1914 Winter Meetings: Wars at Home and Abroad

Introduction

In the months following the first year of play in the Federal League, the two established major leagues showed different approaches to this new rival. While a desire for peace persisted throughout the winter months, it was tempered by fervent desires for one entity to be a clear loser in any compromise. Though the Federal League held its own meeting at the Biltmore Hotel in New York City on October 23 and 24, little more was accomplished than just setting the stage for the rest of the offseason.

American League

The annual meeting of the American League was originally scheduled for the middle of December, but league President Ban Johnson alerted club owners that the gathering would be moved up a month in order to discuss “business of great importance.”1 In moving the meeting to just before the annual meeting of the minor leagues, the speculation was that Johnson wanted to decide on a plan of action before departing for Omaha. It was under these circumstances that representatives from each American League club met at the Congress Hotel in Chicago on November 5 and 6.

The absence of New York Yankees president Frank Farrell for both the directors’ meeting in the morning and the closed executive session in the afternoon further fueled speculation that the sale of that franchise was imminent. Rumors that Farrell was being ousted from the league had been flying for weeks.

One of the most interesting was that the new owners would be Jim Gaffney and George Stallings, president and manager, respectively, of the past year’s World Series champion Boston National League club. Gaffney, a native and loyal New Yorker, was said to crave a bigger stage, but it also appeared that no formal overtures for the New York franchise were  actually made.2 The most persistent rumor was that the franchise would be sold to brothers Robert and George Ward as part of an agreement to secure peace with the Federal League. The Wards owned the Federal League club in Brooklyn (the Tip-Tops) and were the financial buoys that helped keep the league afloat.

While it was acknowledged even among Federal League detractors that the Wards would be a welcome addition to Organized Baseball, they seemed to be steadfast in their allegiance to the Federal League. Under one rumored plan the Wards would purchase the Yankees if it would not interfere with their Federal League franchise and if they could secure the lease on the Polo Grounds to move their Brooklyn team there. Negotiations seem not to have gone very far, if in fact they ever occurred.3 Upon arriving at the hotel Thursday afternoon as the meeting was breaking up, Farrell emphatically denied that his New York club was available for purchase at all.4

The session Farrell missed was largely devoted to discussing the Feds. Despite all the talk about bringing the Wards into the fold, no group in Organized Baseball was more ardent in its opposition to the presence of another major-league than the one that had fought that fight on the opposite side more than a decade earlier. After talking to Ban Johnson, Chicago White Sox president Charles Comiskey, and Boston Red Sox president Joseph Lannin, Chicago writer George S. Robbins believed any semblance of peace could come only if the American League magnates softened their tough position toward the Feds.5

The prevailing opinion was that the upstarts had already done all the damage they could possibly do, and that the American League would make no concessions to them. Johnson stated frankly that “the Federal League should be a dead issue.”6 Should the Federal League magnates have their clubs absorbed into the established minor leagues or buy National League clubs, Johnson allowed, there would be no strong objection on the part of the AL.7 The official position that emerged from the Thursday afternoon meeting was a unanimous agreement that “there is no room for a third league.”8

The morning session, at the league directors’ meeting, saw business handled in the quick and efficient manner typical of American League meetings. President Johnson’s report was received, and for the fourth time in five years the league pennant was formally awarded to the Philadelphia Athletics. While nothing was officially noted regarding the reports that Washington manager Clark Griffith had pointed out Philadelphia’s weaknesses to Boston before their World Series sweep, Connie Mack did accept apologies from another of the league’s managers.9

In violation of the league’s policy of secrecy about players on waivers, Detroit manager Hugh Jennings had divulged that Philadelphia was removing veteran pitchers Eddie Plank, Jack Coombs, and Chief Bender from its roster. Though left with very little leverage in seeking any potential return for the players, Mack refused to make a formal complaint, having already accepted a personal apology from Jennings. Mack acknowledged that some changes were in store for his club, and it was reported that both third baseman Frank “Home Run” Baker and second baseman Eddie Collins were being made available.10

On the second day, Cleveland president Charles Somers was re-elected to a one-year term as league vice president and, in a move that seemed to assert his place in the league, Frank Farrell was elected to the board of directors along with Somers, Comiskey, and Lannin. The owners passed a resolution to erect a monument at the grave of umpire Jack Sheridan. Finding that the games played in the past year took much longer than was deemed necessary, a directive was issued to players, managers, and umpires to increase their pace.

