Show MCney Money in n Semi Professional Ball Bali BY JOHN JOH N KEARY Manager of the he Chicago Father Marquette may have traveled more and and hit more sparsely populated places than the ball bal club that bears his honored name but having been with it from the th beginning I have my doubts doubt The of Chicago have trav tray traveled traveled more made more long trips than JY semiprofessional ball bal club In Amer America America ica and ad played in more different towns than any club that hat ever traveled We have covered cov red the United States from New NewYork NewYork to Texas from Florida to Washing Washington ton I say this not to boast boat of what we have done but tp to show that I know something about semiprofessional base baseball base baseball ball bal in the United States and its is possibilities possibilities bites As A a matter mater of fact four out of five amateur amateur clubs and clubs representing small smal towns tows lose money every ever year Yet there are few that could not break even evenor evenor evenor or make a little money if it handled prop property property property erty I believe beHave that an experienced Experienced man manager manager manager ager can make baseball pay and pay fair fairly far farly fairly ly well weH In any town of over 60 inhabitants inhabitants and and if I he is in the semiprofessional class cas can cn pay his players player fair far wages The great trouble is that that in small smal towns tows the teams teas are handled by enthusiasts who know kow te nothing about advertising the games or working up interest in them Besides no one has h s time to devote all al his attention to the clubs so things gener generally generally ally any are ae badly handled handle and the mer merchants merchant merchants chants chant in the town and the enthusiasts stand the losses Yet In these same towns our team has drawn dawn big crowds and ad good money We were a big attraction and ad the people dame came Any big attraction in baseball will wi draw crowds crowd The National and Amer American AmerIcan American ican league clubs can draw crowds crowd of ot leage to people in towns where ordinarily ord 30 not 2 people will wH pay to see their home fome club play a team from a neighbor neighboring ing lug town 45 One or two managers I have known hove have made money simply by working up upha aa ha intense rivalry between their team and that Ja of some nearby town tow These hese fellows have business sense They realize that that the people want wat a real contest Give their home team tea something to fight against or the honor of the town to de defend defend fend and the people will wH pay to see it it Another thing that has hurt semipro semiprofessional semiprofessional fes ional ball bal in the smaller towns and cities is that some of ot the tle players were tough I remember one little inter county league leage down in n Virginia that was one of ot the most successful in its is first firt sea season season season son The home boys filled fied most of the I positions playing for the honor of it It and ad the pitchers and catchers and maybe one or two other men were paid small sal salaries salaries salaries aries and given employment The first season they had good crowds and ad the best people of the te towns came Each game was wa a 3 gay event The next season the th best bist b st people quit coming and the third season the league leage broke It I was because b cuse some of the th players proved themselves elves cowards The game fell fel into disrepute few because of the te actions of the i In small smal towns especially the must learn l arn what the officers officer of the te groat rot leagues le ge learned lerned slowly that h fairness faires and cleanness in language arm ana anu behavior are necessary to success The people will no more stand profanity froni ball bal players than from acter act ra I always Impress upon our men that In playing isi mu 1 small cities clUe every ever word and act must ba be baas b ba beas as a clean as a if they were in their homes Baseball as a means of advertising a town is one feature of the game gme that tat In Ina a away away way accounts for some queer things thIng In m baseball Once N Y was in the biggest league in the country countr It I paid pid p d Everybody knew A couple of years ers ago Marion Maron Ind md a town of 10 inhabitants inhabItant held Its it own in attendance with wih towns tows five times Its It size The Th people wanted to advertise Marion and bought a Central league fran franchise fra franchise i chise S SIn In many towns some big merchants will wl pay the deficits if there are any an I and run the club just to advertise them themselves themselves r selves A man named D ti Nice Nice over In Wooster 0 O supported a team for years and he got treble his moneys mones worth in advertising These Tese teams however usually are badly handled and likely to t lose If l managed In business like Ike ways just a a any other oter business is handled they hey might show a profit im m The Te trip trIpon on which we we 5 broke all al records for traveling to play one game was wat at Chamberlain S D We left Chicago FrI reached Mitchell lItchel S D late lato lot Saturday night night and got gO g to Chamberlain Chamberla at noon Sunday We Va played a game gamo Sunday afternoon before nearly neary 60 gO peo pao people pe pIe who paid 10 each to see it i and started back Sunday night night I took the tha team there on a guarantee of 5 and expenses It I cost the management manag met 6 to get us and they cleared cleare up nearly nealy 50 on the And the ame game Ad population of Chamberlain is 5 people nople 0 That game was one of the strangest I 1 ever saw The T o ball bal park is on an island In the Missouri river and ad it itis Is reached by hIP bya hIPa a long toll tol bridge The man ma who controls control the tho bridge got the SIoux Falls team tea to ta come there and play us He charged 14 I cents toll toIl and 1 to see the game gae I started for the grounds after ater the two tw teams had started and when I got to the end of the bridge both teams were stalled there in their uniforms That manage refused to let them go In without paying He forced me to settle sette for the toll tol of oI 01 each player and after ater I had forked over ovoY over for toll tol for my players and the Siou r Falls manager had ha done the same fo his the man tried to hold us up and ad maka make makaus us pay py 1 each to get into the grounds gounds I told him I care whether w saw ourselves play or or not not we were used usei to us seeing go in ball bal games and he finally use let lef letus lefus letus |