Clipping:The Brotherhood's plans leaked
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| Date | Wednesday, October 2, 1889 |
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| Text | It is first stated that a temporary organization has been formally effected with John M. Ward as its president, Dennis Brouthers, vice president, and Timonty J. Keefe as secretary. It is to be made up of eight clubs, as follows:--Boston, New York, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Cleveland, Buffalo, Chicago. Of these two are new clubs and not in the present National League. They are Brooklyn and Buffalo. The present Indianapolis team is to be dropped bodily into Brooklyn, where Association ball and Sunday games are said to be unpopular. The present Washington team is to be transferred to Buffalo and strengthened by the addition of Rowe, White and Myers, late of Indianapolis. In each city local capitalists are to operate teams formed and placed there by the Brotherhood, giving a bond of $25,000 for the performance of their part of the work. Albert L. Johnson, is the Cleveland capitalist, and his active participation in the deal as a missionary caused him to be mistaken for its national head. It has no national head at this time outside of the officers of the Brotherhood. The Association's officials are to be elected this fall. The players are guaranteed their salaries at the 1889 rate for 1890, and a share of the profits. All expenses and receipts are to be pooled for the general benefit, and the gate receipts divided equally between the clubs. The first $10,000 profit is to go into a prize, and be distributed among the clubs as playing prizes--$5000 to first, $2500 to second, $1500 to third, $1000 to fourth. Of the first $80,000 after this, $10,000 goes to the capitalists, and $10,000 to those of each club. The next $80,000 goes to the players, and all other profits are pooled half and half. Each player shares equally with the others. Each club is to be governed by a board made up of eight men, four capitalists and four players, and the main body by a senate of sixteen, each club having two representatives, one a player and the other a capitalist. Each club is stocked for $20,000, half of which can be had by the players. The $20,000 is in two hundred shares of $100 each. No known gamblers are allowed to hold stock. Of course the classification and reserve rules go with the present management, but the 1889—or classification—figures are taken as the basis for 1890. Score cards and general privileges are to be considered as profits and pooled as such. The Association is to make and sell its own ball. Nearly all the work of rearing the fabric as it stands to-day has been done at Cleveland this summer. The papers were sent to each League club and signed by the players. Anson, Burns and Williamson have not signed the Chicago agreement. In each city capitalists are at work over grounds and plans for next season.... The players are united and present a strong front. They number about 130. The League expect that only part of each team will go out. In this they are mistaken. All are in with this play, and in all the eight League clubs not ten men will be left. In connection with this story it may be said that the Brotherhood figures and estimates are all the result of calculations and figures made by players appointed for the purpose in each League town last spring. There was talk last June of a general strike in the League cities before the morning game of July 4, as a means of forcing the club managers to wipe out the grievances about which the Brotherhood had complained. Each chapter of the Brotherhood—each League club is a chapter in itself—voted on the question of “strike” or “reorganization” on the plan outlined above, and laid before the Brotherhood early in the year. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor of reorganization. This serves to show how long the plan has been discussed by the Brotherhood. |
| Source | Sporting Life |
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| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Origin | Initial Hershberger Clippings |
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