The globe-independent. (Hagerstown, Md.) 1943-19??, 1952-08-21
Gene Roney Appreciation Night!
By H. S. Douglas

Under the sponsorship of the Hagerown Chamber of Com
and all the Service Clubs Gene Rany Appreciation Night
will be held the stadium Monday night August g. when
Allentown will be here for double header and this
plea to all of you to take part in
Back in the winter of l949 when Mr. Raney with group
of citizens in his Office and agreed buy the Hageon Ball Club
from Oen Sterling that organized baseball would be
4agerstovn he stated plain language that he buying
the club the of making but because he loved
baseball and also because he appreciated the patronage he had
ceved from the people of the community during the twenty
he had been in business in Hagerstown
After agreement reached with the Mayor and Council
whereby Mr. Raney hveyea lease of the stadium he
told the writer again that he would be perfectly satisfied he could
break with his ball club during the hveyar of his lease
AS you will remember spent well $4,000 before the
opening day of 1850 He built the present clubhouse
which, without question is the best the league he enlarged and
modenzed the and completely rebuilt the nhed that
that time, just about the n the league.
Even with these expenditures Mr. Raney would probably have
broken in 1880 when there attendance of around
9OOOO had been another unexpected expenditure of
some 10000
Those of you who followed the club 1850 will well remember
that August the took sudden nosedve and for while
looked they doomed finish in the second division But
Gene Rn who before the opened made public statement
that he would do everything in his winning ball club
the field refused to give and went into the market
and spent $4,000 buy Jimmy Znn Tommy Lind and Nat Gunt
and you all know what happened when they arrived The club
started clicking again and finally wound second place
Last year Mr. Raney Hagerstown better ball club
than the $50 squad and his player payroll probably the highest
in the league But though the Braves the that
year, the overall attendance 10000 less than in 1850
This the record speaks for itself AS this written Mon
day aternoon) the Braves by four full the
place Allentown Cards. and they have been around the
opening day Yet total paid attendance far this
year, with the end of the less than three weeks
actually less than 10000 and that knows anything about
baseball knows that club has the red with
tendance like that
1t obvious therefore, that unless Hagersown really
supporting the Ball Club Mr. Raney by the time his veyear lease
lit has go) stands lose lot OF money
Some club faced with this situation would start cutting
right and left by getting rid of their high paid good ball
players and replacing them with hem players much
smaller salaries But Gene Raney isn't that of He has
kept his club intact despite his high payroll
believe of you who read this will agree with that
Mr. Raney deserves world of credit for all that
doing for the sake of organized baseball Hagerstown you
do with practical you show your appreciation
by packing the ball park Monday and then continuing
attend all the few remaining home increasing
We've ball club that of the heap and few
short weeks feel certain that the all the metropolitan
Maryland Pennsyvan and Delaware least will
the world that the Hageon Braves have the In
terstate League for the second straight year
through the efforts of Gene Raney backed
era field and the players that
about and to all of thanks Them through
the tunses Monday night that igh has been designated
as Gene Raney Appreciation Night