Clipping:Caylor proposes a graded salary scale
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| Date | Wednesday, October 17, 1888 |
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| Text | [from Caylor's column] I am firmly of the conviction that a salary limit must be again established for the preservation of the National game. I suppose others are of the same opinion. But they say:--”How can a legitimate reserve rule be adopted and enforced. The old one was a farce.” I agree that it was. It would be foolishness to go back to that rule or one like it. The rule was bad in two senses. It made no distinction among the good, the poor and the moderate player. I want to see salaries graded according to the merit of the player. This is my plan: I would make several grades—say five. Players of the first grade I would pay $3,500 a year, and that should be the limit; second grade, $3,000; third grade, $2,000; fourth grade, $1,600; fifth grade, $1,200. I would limit the number of first and second grade players pretty close, and I'd make it a reward for good conduct and temperate habits to promote a player from a lower to a higher grade, even if his playing was not quite up to the mark. I would also make demerit in discipline and habits cause for a reduction in grade and consequently in salary. You'll ask how I would enforce the payment of the salary limit. In this way:--I would make the secretary of the Association the paymaster. He has the record of the contracts and a record of each player's salary. He should have paid to him every month from each club the sum total of all its players' salaries. If a player be promoted or degraded he should have prompt notice, so that the salary could be changed accordingly. All fines should be reported to him forthwith and entered on the books, and no fines should be made remissable. But you say the club could pay a player a bonus direct. I would make any such infraction of the rule if discovered an offence punishable by a fine of not less than three thousand dollars. I'd make the fine so large that after its payment there would be nothing left for the favorite player. Now, how would the players be graded. I would entrust it to a committee of players themselves. I would let each association name three players from its reserve list to make the grades, and I'd limit the number to each grade. Suppose the League appointed its committee of Anson, Ward and Bennett, and the Association named Comiskey, McPhee and Bushong. I think these men could be depended upon to do the work fairly and justly. I would take the entire list of players in the League reserved. Say there are 120 of them. These I'd divided into five equal numbers—24 in each grade. The best 24 would make grade 1 and so on down. If a club had more first grade players than another it would pay more for them. |
| Source | Sporting Life |
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| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Origin | Initial Hershberger Clippings |
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