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Baseball Magnates Grieving Over the
Falling-Off of Attendance at Games
Sorrow and Anguish Are Their Lot When They Note That In
stead of Packed Stands, as in Other Years, Their Clubs
Are Playing to Just Such a Handful of Fani, and Most
of Them the 26 and 50 Cent Patrons.
New York —Grief percolat#* within the
TiAlomfi of the baseball magnate* thewe
day* a* they notice that the tprnatlela
that uaad to whizz no merrily in yearn
gone by nr# growing rusty from dlsus**:
sorrow and atifftilflh are their lot when
thay note that iimtead of packed stand*
an hi other year*, thetr chib* ate now
plavlng to Junt such <i hindful of fan*
and moat of them the ?5 and 50-rent
patrona.
Not only have the American and
National League* been hard bit by the
startling apathy of the bnsebull public
but every league of any consequence
throughout the length and breadth of
th© land continue* to suffer, through
tha inexplicable desertion of the army of
fan*. who*e contribution* made million#
of dollar* for club owner* In other year*
F.von HOW when the big league club*
era a?using doubla-beadera the fang con
tinue In hiding. In other years the
mid-week crowd In first rla** town* sel
dom dropped below 5,000 for a single ex
hibition while a double-hander brought
out ngmething tike 8.000 or 10,000, ami a
Saturday or Sunday gtrne nearly always
.lammed the park.
But In these d»>* the big league clubs
that draw 3.000 while staging a single
ntt«l-nreek combat, or 5.000 while In
dulging in a bargain exhibition, sr* the
eiivy' of their tea* fortunate brothers. In
the year* gone by the magnates *aw no
orcaslcn for gloating until from 25,000
to 35.000 fan* were lammed Into their
r>n Saturday* or Sunday*, hut this
year they nil'll be satisfied with crowds
that mnge from 18,000 down to i.OOO or
7,0#0 ou the banner days.
The cause for the desertion of the fan*
this vent 1* a myaterv that probably
would baffle even ffhfrlock lfnl me*.
There la no apparent cause for the fact
that ’be outpouring this year la not one
third as large a* in other year*. The
I'rtmll haven't gone over to the Federal*
for the> too. are playing to nearly
euvt'tv stand*
purllrC in the year, when the attend
ance everywhere wax woefully small in
comparison to th*t «*f HH$ many folks
rushed m Into view hearing some llkelv
sounding aPbl* Home were to the ef
fect that the weather causued It. There
seamed considerable weight to such an
srgumnt. a* the we*ther during April
and In the tlr*t half of May Ufr much
to be desired
Bui since the middle of May the
waathar ha* been fins; of the brand that
need to lure out even the most reluctant
fana In other years Hut the Increased
attendance over that of the flrat month
bag baen hardly perceptible
Another Alibi
Another alibi wag that tha fans wart
go Interested in the doings in and ground
Vara Crug that they didn't have time to
go 10 th# ball perk* It wag g*td that
they would rather stand In front of a
bulletin hoard that gave them the in*
nine by-Inning* hagetml) returns and war
bulletins at tha as me time than spend
• couple of houra at a hell park and see
nothing but baaehall But thg Mexican
furoi hst died down; the bulletin board*
not longer are cl uttered up with Mexican
n«W* Tit tha fan* do not go to tha
p*r%
Tig* world champion Athletic*, always
a great drawing card especially in their
home city, look to lota at least 1100,000
a year because of poor Attendance, and
when the team that Is negarded as the
best in the uni versa Isn’t pulling It give*
a shivery feeling to those magnates who
»wn merely a mediocre aggregation that,
during even It* bast years, drew only a
corporal'« guard of fan*
Hoewver. Cincinnati, at range as it may
Been), la the one exception to the small
attendance rule of this year. The Reds
so far have drawn better, both at home
and abroad, than they have within the
memory of tha oldest Inhabitant, But
that's all because Charlie Mnrzog has
uccomipliabed the seemingly impossible—
kept bln men In the fight not only
through May but also during this month
of brides, roses and sweet girl gradu
ates.
Close Tab.
But those who are keeping close tab on
the Beds are claiming that th© greater
portion of the crowd that flocks to see
the Cincinnati Surprises In action are
not real fans, but merely persons who
find life's greatest pleasure in orbing
freaks In an outside of captivity. To
them the fact that any Cincinnati team
has bean ikk to vtMi inual imong tha
select far Into June time Is In the nature
of a freak performance, and, being fond
of gating on freaks, they squander the>r
loose silver and feast their eyes upon
tha wild-eyed gang from the Ohio rlv«r
section.
