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Salary Limits Are a Joke; They Do Not Stick
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Yet Most Minor League Clubs Are Losing Money
By Percy 11. Whiting.
r"p HE man who invents away to
j make a salary limit stick
ought to get a pension of a
million a year from the club own
ers of organized baseball.
As a business proposition tha
ownership of a minor league base
ball club is a fright. It costs money
like a prodigal son.
Look over the whole field.
The first thing that strikes you
are the exceptions. There are a
few minor league clubs in the world
that net good money almost every
year. Possibly they number 5 per
cent of the whole.
The rest make money occasional
ly. Almost any club can make
money w'hen It wins a pennant.
More than half of those in the
country can show a fair profit if
they finish one-two-three. And
that’s the reason salary limits don’t
stick.
A man owns a franchise. He, is
bound by a salary limit which says
that he can not pay over a certain
sum a year for players. He knows
that that sum is all that the league
can stand, provided more than half
the clubs are to make money. But
then he knows that a pennant win
ner makes hig money. So he gam
bios a bit. He goes over the limit,
gets a mess of playerg and takes
a chance. If the team comes
through a winner he make? his ex
tra salary money back —and a lot
more. If it doesn’t—oh. well, he
took a gambler’s chance.
• * •
THE Southern league has been
wrestling with the salary limit
ever since it was organized. I’ve
been to most of . the meetings, and
I know what happened at the rest.
The duh owners argue the thing
over as seriously as judges, they
talk about salary limits as though
they were sacred things. You al
most never hear anybody admit
that the salary limit has been ex
ceeded by anybody. Once —that
was the meeting after the Mem
phis club spent more than a thou
sand dolars a month over the
limit all the season—the owners
admitted openly that the limit had
been a jest and a laughing matter.
Hut generally they arc as earnest
about it as fraternity lads discuss- I
ing the ritual.
i And then, after an earnest meet
ing. all of them go home and devise
means of exceeding the limit with
out getting caught.
It can be safely said that the
only clubs that have not gone over
the limit in recent years have been
those which couldn’t afford to take
the chance
» • •
VARIOUS means have been tried
of malting the limit stick. It is
likely that the Southern league has
the strictest salary limit rules of
any minor league
But do they limit?
You all know the answer.
Salary limits will amount to
nothing until such time as the club
owners get together and make a
"gentleman's agreement" not to go
over some set sum You can’t make
them do It by rule
A campaign of edrrcatlon is need
ed. When the club owners can be
brought to see that what’s for the
good of one is tor the good of all
they may let the salary limit stick.
Until they do, all the talk about it
is foolish. For no salary limit rule
can be devised so air tight that any
manager can’t blow through it any
time he really trie*
iCTHE American Association Is’
* the biggest joke league 1n
the world,” a man who owned a
club in that league told me once.
"It Is made up of a half dozen
youngsters and s couple of hundred
old-timers. The old-timers are
drawing salaries not 1n proportion
to their present ability, but accord
ing to what they did once. It’s a
fine league and everybody 1n it is
losing money ”
That the association 1s a verit
able old players’ home Is demon
strated by a survey of the official
averages, just promulgated It
shows that 53 per cent of the play
ers’are old-timers wtth big league
experience, and that 6H per cent of
those who took part in as many as
100 games were veteran* of the
Big Show
Listen to a few of the names
Dolan, Lush. Schmidt. Bell. Bemis.
Beck, Tim Jordan. Parent, Sey
mour, Bradley, Conroy, Lord, Ber
gen. Thoney. Beebe. Beckendorf,
Street, Bransfield. Mattern. Betch
er, Holmes. Frill, Keefe, Bent,
REAL CROSS-COUNTRY
RUN PLANNED BY BEAN
Joe Bean. who is In charge of ath
letics at the Atlanta Athletic club, is
working tentatively on a scheme for a
real cross-country run. something At
lanta athlete'- have not had in a very
long time.
