
his successor limited broadly to
newsmen that organized baseball
is blaming the congressional in
quiry on Chandler.
"We wouldn't be in this trouble
If we'd had the proper kind of
commissioner" said Del Webb, CO.
owner of the New York Yankees
and chairman of the major league
owners steering committee for
the selection of a new commits
sioner.
Owners Meet Tuesday.
Chandler probably will still be
on the stand Tuesday when the
owners meet in New York to
choose a new commissioner. Two
of last weeks witnesses before the
subcommittee-Ford Frick, presi-
tdent of the National League. and
George M. Trautman, boss of the
minors-have been mentioned for
the job. Webb said opinion is
about evenly divided between
baseball man and a man from
outside the game.
Without mentioning Chandler
by name, Webb said the commits
sioner should have examined base
ball like this committee is do
ing"
When you have a problem like
the st. Louis Browns" he added,
you should do more than sit
back and laugh about it."
He was referring to the finan-
cial difficulties of the Browns.
which have resulted in four
changes in ownership in 10 years.
The subcommittee has asked sew
eral times why the Browns have
not been moved to a city that
could support them.
| Gardella Got Settlement.
Many OF the questions posed
last week were met with the re-
joiner that the commissioner was
the man to answer that. One set
OF questions dealt with why Is
players were given five-year sus-
pensions for jumping" to the
Mexican League and why they
were reinstated in three years.
1t was brought out that after the
commissioner suspended them, the
club owners approved a new rule
providing for five-year suspensions
and then the commissioner rein
stated the players contrary to the
new rule.
The players were reinstated
after several Of them filed suit and
the appeals court in New York told
District Court to hear one of the
eases, the suit brought by Danny
Gardeila, wartime outfielder for
the Giants. Gardella got a finan-
clal settlement, estimated at S25
-000. but the exact figure has never
come out officially.
The subcommittee may decide
TO stay away from the details of
these cases-dnd why Chandler
settled-until the inquiry resumes
IN the fall after the World Series
1t was learned that Gardella
Mickey Owen, now a Chicago
Cubs catcher, and Max Lanier. St /
Louis Cardinal pitcher, all will be
called before the subcommittee
They were among the suspended
players who returned to baseball
after the Chandler amnesty.
Two Major Issues.
TomorroW's questioning is ex-
pected to center on the powers of
the commissioner and what
Chandler thinks of the two major
issues in the congressional anti
trust nveStigation-the reserve
clause" giving a club owner ex-
elusive rights to a players serv-
ices for as long as the owner
wants him, and territorial
rights" The latter arrangement
gives club owners the right to veto
the movement of other clubs from
one city to another.
The subcommittee expects to
get a preview of Chambers ideas /
tonight. Chairman Celer, it was
learned, is having dinner with him
and Committee Counsel E. Ernest
Goldstein will meet with him
later.