But In Cleveland. Charlie Somers,
owner of the Nap*. Is lying awake nights
wondering Just how much he'* going to
lose this year In practically tha same
team that made something like $150,000
f tor him last year. Bom era loss on the
Napa alone, may turn up to $350,000 this
\enr unless the Naps, now down in the
rut. can pull themselves together and
revive the enthusiasm of the fans who
seem to have quit them.
Smaller Crowd*.
The St. Louis teams are drawing even
smaller crowds than last year. Detroit
amt Pittsburg despite th# fact that they
have played some mighty good baseball
so far this year, are not drawing. Neither
«re the Phillies. Th# (Hants seem to
be outdrawlng tha other National Lea
gue clubs, hilt their Attendance figures
this year are said to h* far under those
for the same period in lilt.
With both Boston clubs already count
ed out of the races, the bean sating fans
are keeping away (Tom the park* that
used to resound with their dally cheer*
111 other years. The Ned York Yan
kee* drew' some fair crowd* earlier in
the year, hut since they've begun to skid
the number of fans Is thinning out. It's
the same with the Brooklyn. Kven the
peerless Walter Johnson cannot draw
any slseahle crowd when the Washing
ton eltib is one part of a baseball at
traction, while out in Chicago the White
Box are drawing only small crowd* and
the Cubs are playing to nearly stnpty
stands.
BOTH SCARE.
*'l» contentment really better than
great wealth?"
"Herd to say. Few of the people
I have known ever possegied either."
“Is it the Manager or the Players
That Make a Winning
Ball Team?"
New York.-—A question that perplexes
fandom even more than "how aged wa*
unustatia?" is the one, “in it the man
ager or the player* that make for a win
ning hall team?"
Let’s take the case of the Cincinnati
Usds as one example to show that may
be it's the manager. The Reds last
year looked and acted like the worst ag*
gregation outside the graveyard. They
looked even worse for the 1914 season
because the Feds came along and grab
tad off a pair of their best pitchers and
tied another -Chief Johnson—up in the
courts. Further more, they were minus
the service of one Josephus Tinker, who
hatted .317 last year and led the short
stops of th# league In yielding.
Charley Herzog, the peppery ex-mem
ber of the Giants appeared at the helm in
this season. Everybody felt sorry for him.
And what happened? Oh, not overly
much, only that Herzog, with even a
weaker team than that of last year be
gan along at a surprising gait right at
the outset and has been keeping It up.
He’s been heating the leaders, just as
easily as he has been heating the tail
enders. And the heatings his team is
doling out are not flukes—they are
clean-cut overwhelming victories In
most cases.
Then there'* Joe Birmingham, of the
Nap*. Harry Davis ** manager of the
Naps, failed miserably during the first
pari of the 1912 season. Davis quit the
Job and Birmy took it up. From that
time on the team played 100 per cent,
better baseball, and from the last of Au
gust until the curtain dropped they
played the best hall in the American
League. Yet it was tha same outfit
that couldn't win for Davis.
In 1913 under the same Birmy the
Naps put up a thrilling fight for the
pennant, being in the race until the last
two week* of the season. And now in
1914, with only one of their pitchers gone
and with their shortstop injured, the
Nups are playing about the worst hall In
the league.
Hugh!; Jennings led the Tigers to
three pennants In 1907, 1908 and 1909,
Then the team seemed to crook. The
They’re Taking a Big Chance This Year
in Betting the Big Odds That America
Will Whip England at Polo
(By Frank G. Menke.)
New York.—Some of our nicest
men who expect to double their vaca
tion money by betting the original al
low usu-e at big odde that America
will defeat Kngland In the Interna
tional polo matches that begin on
Tuesday, *re taking a bigger chance
than Stephen Brodie took when be
cast himself from the Brooklyn
Bridge.
Front nil we have gathered up to
this moment, the English challenging
team ts just about as good a combi
nation as that which put up auolt a
wonderful thrilling exhibition here
last year, and which, at times, swept
the American clan off its Teet.
THE AUGUSTA HERALD, AUGUSTA, GA.
Tigers had the same wonderful leader In
1910, 191), 19U and 1913 that they hed
in theh' pennant winnipg day*, but they
couldn’t hit a winning etride. They
made some inglorious finishes in those
four years.
And now Jennings is back in this year
1914, A. D., with a team that does not
look very much belter thup that of last
year- and he's got a fine chance lor the
pennant.