It is the hop< of Mr. Bean that lie
can arrange for a run from the club
bouse of the A VC. at East Lake to
the town club at Auburn avenue.
■A You will find that druggists every
vrtiere speak well of <'hainberlaln's
(fougl. Remedy They know from long
, IM-ri ?ne> in the s t |, o f it that in
youg n- ;■ 1-..
be depMMied upon, and that It o- pleas
amlfcafe to laki For sale In all
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Barger, Frock. Donovan, Winter.
Kleinow, Stricklett. and so on
through 139 names—-139 out of 261.
Leagues arc waking up to the
fact that old-timers aren't worth
what they cost that they- got sal
aries out of all proportion to the
service they tender and that their
market value is constantly grow
ing less, while young players—if
they are any good, which sortie of
'em are, sometimes ate constantly
increasing in value.
Several leagues, Including the
Sally, have limited the number of
players from big leagues who can
be carried. This move is in the
right direction, and it may be taken
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I'ppercutting With His Left.
GIBBONS TO MEET
16001171 FOB
KETCHELTITLE
NEW YORK. Dec. 2.—The mid
dleweight boxing title, which
has been kicked around like
the Ozark dog since the death of
Stanley Ketchel, is in a fail' way
to be decided here Wednesday night
when Mike Gibbons and Eddie Mc-
Goorty, generally recognized as the
best middleweights in the world,
will tight ten rounds in Madison
Square Garden, it will be the most
important bout of the year, and the
Immense amphitheater is expected
to prove inadequate for the throngs
that will apply for entrance.
Since the referee will not be
permitted under the law to name
the winner, the battle will not be
exactly s title match, but if there
should be a knockout, or if either
man should win in decisive fash
ion, the championship will be set
tled. to all Intents and purposes.
It will be a battle of cleverness
against terrific punching power.
Gibbons, the ‘•phantom.” and Mc-
Goorty, the “Oshkosh whale." have
proved themselves out of the class
of all other fighters of their weight
in America. In less than a year
both have fought their way from
pugilistic obscurity to the front
rank.
Gibbons a yea’ ago was a wel
terweight and as such whipped all
the aspirants in that brigade, and
whipped them proper. He became
widely recognized as the cleverest
boxer in the ring. His poundage,
however, was a trifle large for the
welterweight division, so he en
rolled with the middleweights, not
withstanding that he suffers a dis
advantage in weight in fighting
members of the latter class.
Proved He Had the Wallop.
McGoorty by his one-round
knockout victories ovei Dave
Smith, the Australian champion,
and Jack Harrison, holder of the
British middleweight title, topped
off a long st:lng of triumphs that
proved hint a real ing general with
a great wallop.
The folowers of Gibbons are an
enthusiastic legion who have
watched his ring work in amazed
admiration and believe that noth
ing les.- than a heavyweight can get
inside his worn), ■ ful defense with
a finishing punch McGoorty says
that the St. Paul box is a good
welterweight, but that his career
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. MONDAY. DECEMBER 2, 1912.
up In good time by the Southern. It
happens that the South is the Ideal
country for old-timers—that they
warm up Iln<- in the hot weather
of Dixie But this is one of the
very reasons why the Southern has
overdone the old-timer gag. The
clubs are paying big money for
small services and are not devel
oping as many young players as
they should.
If the league, at its coming meet
ing. should pass a rule limiting
every club to four players who had
pteviouslv seen big league service
they would put money in their
pockets an<] incidentally increase
the speed of the league.
G. ENGLISH GOES
BUT BIG JOB IN
WHITNEY BOOT
A FINE little Job Clarence Eng
lish has taken on his broad
and manly shoulders. Mr.
English has agreed to stop the pu
gilistic aspirations of Mr. Frank
Whitney, a scrapper of more or less
renown, in ten rounds. This is the
sort of job that John L. Sullivan
used to undertake when he was
playing melodrama, drinking booze,
and stopping all comers. Mr. Eng
lish lias no histrionic ambitions.
