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Show " COAST LEAGUE BASEBALL HAS HAD GOOD YEAR Salt Lake Finished in First Division; Important New Rules Adopted; Many Players "Go Up." Naturally professional baseball xiheld the spotlight in Utah sports in 191T5, as it did in 1915, and as it is likely to do in years to come. As a whole, the Coast league was more prosperous than it was in 1915. The ya.lt Lake club finished the season sea-son in third place in the pennant race. The championship of the Coast league was won by Los Angeles, and the Vernon Ver-non club was second, inasmuch as the Los Augeles and Vernon clubs were early conceded first and second places, the race for third place was spirited among the remaining clubs. iSan ran-cisco ran-cisco and Portland were Salt Lake 'a bitterest rivals for the unoccupied first division honor. The attendance in Salt Lake, while uumerically almost as large as that of 1915, was productive of smaller revenue. reve-nue. The figures show that about $88,-000 $88,-000 was taken in at the gate, a decrease de-crease of some $20,000 from last year. The decrease is accounted for in various wavs, which, in combination, resulted in the' falling off indicated. One of the causes was three weeks of unfavorable weather, when patrons who usually occupied oc-cupied high priced seats in the shade sought the warmth of the sunshine iu the bleachers; another was umpire trouble, and this untoward factor kept many spectators away from the park; the third was the changing of managers during the playing seasou. Expenditures Reduced. I While the revenue derived from at tendance leu away, the expenditures also were materially reduced, the saving being something more than $16,000, so that the net profits were but little below those of UM.j. At a mectinug of the stockholders in the Salt Lake club, on December 15, tho incumbent directors were re-elected. They are F. S. Murphy, the Eev. K. 1. Goshen, Colonel Lawrence Greene, George O. Keif, M. B. Evans, II . V. Lane and George F. Wasson. A notable performance of the year was the establishment of a new home-run home-run record b- Bunny Brief, Salt Lake's rlrt baseman. Brief ended the season with thirty-three home runs to his credit. The previous record was held by Ping Bodie of the San Francisco club, who, in 10 10. made thirty home runs. Inasmuch as all the parks iu the league save that in Salt Lake are larger or will be by the time the 1917 season opens it is likely that Brief's remarkable record will stand for many yearn, if not for all time. With tho retirement of Clifton D. Blanken?hip from the managership of the club six or seven weeks before the close of the season, the club was with- (Oontlnued oa Pago Four.) COAST LEAGUE BASEBALL HAS HAD GOOD YEAR Salt Lake Finished in First Division; Important New Rules Adopted; Many Players "Go Up (Continued from Page One.) m out a manager for throe or four weeks. During the last three weeks of the season sea-son William IT. Beruhard of Memphis, Tenn., had charge of the Saints, having been appointed manoger by the directors for a term of one year. Beruhard, looking towards nest year, announces that lie is confident the Salt Lake club wiU be in the race for the 1917 pennant. pen-nant. Paul I-'itlery, star left-hand pitcher of the HUG Saints, was dratted by the Philadelphia Nationals. In 1915 Claude William., the club's star left-hander of that season, was bought by the Chicago Americans, and won no little fame during dur-ing the I'JJo' season in a White box um- ioi in. New League Rules. Salt Lake was honored by the league directors when they held their annual meeting in this city in early December. A number of important rules were adopted at that meeting. The one of ciiieiest account is that which requires eeiy I "oast league club to carry four players who have never completed a mil season in class A A or major league baseball. Thus a club may carry four- l teen experienced jnen and four iuexpe-rienced iuexpe-rienced players. The rule restricting the training seat-on to three weeks was ab- yl rugate-i, so that clubs may train as long '" as they desire. Another regulation re-quires' re-quires' that Coast league players shall not participate in any save league games, thus eliminating tho custom of i .layers making "u little side money'' by "taking part iu so-called amateur or -( st-mi-protessioiial games on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. An effort to re- . dure the length of the season to twenty- i'" eight weeks was defeated, and the 1017 campaign will be run the full thirty weeks, as before. Special permission was given to open Coast league parks for exhibition games before the opening of the Coast league season. This action was taken for the benefit of the Chicago Nationals, who are to train at Pasadena and who seek games with Coast league V.