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Chiefs To Play It By Ear Until New Park Is Found■.1- By JOHN GILMOBESYRACUSE, N.Y. lt;UPI-Un-:ti! they get what could be a new baseball park, the Syracuse -Chiefs are going to be the gypsy I team of upstate New York,When outfielder Dick Simpson, -now with Seattle, was sent down -to Syracuse by the New York Yankees recently and failed to^report-some sportswriters were guessing it wasn’t because he :didn’t want to, maybe he just ;couidn’t find the franchise.- Since their stadium burned -last Wednesday, the Yankees I International League club has 'set up a tentative schedule that : w»U have the team whistiestop--ping through upstate New York 'like Governor Rockefeller during a political campaign.Preliminary studies are being conducted by engineers on MacArthur Stadium. That may lead : to a new park being built by the city of Syracuse.Until then, however, the Chiefs will bounce around New York State - playing in Niagara Falls tonight, in Oneonta this; week and possibly in Auburn af-- ter a road trip at the end of ; the month.The Syracuse park - named ' after Gen. Douglas MacArthur ; when it was built by the city in 1934 at a cost of $150,000 as a WPA project-is owned by thecity. , t ..This week, a platoon of city,insurance and independent engineers will conduct tests on the ; park to see how much,of it needs to be replaced.“The engineers will decide if the remaining structure is safe or unsafe,” Donald V. Labbiuz-: la, Chiefs’ general manager, said.“If it’s safe, we ll play ball. If it's unsafe, we'll demolish it and put in temporary seats and finish the season.”Labbiuzzo said Mayor WUiiam F. Walsh had indicated the city has enough insurance to cover any construction problem. •When he says this. I assume he means this includes a whole- new stadium.” the Chiefs GMsaid.In the meantime, the Chiefs have been scouting playing fields. There was even some talk of using Syracuse University’s 41,731 - capacity Archbold Stadium. The football field was used as a baseball park decades ago, although one veteran observer said “they blew a fortune in baseballs” hitting line drives against the concrete “Chinese Wall.”Labbiuzzo called the Oneonta park, where the Oneonta Yankees begin their New York-Penn-sylvania League season June 21, “probably the best little ballpark in the lower minor leagues in this part of the country.”Oneonta’s park seats 3,000 and Auburn 3,500-a far cry from the 8,500 capacity in Syracuse. But both have been offered to the Chiefs rent-free.Labbiuzzo says he hasn’t had to ask the parent Yankees for financial help. “They’ve never failed to help in the past, though,” he said.Whatever construction is needed at MacArthur can begin immediately, according to the Syracuse city administration.Under emergency bid powers that take effect in such situations, the city can accept bids immediately without advertising.“Pants Rowland, Cubs Executive Succumbs At 91CHICAGO lt;UPI~~Ciarenee “Pants” Rowland, who managed the 1917 World Champion Chicago White Sox and retired as honorary vice president of the Chicago Cubs, died late Saturday in a rest home at the age of 91.A spokesman said Rowland entered the home two weeks ago suffering mainly from arteriosclerosis.Rowland is survived by a son, a daughter, and a Sister.
Newspaper Details
Dunkirk Evening Observer
Dunkirk, New York, US
Mon, May 19, 1969
Page 20
Full Page
Clipped by
Ryan S.
NA, 29 Mar 2022
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