The St. T.ouls Browns have been a
joke ball team for many years. As in
the case of Charley Herzog, of the Reds,
a lot of people f»lt pretty soryy for
Branch Rickey when he took over the
job of handling the outfit. Rickey got
upder way with a team that looked
weaker than the last place outfit of
1913, and Rickey’s team has proved to
he one of the big surprises In the Am
erican League. The gang is playing real
baseball. It’s playing is not streaky or
its wins flukey. The games the Browns
have won are because they have shown
superior ability.
The Brooklyn Dodgers looked to have
a hotter team than last year. And when
Wilbert Robinson hooked up with them
as manager, many figured that the
Dodgers would get away In the front
and stick around with the select all the
way down the stretch. Robinson had
been with McGraw for mpny years. He
was McGrow's understudy, and many
figurued that he was almost as much
responsible for the success of th* Giants
successful leadership as McGraw himself.
But under Robinson the Dodgers do not
seem to be accomplishing any more than
they did under liahlen. who nsver was
figured as any great shucks ag a man
ager.
Going bgc;)* .about a dozen years one
finds that the New York Giants used to
try to far down they could get
In the rare without actually falling
thruogh the bottom of the league. And
then came John McGraw who has kept
his men In the fight each year, and who,
on five separate distinct occasions, lias
lifted his men so high that it gave the
American League champions a chance to
come along and club them on the coco
In the w;(jrld series combats.
On paper, American may gaero to
have the host chance for victory. And
on paper, If you’ll remember, the Boat
ton Braves seemed to have a look In
for the 1914 pennant and the Cincin
nati Reds and Detroit Tigers seemed
doomed for last place In their espec
tive leagues right from the start of
the season. Who knows but what the
same dope upset may occur In polo!
There still is a question as to Just
how the Britons will line up, end that
question may not be answered defi
nitely until a few hours before the
team goes Into battle. But the idea
seems rsthsr general among polo ex
perts that Captain Leslie's Bt. Claire
Cheapo will be at No. 1, where he is
‘At What Age is a Polo Player
at His Best?" Asks the
London Daily
London.—"At what age is a polo
player at his best?” asks the London
Daily Mail in a recent issue, apropos
of the coming international matches.
The polo correspondent continues:
At first thought you would be In
clined to declare that this is essential
ly a young man's game, a strenuous,
punishing pastime in which youth
must inevitably be served. But if you
go through a list of its best expo
nents at the present time you will
find that the majority of them are
nearer forty years than thirty. And
there are men still holding their own
in the game who have topped their
half-entury.
Execution.
It is quire the exception for a vefy
young player quickly to work his way
into first-class polo. Usually success
means many years of hard practice
In hitting and the art of managing
ponies when galloping at full pace.
Notable exceptions occur occasionally.
a star of the first water, that Cap
tain Torakinson will be at No. 2,
Major Barrett, captain of the team, at
No. 3, and Captain Vivian N. Lockett
at back, with Majors Hunter and Lan
nowe acting as first substitutes.
All in all. It’s a mighty formidable
combination, and anyone who holds
It in such cheap regard as to bet
heavily against its chances ot ulti
mate victory, either ought to get a
Carnegie medal for bravery, or be
chucked Into the booby house lor
mental examination.
It Is quite true that the Britons
played poorly in their practice games
abroad. Almost any old outfit that
went up against the original combine
tlon found It easy picking. Also if
you’ll remember, practically every
aul) team that tackled the Athletics
during the training season of 1912
suceeded in doling out a noticeable
walloping to the Philadelphia outfit.
If you care to know what happened
after the regular season got under
way, you direct Inquiries to the seven
other clubs In the American League,
or to “Hit From Behind” McGraw,
who resides in New York, U. S. A.
One thing that should be borne in
mind by those who think the Britons
will prove to be a pie counter propo
sition for the American champions, is
the fact that the combination that
will battle the Americans is not the
same combination that was beaten so
Often and so thoroughly in England.
There are gome new faces in the
line-up now and the owners of those
new faces are better polo players
than were their predecessors.
The Britons have shown splendid
form in their workouts since arriving
here, and they have some wonderful
ironies—a big factor in their favor.
Ponies ar e about halt of a polo battle.
Mount four star pololsts on poor po
nies and pit them against four dub
players who have good mounts and
tjje chances are that the dub players
will triumph with ease.