Unable to act without the National League’s joint approval, the attendees favored a reduction of rosters from 25 players to 20, and they advocated lowering ticket prices to the World Series so that they exceeded the regular-season price by only a small margin.11 While some discussion included extending the number of games as well, writer William Weart argued that neither proposed solution would fix the issue. Fans had shown themselves willing to pay up to $5 for a ticket, he wrote. The fans’ primary concern, according to Weart, was how to get the ticket.12

On the evening of the second day, with all business concluded or tabled until the spring meeting and awaiting National League consideration, the group attended the annual banquet, held at the Chicago Automobile Club and hosted by Charles Comiskey.13 In an effort to ensure that some of the players on league payrolls could be successfully distributed among the minor leagues without being picked off by the Federals, Johnson and Comiskey led a contingent of American League personnel attending the minor-league gathering the next month in Omaha.

National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues

The 1914 season had not been financially successful for much of Organized Baseball, and the minor leagues were particularly challenged. At the 14th annual meeting of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues in Omaha’s Rome Hotel on November 10, 11, and 12, the positives were highlighted and reasons for the negatives were discussed. National Association Secretary John H. Farrell reported that even with all the difficulties, 39 of the 42 member leagues starting the year saw their seasons through to the finish, close to the best mark in the organization’s history.14

Similarly, the convention was very well attended, with more than 200 registered from all over North America. There were eventually 27 leagues represented in person and several others by proxy.15 The high number of attendees was somewhat of a surprise, given the economic hardships of the past year and Omaha’s distance from major population centers.16 Farrell’s report said the year might not have been as dire as many had feared, with 8,403 player contracts received and promulgated, and 43 players drafted into the major leagues (28 by the National League, 15 by the American League), which paid a total of $56,500 for them.17 Though both figures were down from previous years, the decline was slight.

Most magnates cited the general depression resulting from the wars in Europe and Mexico as the primary cause for their sorrows, while admitting to some reckless maneuvers by a few individual magnates.18 President Al Tearney of the Three-I League was vocal in his attribution of his league’s losses to the existence of the Federals, but Western League President Norris O’Neill felt differently. While acknowledging that some of his league’s clubs had lost players to the Feds, he believed any argument that an outlaw league in a different part of the country would hurt his league’s attendance was a ridiculous proposition. The Sporting News noted a variety of reasons other than the Feds why Tearney’s league suffered a disappointing year, including the closing of the coal mines in one league town and a prominent financial backer withdrawing in another.19

The Federal League hoped to poach a few leagues away from the National Association and Organized Baseball and persuade them to affiliate with the Feds instead, or, failing that, to use the depressed conditions throughout the minors to compel those owners to force the two major leagues to seek peace on favorable terms.20

The Feds were confident that several teams would jump from Organized Baseball to join them if the money was right.21 They already had an agreement of sorts with the Class-C Colonial League to develop talent. The six-team league was a member of the National Association and still operated under its terms and conditions. Run by President A.J. Winn, it had an unusual operating structure: The league president effectively owned all of the property of the league. He signed all the players, collected all the money, and paid all the bills, with the general acknowledgment that the primary financial backing came from the Wards of the Federal League.

For the 1914 season, it was reported that the league lost $21,000. Still President Winn planned to ask for Class-B status for the coming season under the threat that it would formally abandon Organized Baseball if the request was not granted.22

In view of the Federal League’s posturing, the first order of business for the convention was a vote on adopting President Mike Sexton’s resolution affirming loyalty to Organized Baseball, and it was passed unanimously by the 26 represented leagues. A Pacific Coast League representative spoke briefly to dispel newspaper reports that his league had been negotiating with the Feds. To stress the importance of Sexton’s resolution, it was reported that for the first time, a verification of credentials was required for all voters.23

Though the symbolism of such a resolution was important as the first and only significant act by the whole body on the first day, it did not mean there wasn’t dissension in the ranks. Don E. Brees, president of the Wichita club in the Class-A Western League, announced his resignation immediately upon returning from the meeting. He was a vocal advocate for the minors using their power to demand immediate peace and was upset when it was decided that they would only endorse any action the major leagues took.24

The serious business continued the next day as the chairman of the National Commission, August “Garry” Herrmann, spoke of the need for immediate and drastic action in light of the previous year’s financial difficulties. In the name of economy and elimination of extravagance, Herrmann advocated for a salary limit for each league that was in line with the gate receipts of the smallest club in each league, rather than the largest.