He eschews the flowing bowl, but
he declares he can beat nny bloke
that will give away as much weight
as Whitney has promised to do in
this match.
Under the terms of the agree
ment. Whitney must be on his back
and the referee must have pro
nounced his “unus. duo. ties, quat
tier. etc.,” chant before he rises for
English to win. And. as we re
marked before, It’s a nice job.
Whitney w ill not be giving away
a whole lot of avoirdupois to the
Omaha veteran. Whitney always
w eighs clcse around 138. while. En
glish can make 142 with all expedi
tion and ease. In addition to this.
Whitney has proved to Atlanta
fans that he is always able to take
pretty good care of himself under
any and all conditions.
Os course, a slushing, rough
house worker like English is liable
to stop anyßody at any time, and
of course there i,« not the scintilla
of a chance for Whitney to halt
him for though Whitney is a man
of marked cleverness he doesn’t
pack a punch. Still the battle
should be mighty lively—a finished
boxer against a tear-in scrapper,
and that's the kind of fight to see.
M'FARLAND VS. MURPHY.
CHICAGO. Dec. 2. Packer McFar
land and Eddie Murphy, the south Bos
ton lightweight were matched here to
day to go ten rounds at Kenosha on the
night of December 16. The boys have
agreed to do 135 pounds at 3 o'clock in
the afternoon. This will be the second
meeting of the pair. Packer defeating
Murphy at South Bend last February.
as a middleweight will end tomor
row. Eddie has gone so far as to
announce his plan to take on Frank
Klaus next. Klau- has the strong
est claim for a mutch with the new
champion, if one is discovered to
me low. Klaus has defeated Jack
Dillon, the hard-hitting Indianap
olis middlew eight, and George Car
pentier. tae fallen idol of France.
Spider Britt, Best Little
Scrapper in the South
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Working Out With Clarence English.
Harris Cope Picks an All-Sewanee All-Time Team
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Famous Coach Selects Eleven That Is a Peacherino
By Harris Cope.
IT is a rather difficult matter to
pick an all-Sewanee, all-time
team for the reason that they
have been playing football at Se
wanee for so many years, and be
cause it is difficult to get in touch
with any authority who has seen
both the old-time players and those
of today.
My own experience dates from
1X97 to the present time, and in se
lecting the 'players I have stayed
within the years between 1897 and
1912—the years I played and
coached.
• * *
’J7 OR left end I select Silas Wil
liams. He was a man 5 feet 8
inches tall, weight 150 pounds, and
was on the team in 1906, 1907 and
1908 He was picked as an all-
Southern end two years. He was a
good, hard player and had plenty of
brains.
For left tackle there is little ques
tion but that Lex Stone should
have the call. He was a man 6
feet 2 Inches tall, weighed 190
pounds and played three years on
the team —1905, 1906 and 1907. His
record is well known. He was a
marvelously good man, able to hold
his own with the very best.
XV. S. Claiborn. of the 1897, 1898,
1899 and 1900 teams, is picked for
the left guard. He was a six-foot
er, weighed 210, and was a steady,
clever player. He was an all-
Southern man.
At center goes another all-South
ern man, W. Poole. He was a six
footer, weighed 200 pounds, find had
four years experience on the Se
wanee teams—lß97, 1898, 1899 and
1900. He was a sure passer, a
good, defensive man. and steady.
He was always to be counted on.
For right guard there is no ques
tion but that the honors should go
to H. D. Phillips, who played five
years with the Sewanee team —
1900, 1901, 1902. 1903 and 1904. He
was 6 feet 3 inches tall, weighed
190. and was a corking all-around
man. I recall that he was picked
by J. W. Heisman on his all-
Southern, all-time team.
The right tackle job goes to
"Pap" Boling. This man was a
splendid player. He was 6 feet
■
Here. Is All-Sewanee Team for All- Time
Position. Player. Played When.
