Evening star., 1958-07-15
Pay-TV Fear
Raised Durinc
Trust Hearing
Orsey Instig0ted
Bid to Move Club,
Griffith Testifies
BY LEWIS r. ATCHIsON
star stan Writer


right TO control telecasts Of ma
jor league games was expressed
today BY Senator O'Mahoney,
Democrat Of Wyoming, during
questioning Of Calvin Grifhth,
president Of the Washington
Senators. and John E. Powell,
attorney for the club.
They testified as the Senate
Antitrust Subcommittee re-
sumed hearings on a House.
passed bill to free baseball, pro
football. hockey and basketball
from antitrust law.
Ford Prick. baseball commits
sioner. and Paul Porter and
Ben Fiery, counsel for the ma
jor leagues. were among the
spectators when Griffith took
the stand. Although today's
hearings were not as hilarious
as those last week. when Mana
ger Casey Stengel of the YAM
KEGS entertained the committee
for over an hour. they did pro-
duce some laughs.
Points to Old Rule
O'Mahoney and Powell tam
gled over their interpretations
of the wording Of the bill.
Powell contended the Justice
Departments's ruling several
years ago forcing unlimited
telecasting of games had hurt
the game economically. He
said that under the old rule
which baseball adopted in 1916
and amended in 194o, the
minor leagues were protected
from radio and TV invasion
by the majors.
This rule barred the broad
cast or telecast of big league
games into territory where a
minor league game was being
played or broadcast.
O'Mahoney wanted to know
why baseball would object to
an amendment guaranteeing
that there would be no attempt
to put in pay TV until the pay
TV problem has been settled
by Congress. Both Powell and
Griffith said they liked the bill
as it is now.
DeOrsey Behind Move
Scoring Grifhth on his re-
peated threats to transfer the
franchise to another city,
O'Mahoney drew an admission
from Calvin that c. Leo De-
Orsey was the director who
instigated the latest proposed
move.
Griffith was reluctant to
divulge DeOrsey's identity. It
was only after O'Mahoney
issued an open invitation to
the unknown director" to
come forth that Powell advised
Griffith to name him.
O'Mahoney, the only Senator
present until Senator Carroll,
Democrat of Colorado, showed
up about a half hour after the
start of the session. made much
of the fact that Griffith talked
about moving the team only
last week after publicly stating
in January that it would never
be moved during his lifetime.
Griffith. said what he meant
was the the club wouldn't be
moved as long as it could oper-
ate successfully.
II doubt if I made a state
ment like that" Cal said. "I
wouldn't put myself in a posi-
ton of saying the franchise
wouldn't be moved"
Questioned about the story
which broke the Sunday before
the All-Star Game, in which
Griffith said the other Ameri-
can League clubs would be
asked for permission to move
the franchise, Cal said that was
incorrect. He said he went to
Baltimore to seek the advice of
the other league members. He
said he found out "immedi-
ately" that the owners were
against 1t.
Admits Bad Timing
O'Mahoney asked if the mat
ter had not been brought up
untimely, adding that it wasn't
even on the agenda.
When o O'Mahoney tried to OBJ
tain DeOrsey's name, Griffith
first demurred on the ground
that he didn't want to "in-
criminate anybody" O'Ma-
honey said he wouldn't have to
take the Fifth Amendment.
But all sports-minded people
in the hearing room were aware
of the directors identity when
Calvin disclosed he was "out
of the country" DeOrsey has
been vacationing in Canada.
O'Mahoney, as at last weeks
hearing, was extremely critical
of the bill. He again won
dered why baseball, which has
See HEARING, Page All
EA%IIE c