Little can he added to what already
has been said and written about the
American team. Just how the team
will line-up when it goes against the
Britons still is a question, because
the Polo Association has a habit of
changing Its mind—and the Une-up—
at the last minute. But It seems
certain that Larry and Monty Water
bury and Devereux Mllburn, of last
year’s championship team will be
fixtures throughout the match, with
her fourth man to be chosen from
among Foxhall Keene, Rene de Mon
tngne, Malcolm Stevenson, H. C.
Phipps, and Probably Harry Pavne
Whitney, captain of last year’s team.
Tha American team will stand as
th* best that America can gather
And go it is with the British outfit.
Both combinations have developed
wonderful team work, both are equip
ped with powerful intelligent ponies.
Both are trained to the minute. And
they seem evenly matched. As we
view flie matter from this distance
it looks as if the team will win that
get# the “breaks” and not through
any superior showing
THERE ARE OTHERS.
Th# party of visitors from th# North
h»d b»#n shown all the Interesting slghtc
In snd around Louisville. Their hosts,
a Louisville family, hud spent three
days showing off the town. Then thsy
deemed It proper to take them out to
l.sksland and let them view the great
asylum. Ths superintendent was In a
genial frame of mind and conducted the
group personally.
"Here Is a queer case, ladles " ha said
pausing snd pointing out a man walking
along a corridor. "That man h;s ths
delusion that he possesses the motive
power that runs tn# universe He Is
perfectly harmlees, hut actually believe#
thet without him the world would not
run. Strang# notion. Isn't It?"
"Not at all!" exclaimed one of th#
women. "Mr husband haa th# aam# Idea,
and has always had It. la h# craxy too’"
—-Loulavllcl Times.
Mr. Buckmaster, Mr. French, the
brothers Nickalls, and Lord Wode
house are striking cases of young men
who swiftly made their mark in the
game. Yet as a general rule the most
effective players are those with plenty
of experience behind them. When the
United States won back the Interna
tional Cup in 1909 she did so with a
team of well-seasoned players. Mr.
Devereux Milburn, that wonderful
back, was a comparative youngster,
but the brothers Waterbury had fought
against England seven years previous
ly, and Mr. Harry Payne Whitney had
also had great experience in the game.
Discussing Claim.
It is significant that in the United
States at the present time they are
An Extension Telephone
Saves Time and Worry
FELL BREAKING ARM.
Woman Hurrying to Answor Tele
phone Fall*, Sustaining Painful In
jury.
Hurrying down the stairway in her
residence at No. 610 West Market
street, this morning, to answer the
telephone, Mrs. W. E. Allen caught
her shoe heel in a carpet on the stairs
and fell headlong breaking her right
arm.
A physician was Immediately sum
moned and this afternoon Mrs. Allen
is said to be resting well.
Mrs. Allen expected to leave for a
visit of several days tomorrow, but
she will now be obliged to postpone
her trip on account of the accident. —
Greensboro, (N. C.) News.
EVERY day more women realize
the value and importance of an
extension telephone connected with the
present Bell Telephone and located at a
convenient place in the house.
Running up and down stairs is tire
some work. An extension telephone re
duces it to a minimum and the telephone
is always near you when you are up
stairs or down stairs.
The extension telephone is as im
portant in the home as modem equip
ment in the office. Many thoughtful
husbands are taking this means of light
ening the burdens of the housewife.
What does it cost ?
X \
One dollar per month in residences!
Call Contract Dept. Main 9000.
SOUTHERN BELL TELEPHONE
AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY
SUNDAY, JUNE 14.
BY ‘ BUD’ 5 FISHER
discussing the claims of Mr. Foxhall
Keene to be included in the next in
ternational match; yet he played for
the United States in the inaugural
game as far back as 1886.
Twelve years ago you would have
been told that Mr. Walter Buckmaster
was the most dominant personality in
London polo. 1 think that he can be
said to occupy much the same posi
tion today. I shall not be so inquisi
tive as to inquire into his age, but
when X remind you that he played for
Cambridge University twenty-two
years ago, you will understand that
he is no longer in the first flush of
youth. Yet on his day there is still
nobody to excel him in this country
in polo prowess. Those who saw him
play against Lord Wimborne’s team
at Gunnersbury last week-end had to
acknowledge that once again he was
the mots effective player on the field.
His eye seems to have lost none of it 3
accuracy; his timing of the ball is as
perfect as ever. His driving is as
powerful as any seen at the London
clubs, and his backhanders are almost
Invariably In the right direction.
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