Left end—Silas Williamsl9o6, 1907, 1908.
Left Tackle—Lex Stone 1905,1906,1907.
Left Guard—W. S. Claiborn 1987. 1898. 1899, 1900.
Center—W. Poole 1897, 1898. 1899. 1900.
Right Guard—H. D. Phillipsl9oo. 1901. 1902, 1903, 1904.
Right Tackle—“ Pap” Bolinglß97, 1898, 1899. 1900.
Right End—“Jinks” Gillem 1910, 1911, 1912.
Quarterback—Alvin Browne- 1908, 1909, 1910.
Right Halfback —Aubrey Lanierl9o7, 1908, 1909, 1910.
Left Halfback—ll. G. Seibelslß96. 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900.
Fullback—Ormond Simpkinslß97, 1898, 1899. 1900, 1901.
tall, weighed 180 pounds, and play
ed four years at Sewanee —1897,
1898, 1899 and 1900.
"Jenks” Gillem. another all-
Southern player, is selected to play
the right end. Ho is a man six
feet tall, weighs 160 pounds, and
has played in 1910, 1911 and 1912.
We all know what he has been
doing and can do. Enough said.
♦ * *
A NOTHER all-Southern man, A.
" L. Browne, is selected for our
quarterback. He is a very small
uian. 5 feet 7 inches rail and weigh
ing 127 pounds. He was on the
team in 1908. 1909 and 1910, and
was one of the best ever. He had
cool judgment and was the fastest
man 1 ever saw playing football.
The right halfback position goes
to another light man and to an all-
Southern performer in his day, Au
brey Lanier. He was 5 feet 10
Inches tall and weighed 165 pounds.
He was one of the best all-round
backs ever produced in the South.
There wasn't anything he couldn’t
do.
The other halfback position goes
to another 165-pounder. H. G. Sei
bels. He was a man 5 feet 10
inches tall, light, but clever. He
was on the team in 1896. 1897, 1898,
1899 and 1900. He was an all-
Southern man and one of the best
ground gainers I ever saw .
The fullback position goes, of
course, to Ormond Simpkins. He
was an all-Southern man. 5 feet 8
inches tall, weighed 175 pounds,
and was a terror. He played five
Spider Britt May Put South on
Pugilistic Map by Working His
Way to Top of Bantam Class
By Fuzzy Woodruff.
THE South did not lose all hopes,
all possibilites of developing a
champion when Joe Mandot en
tered his foolish match with Mexican
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years on the team, t 00—1897, 1898,
1899, 1900 and 1901. He was a
great player—as a defensive man
seldom equaled.
* * ♦
lA7ITH Lanier, Seibels, Simpkins,
’ Browne, Gillem. Stone and Phil
lips carrying the ball, and with
Gillem to punt and do the drop
kicking. and with Browne and La
nier to run back punts, the of
fense would be very powerful and
very sure.
The defense would be very strong,
as all the men named are good
defensive players.
1 should name Seibels captain.
He led the famous 1899 team.
WOLGAST WORTH $200,000,
IS CLAIM OF HIS MANAGER
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 2 —Ad Woi
gast has been deprived of his light
weight crown, but he has enough of
earthly wares to act as somewhat of a
balm. Manager Tom Jones made the
statement that during the three years
Wolgast was the lightweight cham
pion of the world he made $240,000.
Half of this big fortune was made up
in purses and the rest was accumulated
in bets, theatrical engagements and
.outside investment.
"The beauty about it. too." said Jones,
“is that the German has been thrifti
enough to keep the major part of it. I
venture to say that he is worth close to
$200,000 today He has property in Txts
Angeles valued at $160,000, and he has
his farm in Michigan. His money lias
been wisely invested and Wolgast has
never handled more than SSOO in bls
life.
Rivers Thanksgiving day. Right in At
lanta is a boy that has everything that
a champion is made of, and plans are
being made right now to give him a
campaign that will put him in the pu- 1
gilistic elite in a year’s time.