-- chilis. Jt is specified, however, that no exhibition games shall be played within one week of the opening date of the f'i Coast league year. It also was decided that umpires shall not bo stationed in any city for a longer consecutive period than two weeks. It is believed that -? this rule will partially remedy the umpire um-pire trouble experienced last year. Allan T. Baum was re-elected president of the '" league for another five-year term. Changes in 1916. . : Duriug 1916 George E. Howard and .1. Cal Ewing bought the stock held in the Oakland club by Senator L D. LeavitL Following the retirement of Harold Elliott as manager of the Oaks, Howard assumed the management of the dub. Edward R. MaieT, at that time owner of the Vernon club, was ousted from the club directorate at a special meeting held at Los Angeles. The reason rea-son publicly assigned was that Maier refused to attend meetings. Within the last month Maier has sold his club to Thomas -L Darmody, a veteran baseball man, who has associated with him Arthur Ar-thur G. Fisk, a Pasadena millionaire. Players Go Up. The league lost many of its best players play-ers through sale or draft during the 1916 season, and managers will be called upon to rebuild extensively. Notable among the sales are the following: Louis Guisto, first baseman, Portland, to .; Cleveland; Paul Fittery, pitcher, Salt Lake, to Philadelphia Nationals (draft); Kay Bates, third baseman, Vernon, to Philadelphia Americans; Prank Bodie, ! - outfielder, San Francisco, to Philadelphia Philadel-phia Americans; Elwood Martiu, pitcher, Oakland, to Chicago Americans; Ameri-cans; UOscar Hordtinan, pitcher, Los Angeles, An-geles, to St. Louis Nationals; Edward Spencer, catcher, A'ernon, to Detroit; Harold Elliott, catcher, Oakland, to ; Chicago Nationals; Alarty MeGafhgau, '- .shortstop, Vernon, to Philadelphia Nationals; Na-tionals; Robert Jones, third baseman, San Francisco, to Detroit; Ellis Johnson, pitcher, Vernon, to Philadelphia Ameri-'' Ameri-'' cans; William Ken worthy, infielder, 7- Oakland, to St. Louis Americans V (draff); John Couch, pitcher, Sau Francisco, Fran-cisco, to Detroit: Harry Welter, out-n out-n : ficider, Los Angeles, to Chica-go Na-e Na-e tionals ; Charles Risberg, second baseman, base-man, VBernon, to Chicago Americans. ; Among those players who were in the Coast league on optional agreements with the major leagues and who have i been recalled are: James Park and Billy Piercey. Salt Lake, by St. Louis Americans anil New York Americans, respectively; Allen Sothoron. pitcher, and Robert Vaughn, infielder, Portland, ; by St. Louis Americans; Bradley Hogg, Pete Standridge, George Zabel, pitchers, Los Angeles, by Chicago Nationals. Seven-month Season. William J. O 'Connor, business manager man-ager of the Salt Lake club duriug the 1015 and 1910 seasons, resigned in mid-: mid-: December. The 1917 season opens April 3 and -: closes October 2. Portland will open the season at Salt Lake, Vernon at Sau Kram iseo, and Oakland at Los Angeles. The schedule for the season will be ar-" ar-" nmged at a special meeting to be held at San Frain'isfo about January lo. Jt is probable that Salt Lake will ' train- at Los Veges, Nevada; Los Angeles An-geles at Lake EJsiuore, Cal.; San Fran-' risco at San Jose, Cal. : Oakland at "ri Boyes Springs, Cal.; Portland at Sacra- inento, Cab Training plans for Vernon have not been announced. It is likely that Hamilton Patterson, manager of the Vernon club, will be replaced. re-placed. Clifford C. Cravath, celebrated Philadelphia National slugger, is prominently promi-nently mentioned as Patterson's successor. |