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jui iud liiuun umuK iutui m more importancethan the interest of any one—or any ten—of them Apply this priuoiplo to the “five-men” agreement' both in its relation to the clubs, which do the hiring, and the players, who do the plaving and receive the pay. Apply it in view of the condition of affairs vheu- it was made. Buffalo, CleveJand Troy had pegged along during the year and came out toward the tail of the league after starting out with high hopes of winning the championship—hopes fostered by tbe vealy young men presiding over the sporting oolumns of the papers in theirrespective cities, who lacked both judgmentand experience, aud who, therefore, did great harm to the games in their cities through the reaotion caused bv auon-realization of what they had no right to expect. Biuca the organization of the League nocity in its first year of base hall has won the championship, aud none probably will. The clubs referred to were out of pooket, and their patrons wero disgusted. In each of the teams, however were men who were popular; men whom the patrons of the game liked to see play. They aegued, and rightfully, that, without these men— with an entirely new team—another season would certainly eutail a heavy loss; heavier than they oared to undertake. These were their best men aud would, naturally, be In demand. If other clubs were allowed to bid for them, they would either have to raise their salaries or lose thorn In either event they felt that they must abandon their organizations and give up the ghost. This was by no means desirable, as a pcrmauent constituency is far preferable to a shifting one. Therefore, as business men, recognizing the value of their connections, eachconceded to the extent of agreeing not to hire five men. to be named. This was certainlv a sound business proceeding; was, in fact, the only tilingwlileh could have preserved the League intact.How did it affect the players themselves? The result has shown that It was just as advantageous to them as a body as it was to the League as a body. It gave them all work at good fair salaries.which they were sure of getting. Without it, in- „ stead of eight clubs In the League, there wouldhave been four, or, at the most, six, so that, Instead of say eighty men employed by the organi- tl zatlon at fair salaries, there would have beeu but P from forty to sixty, at salaries so light that some G ofLhe employing clubs would have been unable tlt; to make up the deficit. Who will say, then, tl In view of these admitted facts, that in making the “five-men” agreement, the League did net serve the ball-playevs a good turn as well as itself? Instead of leaving forty men idle, It resulted in c leaving one—not because he could not get a gooa $ salary for playing, but because he wonld-not. Let H th% players ask themselves, including the “re- G served'1 men, whether it was better for them, thifc Pti
Newspaper Details
Cincinnati Commercial
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Fri, Sep 03, 1880
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Tom P.
NA, 26 Jul 2022
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