Atlanta’s hope for a glove champion- I
ship rests in Spider Britt, the nineteen- f
year-old paperweight, who has so sue-1
cessfully trimmed every boy’ of his class
arrayed against him in an Atlanta ring
True it is that Britt has never won a 1
decisive victory over Mayer Pries, ca-l
other Atlanta youngster, but lie has one
decision to ills credit and in addition
has always shaded Pries, although the
last named wrapper has several pounds
the advantage on him in weight.
it seems that the time is mighty ripe
for Britt to come to the front. The
bantam class is looking for a champion.
Johnny Coulon, the present title holder,
was outpointed a few nights ago in
New York by an unknown named Kid
Williams, and for almost two years
Coulon has been fighting far below the
standard that he maintained when he
was unanimously picked as the king of
the little fellows.
Britt weighs but 109 pounds. Os
course, right now he is too light to mix
with the good bantams, but Britt is
only nineteen. He is getting bl- ter
every day, and it will not be many
months before he can tip the scales
around 116 pounds, and when he does
he will be the hardest hitting 116-
pounder that'has ever crawled through
three ropes and shucked a bath robe.
Os course, Britt has a lot to learn,
but the natural stuff is there. In the
first place, he has tl.c heart of a lion.
Again he ran assimilate as much pun
ishment as Bat Nelson. He is not a
bad boxer and when he lands with nis
right swing some one is going to drop.
His trouble now is trying to send his
right hand too far. He is trying to
remedy this, and is working each day
with Clarence English, the veteran wel
terweight, who knows all there is tc
know about how and when to hit.
"Spider is a natural hitter.” says
English. "Ills only trouble is that he
shoots from his hip instead of from)
his shoulder. When he gets over that —J
and it’s not a hard tiling to get cured
of—he will be as dangerous as any boy
of his poundage in the world.”
Britt is an Atlanta boy. born hera
and reared here. He has never fought
anywhere else and has never lost a
fight, though he has been matched
against the toughtest "papers” that club
managements could frame for him.
He is a modest little fellow, has no
bad habits and no swelled head. But
he does pack a punch. Watch out for
him.
BASEBALLI
Diamond News and Gossip
Now that the election is over, and Hor
ace Fogel has been eliminated from civ
ilized baseball, the Tafts will make an
other effort to sell the Phllly club. They’re
sick of the publicity and want to make
their retirement complete.
9 9 9
If Murphy wrote the famous "Fogel In
terview,” as has been virtually proved,
why not fire Murphy out of the league?
Answer: Lack of nerve.
9 9 9
Mordecai Brown won 188 games for the
Cubs in ten years; lost 94.
« « M
The Three I league is threatening to’
throw’ out the Terre Haute team. This
will leave the Terriers leagueless.
...
On second thought the Connecticut
league rechristened itself the Eastern as-I
soclation instead of the Eastern league.
Foolish. Association is an awful word to
lit into a newspaper “head.”
Monte Cross and Frank Leonard want
the Fall River franchise.
Why?
Oh. they're making a collection.
# ♦ •
Catcher Ulrich, tried out and rejected
by Atlanta as being too dopey for use tn
this league, was a wonder in the New
England league again this year. With
Lawrence he batted .311, seventh among
the regulars, and fielded .981, which placed
hint third among the catchers who took
part in more than 50 games.
« « B
The New England league ran to short,
wierd names last season. For example:
Daunt, Higg, Dee, Gaw. Klett, Yell and
Blum. All "short and ugly."
• St «
Eppa Rixey, of the Phillies, lias taken
to golf and is said to shine.
• « •
Robert L. Stevenson, Connie Mack's re
cruit, will coach the basketball team this
winter of the Gustavus Adolphus college,
of St. Peters. Minn. Most of us have
heard of Robert Louis Stevenson and Gus
tavus Adolphus, but St. Peters, Minn., is
a new one on us.
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