As a result, the Committee on Constitutional Revision recommended a reduction of the player salary limit by 20 percent, with specific amounts detailed for each class. The Class-A limit of $3,200 a month for the Southern League and $2,800 for the Western League was accepted without protest. The Class-B limit of $2,000 was also accepted but with some reluctance by the Texas League and the New York State League. President William Davidson of the Texas League argued against the $500 reduction but was placated by the intimation that his league could receive a special dispensation if it demonstrated the ability to pay the higher salaries. The Double-A leagues, in direct competition with the Federal League clubs, protested the announced $5,000 cap as it made the leagues’ salary arrangement public knowledge. They were given special leave to set their limit privately, and the club owners pledged themselves to economy.

The most spirited discussions came from the C and D leagues, with the Central League leading the fight, and after two days of arguments they were allowed to keep their current limits. The revision committee also recommended a reduction in the roster limits in each classification, and this proved not to be particularly objectionable to those in attendance.25

A good portion of the meeting dealt with territorial concerns, with the most notable and bitterest battle being between the Class-D Central Association and the Class-B Three-I League for the rights to Rock Island, Illinois. While nearby Iowa cities Moline and Davenport had Three-I clubs, Rock Island wanted the Central Association’s Ottumwa franchise.

As a special compliment to National Association President Sexton and his hometown, Rock Island requested bending the rule forbidding a club to operate within five miles of another without consent. Though the convention was agreeable to complimenting the Association’s president, it was reluctant to set a precedent that could extend the Western League’s desire to put a club in Kansas City, Kansas, across the river from the American Association’s Kansas City, Missouri, franchise, which was already competing with a Federal League club in the same city.

As a concession, Three-I President Tearney, who had already announced the relocation of the Springfield, Illinois, franchise to Rock Island so that it couldn’t be deemed unoccupied territory, allowed that if Rock Island would not support a Three-I team, he would concede the territory to the Central Association. Many believed a contentious year was in store as members of the Rock Island delegation immediately began plans for a boycott.26

Al Tearney had an active and vocal presence at the meeting. In addition to a failed proposal to hold all future National Association meetings in Chicago, he proposed to reorganize the National Board of Arbitration by reducing the number of members from 10 and making it a permanent sitting with one member from each of the five classes. Though Tearney agreed to table the proposal and resubmit it next year after being told the present board couldn’t be removed legally with a year left on its contract, some changes were made.27

The National Board, which was led by Secretary John H. Farrell and served as the Supreme Court of baseball, regularly undertook a tremendous amount of work during the week of the convention and drew no salary for its service. Meeting for many long sessions each day, the board faced 250 cases at the 1914 meeting alone, which kept them working beyond the conclusion of the convention by at least one day. The congestion of cases was due in part to procrastination on the part of the claimants, as most were filed in the last month before the meeting though many of them could have been filed and adjudicated well before then.28

In an effort to reduce the workload, it was proposed that all claims within a league must first be presented to the league president for decision. In these cases, the board would be used just for appeals and interleague disputes. Near the end of the convention, the board was granted absolute power to act for the whole of the National Association in any settlement made with the Federal League, and it was given a full endorsement and expression of confidence from the convention. Upon completion of his duties, Secretary Farrell was once again given a mandatory 30-day vacation.29

Among the many cases heard by the National Board was an unusual petition by the Class-D Western Canada League. While both the Federal League and Organized Baseball continued to cloak themselves in the rhetoric of war, actual fighting had begun in Europe into which Canada, part of the British Empire, had been thrust in August. Unsure of the duration of the war, the Western Canada League believed it would have to suspend operations for the 1915 season.

The league requested the ability to loan its players to clubs in other leagues but retain their rights upon resumption of operations. Details such as which club would receive the profit if a loaned player was drafted into a higher league had to be settled, but a general uncertainty remained. Charley Stis, the manager of the Regina team, attended the conference actively seeking both placements for his players if the league chose to suspend and players to help his club if the season continued as planned. He was offered the Cedar Rapids manager position in the Central Association but was embarrassed to be unable to make a decision to accept until the league finalized its decision.30

On December 17, five weeks after the meeting, the league suspended operations, with four of the six clubs voting in favor and two, Stis’ Regina club and Saskatoon, wanting to play.31 The league would lie dormant until the 1919 season, when it returned as a Class-C league for one year and then two seasons at Class B before ceasing operations.32

National League

The National League met for three days, starting Tuesday, December 8, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. As in years past, the board of directors gathered immediately beforehand to conduct year-end business, including officially awarding the league pennant to the World Series champion Boston Braves. Once the general meeting commenced, the league considered the reduction of the player limit for each team that the American League had proposed earlier in the offseason.33

