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Show J. Ogden Armour, William Wrigley, Jr., and Others Among Weeghman's Partners. New York, Jan. 23. The announcement announce-ment made by Charles Weeghman that among his partners in the recently re-cently purchased and reorganized Chicago Chi-cago National league baseball club are J. Ogden Armour, William Wrigley, Wrig-ley, Jr., In addition to one or two other unnamed business men of great wealth, calls attention to the entry of fresh millions of backing into the big leagues within the past year. j Four major league clubs have changed ownership in a little morel BBSaiWlw ii iirnTTTWDrannccinraznj than twelve months and in every case the buyers are men who have made large fortunes in other lines of business busi-ness and to whom baseball will al-i al-i I ways be more of a sport than a dol-1 dol-1 lars and cents proposition. Yet these men have either made millions or Increased In-creased fortunes left to them by ancestors, an-cestors, through shrewd business ublllty and up to date efficiency and they will naturally expect that any ball club In which they have money invested will be conducted along the same lines. It only requires a cursory glance at the list of the new club owners and the money they have invested and represent to realize that a new .era Is drawning in big league baseball. A little more than a year ago Col. Jacob Ruppert, Jr., and T. L. Huston paid" about ?410,000 for the New York National league club. The combined wealth of these two men is over "525,-000,000 "525,-000,000 and they have already demon strated that tney are willing to spend big money to secure proper diamond dia-mond talent as the recent purchase of Lee Magee, at a figure over $20,000, pioves. Following the peace agreement between be-tween organized and Independent baseball the Chicago Nationals and the St Louis Americans changed hands. Weeghman was the moving figure in the purchase of the Cubs and It now develops that Armour, Wrigley and possibly one other capitalist capi-talist aro among the stockholders. Close to half a million was paid for tho Cubs and the combined financial resources of tho new owners Is easily $75,000,000, so it can bo seen that tho Cubs will have excellent backing in the future. Phil Ball, Otto Stlfel and J. W. Garneau were tho announced purchasers pur-chasers of the St. Louis Americans and the price was given out as $525,-000. $525,-000. At least one of the trio is understood un-derstood to have the backing of a millionaire, so it Is safo to set down the rating of the new owners as close to $5,000,000. The sale of the Boston Nationals to Percy D. Haughton, Arthur Ar-thur C. Wise and others for about $500,000, brings another group of capitalists cap-italists and keen business men Into baseball with resources placed at close to $30,000,000 ershlp of two other big league clubs have been under way for some time and, while tho outcome Is problematical, problemati-cal, both tho New York Nationals and the Cleveland Americans may have new backers before the 1916 pennant season opens. The Cleveland club is undergoing a financial reconstruction and Is on the market, but to date the price sot is considered too high by prospective investors. President Harry Har-ry Hempstead of the New York Giants has set a price for the sale of the club, but almost a quarter million mil-lion dollars separate owners and bidders bid-ders at this time. |
