Salt Lake Tribune | 1914-09-27 | Page 23 | May Put Salt Lake in the Coast League

M PUT SILT LIE" IN IE (1ST LEAGUE Barney Oldfield Thinks of Buying Sacramento Franchise Fran-chise for This City. Barney Oldfield lias been badly bitten Vy the baseball germ, and bis friends entertain grave doubts as to his recovery, recov-ery, says the Los Angeles Times. JJarney wants to buy the Sacramento franchise in tho Coast league and transfer it to Salt Lake City. ' The speed king cleaned up something like $20j0U0 on his recent eastern invasion, and this added to his previous large earnings, leaves him weighed down with ; wealth. By getting into baseball he j probably figures that he can relieve i himself of some of this increment. The i way things have been going this year, ; the rich man who buys a ball team will ; find it much easier to get through the I pearly gates. , .but .barney does not intend to tackle j tho job alone. He claims to be backed , by a couple of eastern automobile men, : who have an ingrowing desire to break into the noble game as owners. Oldfield yesterday called on President Maier and put the proposition up to him. Maier will take tho. matter up ; with .1. Cal Ewing and in every way use his influence to land tho franchise ! for Barney and his associates. It doubtless would be easy to buy the Sacramento franchise if te purchaser would promise to nourish it along in that city, hut the proposition to trans- j plant it iu L'tah might meet with some j opposition. ; However, to embrace Salt Lake in the Coast league circuit appears to be entirely feasible. In fact, such a step , has been given serious consideration in the past, and it may be made a part of the scheme for expansion. With "Wol-verton "Wol-verton and his ball team begging for a permanent home, Salt Lake may 1 prove to be the solution of the problem. Not only is it some ball town, but the distance is not sufficient to appall those who have been accustomed to jumping up to Portland and back i again.