Waiting to make a final decision until after the National League could consider it, the American League had proposed lowering the limit of players per club from 25 to 20. Writer Joe Vila wrote that if both leagues agreed to a reduction, a large number of players would be released or sent to the minors, thereby strengthening other leagues.34

The National League decided on a 21-player cap but made a concession to the New York club’s objections.  From September 1 through May 1, teams were allowed to carry 35 players, but the limit would be 21 from May to September — the majority of the playing season. It was reported that several teams rarely carried more than 21 due to their finances, and setting the limit at 21 would lessen the more prosperous clubs’ advantage. New York, for instance, had about 50 players under contract at the time with 16 on multiyear deals. The limit would not include managers, coaches, or other uniformed personnel.35

To further aid the financially struggling clubs, it was decided that no team could begin spring training or journey to the South before March 1. A ban on series held before the season between major-league teams in the same city was recommended for presentation to the American League as a way to redirect focus onto Opening Day. The league also sought to curtail unsanctioned barnstorming tours in the offseason that were not conducted by the league owners themselves, like one that had recently been undertaken by Frank Bancroft.

Before the first day ended, the league accepted the request of Tommy Rice of the Base Ball Writers Association of America to have the umpire present the press box with the correct batting order for each team before the game, and the league voted to allow a representative from the National Association onto the Joint Playing Rules committee.36

Among the most persistent elements of the many proposed peace plans between the major leagues and the Federal League was the sale of the Chicago Cubs to Charles Weeghman, the owner of the Chicago Federal League team. The National League had ousted former Chicago owner Charles Murphy from its ranks during the previous offseason, and the current team president, Charles Thomas, was removed from the league’s board of directors on the first day of the current meetings. Garry Herrmann had been in conversations with Weeghman for several months, but only, he stressed, on his own and not in any official capacity for the National Commission or the National League.37

Negotiations between Weeghman and Charles Taft, who had purchased control of the franchise from Murphy, broke off when Taft held as a condition of the sale that the club could not be moved from West Side Park. Aware that Charles Comiskey’s American League team dominated the South Side of the city, Weeghman had planned to move the Cubs to his Federal League team’s ballpark at Clark and Addison on the city’s North Side.38 Herrmann brought the gathering up to date on his endeavors, reiterating once again that no overtures for peace had been made by Organized Baseball. The specifics of his negotiations with Weeghman, however, were not disclosed.39

So much of the second day was spent on debating the waiver rules that planned discussions about the World Series had to be moved to the next day. The issue brought forth by Julius Fleischmann of the Cincinnati Reds was the practice of placing a player on waivers and then pulling him back once it was ascertained what clubs might benefit from his services. He argued that this was bad for baseball, as it prevented weaker teams from getting better and allowed the best players to play, which became more imperative under the new player limit.

New York’s John Toole proposed to prevent waivers from being withdrawn once asked. The discussion continued into the third day with the weaker clubs advocating for its adoption and Toole’s own New York club arguing that the rule would prevent clubs from sufficiently developing players, as asking waivers would be equivalent to a release to some other club. Final decision was deferred until the February meeting so that the two leagues could reach a joint decision. Also on that final day, the league declined to take any action on altering the World Series from its current best-of-seven format.40

Throughout the week the National Commission had also met several times to confer on a variety of issues. Despite reports that it had enacted the ban on intercity, preseason series that the National League had advocated, Commission Chairman Herrmann said no such prohibition was adopted and that he personally held no objection to such series. While they spent much of their time dealing with an adjustment to the International League’s configuration, the hope was that a uniform policy decision would be made on contract jumpers and violators of the reserve clause who now wished to rejoin Organized Baseball. If such a policy was determined, it was not publicly disclosed during the week.41

The issue had been reignited in light of Rube Marquard’s re-signing with the Giants for two years in July. In the offseason, after seeking and being denied a $1,500 advance on his 1915 salary, Marquard told Brooklyn Federal League club owner Robert B. Ward he was free to sign and was willing to sign an affidavit to affirm that he had obtained his legal freedom from New York. Ward thereupon signed the left-hander to a two-year, $10,000 contract and gave him his desired $1,500 in cash. Immediately Marquard was denounced as a contract jumper, as the New York club produced the contract, signed on July 27, that secured him for 1915 and 1916 at $3,000 a year, plus an option for 1917. Both Ward and Giants president Harry Hempstead threatened legal action, but ultimately Marquard continued to pitch in the National League in 1915.42

Though the National League had no significant player movement or ownership changes during its meeting, the American League made news in both areas that would have great importance in future years. Rumors had persisted since the end of the season that Philadelphia would release second baseman Eddie Collins, the reigning MVP, so he become manager of the Yankees. Instead, Collins was sole to the White Sox. Philadelphia received $50,000 for Collins, while the player himself got a new five-year contract valued at around $12,000 per year.43 The subsequent 12 years that Collins spent in Chicago proved to be quite eventful.

