Salt Lake Telegram | 1940-03-27 | Page 17 | Medwick Ends Holdout, Signs for $18,000

Medwick Ends Holdout, Signs for $18,000 MIAMI BEACH, Fla., March 27 (AP) The St Louis Cardinals, Cardi-nals, the dopesters' nominee for the National league flag, scored crucial off-the-diamond victory in signing baseball's No. 1 holdout Outfielder Joe Medwick, who thought his slugging talents worth at least $20,000 this year a return to his 1938 sal- ary. changed his ' J""' "1 IJ mind last night v '3 and accepted the : Cardinals' -dead- I line" offer of f I S18.000, same as af he earned last V g season. I - .j : The club's stock II I f -rose sharply on I I --' t the heels of the J announcement. The Cardinals ' X have only a me- . -diocre record in t ; ' the Grapefruit fcsw.e 4-. -.aw league and there Medwick had been considerable consid-erable gloom over Medwick's absence. ab-sence. Several National league managers have picked the Cards to win the pennant with Med- wick. Joe led the National In batting : and won the most valuable player award In 1937. His batting average last season was .332. Getting the left fielder's autograph auto-graph on a contract was a triumph for President Sam Breedon, who maintained the money difference was a trifle. He feared conceding conced-ing an Inch to Medwick would be the signal for other players to take a mile In a wave of holdouts next yesr. Neither Breadon nor General Manager Branch Rickey, who has been in most of the salary confabs with their recalcitrant star, were present as Joe fell In line. The executves had given Medwick Med-wick his ultimatum sign by midnight mid-night Tuesdsy or run the risk of suspension 10 days after the season opens. There had also been some talk of a trade "down the river," which Breadon stoutly denied.