The other significant move was the sale of the Yankees franchise. The American League had strenuously asserted during its meeting the previous month that the club would not be sold to the Wards of the Federal League as part of any peace agreement, and that owner Frank Farrell would remain in control. Keeping true to half of that assertion, the league announced that negotiations were expected to be completed soon on a sale to a group led by Jacob Ruppert Jr., whose wealth had come from real estate and breweries.

The final hurdle — a $100,000 difference between Farrell and partner William Devery’s $500,000 asking price and Ruppert’s $400,000 cap — was expected to be cleared in short order. Ruppert had big plans for his new purchase and unsuccessfully attempted to induce Connie Mack to take over management of the club. It was announced that the team would continue playing at the Polo Grounds in 1915 and possibly 1916, but that Ruppert’s group would build a new ballpark on a plot of land he owned on Lenox Avenue between 136th and 138th Streets.44 These plans were never realized and the club continued its tenure at the Polo Grounds until Yankee Stadium opened in 1923.

Spring Meetings

Wrapping up and finalizing their schedules, the NL and AL met within a week of each other in New York City in February 1915. The American League’s meeting on February 4 was held at the Hotel Belmont and was finished in less than four hours. The meeting featured the official admission of Colonel Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast “Cap” Huston as new representatives of the Yankees, with Ruppert also succeeding Frank Farrell on the league’s Board of Directors.

After setting the season’s opening and closing dates at April 14 and October 7, the league turned to other matters. At the behest of its managers, the league rescinded the player limit it had placed on clubs in November, with teams allowed to continue carrying 25 players from May 15 through August 15, and 35 players during the offseason, instead of the proposed cap of 20.

Unlike the National League, the American League owners decided not to place any restrictions on when their spring-training period should begin. In addition to granting two season passes to any American League ballpark for each of the league’s players, the group declared war on the “emery ball” pitch used by Boston and New York in the previous season. Umpires were instructed to be vigilant right from the outset and crack down on the first rule-breaker who used a piece of emery paper to scuff a new ball, so an example could be set by punishing the violator with a suspension and hefty fine.45

The National League gathered, once again at the Waldorf-Astoria, on February 9 and 10. Despite the belief that it might follow the AL in rescinding the new player limit, the NL decided to maintain the 21-player roster for the 1915 season. The league established that player-managers would count against the limit, so the bench manager would be unable to insert himself in any game during the season without forfeiting the right to carry one of the players on his roster. The penalty for violating the rule was steep — forfeiture of the game.

Concerns were expressed that by carrying four more players per team, the American League might have a competitive advantage throughout the season. The NL also declined to alter the March 1 start date for spring preseason activities. Wrapping up the unfinished business from December, it passed the prohibition on withdrawing waivers on players once asked or claimed, 6-2, with only the New York Giants and Pittsburgh objecting. Managers were no longer permitted to ask for waivers on or claim a player under the new rule, with only club presidents allowed to make those transactions.

Of special historical note was the presence of St. Louis Cardinals owner Helene Hathaway Britton. Not only was she the first woman to own a major-league franchise, but she addressed the delegates during the debate on the waiver question, thus becoming the first woman to do so in the game’s history.46 Prior to this time, she attended numerous meetings, but had only listened.

 

Notes 

1 “The League to Meet in Chicago November 6,” Sporting Life, November 7, 1914: 9; “American Will Have Something to Say,” The Sporting News, November 5, 1914: 6.

2 “Tim Murnane Hears Little of Federals in Windy City,” The Sporting News, November 12, 1914: 1.

3 “No Peace Note in Federal Meeting,” The Sporting News, October 29, 1914: 2; “NY Scribes Fail to Oust Farrell,” The Sporting News, November 12, 1914: 1.

4 “The League to Meet.”

5 “Robbins Fails to Find Peace Dove,” The Sporting News, October 29, 1914: 1.

6 “Prospects of Early Peace Fade as Issues are Joined,” The Sporting News, November 19, 1914: 1.

7 Ibid.; “AL Meet Shows Johnson’s Position,” The Sporting News, November 12, 1914: 1.

8 “Details of the Annual Meeting in Chicago,” Sporting Life, November 14, 1914: 9.

9  Ibid.

10 Ibid.; “American Magnates Attend Strictly to Own Business,” The Sporting News, November 12, 1914: 3.

11 “Details of the Annual’: “American Magnates.”

12 “Wards Finding It Hard to Break In,” The Sporting News, November 19, 1914: 1.

13 “Details of the Annual”; “AL Meet Shows.”

14 “Tim Murnane Hears.”

15 “Over 200 Register on Omaha Convention Roll,” The Sporting News, November 19, 1914: 2.

16 “Fourteenth Annual Meeting Held at Omaha,” Sporting Life, November 21, 1914: 14-15.

17 “Minors at Omaha Spurn Idea of Peace,” The Sporting News, November 12, 1914: 1; “Minor Leagues are Lined Up,” Sporting Life, November 14, 1914: 1; “Thirteenth Annual Report of Secretary Farrell,” Sporting Life, November 14, 1914: 14.

18 “Minors at Omaha.”

19 “The Feds and the Minors,” The Sporting News, October 29, 1914: 4; “No Apologies for This,” The Sporting News, October 29, 1914: 4.

20 “There Can Be No Peace,” The Sporting News, October 29, 914: 4.

21 “No Peace Note.”

22 “Boston Feels its Dignity Lowered,” The Sporting News, October 29, 1914: 2

23 “Fourteenth Annual Meeting”; “Omaha Convention Leaves No Doubt as to Where It Stands,” The Sporting News, November 19, 1914: 2-3.

24 “Herrmann Finds Peace Hope Fading,” The Sporting News, November 19, 1914: 1.

25 “Omaha Convention”; “Fourteenth Annual Meeting.”

26 “Omaha Convention”; “Fourteenth Annual Meeting”; “Three-I Leaguers Worked Fast to Fortify Their Claim to Rock Island,” The Sporting News, November 19, 1914: 2.

27 “Omaha Convention.”

28 Ibid.; “Congestion of Claims Awaiting Decision Not Fault of the National Board but of Litigants,” The Sporting News, November 19, 1914: 3.

29 “Omaha Convention.”

30 “Congestion of Claims”; “A Dearth of Deals,” The Sporting News, November 19, 1914: 3; “Western Canada League,” Sporting Life, November 21, 1914: 15; “Western Canada League,” Sporting Life, November 28, 1914: 20; “Western Canada League,” Sporting Life, December 5, 1914: 18; “Minor — and Major — Bits Picked Up in the Lobbies,” The Sporting News, November 19, 1914: 2.

31 “Western Canada League,” Sporting Life, December 26, 1914: 18; “Moguls Warlike as They Gather,” The Sporting News December 10, 1914: 1.

32 Western Canada League (D) Encyclopedia and History, Baseball-Reference.com baseball-reference.com/minors/league.cgi?code=WCAN&class=D), accessed August 14, 2015.

33 “National Leaguers in Annual Meeting Take Radical Action for Retrenchment,” The Sporting News, December 17, 1914: 3; “Fortieth Annual Meeting of the Senior League,” Sporting Life, December 19, 1914: 2.

34 “NY Scribes Fail.” Vila argued that at least 100 players would be affected; however, five players eliminated from each of the 16 teams would be 80 players. Regardless, the result would be a 20 to 25 percent reduction in player jobs in the major leagues.

35 “National Leaguers”; “Fortieth Annual Meeting.”

36 Ibid.

37 “Prospects of Early Peace,”

38 “No Peace Note.” .

39 “Fortieth Annual Meeting.”.

40 “National Leaguers”; “Fortieth Annual Meeting.”

41 “American League to Fore with Two Big News Stories,” The Sporting News, December 17, 1914: 3.

42 “Rube Marquard’s Stunt Gets Him in Bad with All Hands,” The Sporting News, December 10, 1914: 1.

43 “American League to Fore”; “Eddie Collins Sold to Chicago White Sox,” Sporting Life, December 12, 1914: 1.

44 “American League to Fore”; “A Great Base Ball Park for Farrell’s Club,” Sporting Life, December 19, 1914: 5.

45 “The Schedule Meeting of the Junior Major League,” Sporting Life, February 13, 1915: 4.

46 “The Spring Meeting of the Senior Major League,” Sporting Life, February 20, 1915: 2.