Sunday Chicago bee. [volume], May 01, 1938, SECTION TWO, Page 10, Image 10

About Sunday Chicago bee. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1925-19??

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Si. Louis Teams Organize: Form Nen Baseball League
ILLINOIS TEAM]
JOINS GROUP;
PLAYBEGIN S
May 8th Opening
Date for Loop
ST. LOUIS, Mo, April 28—Or
ganization of the new baseball
league to be known as the Mis
souri-Illinois Baseball League
was completed last Tuesday night
at a meeting of baseball repre
sentatives.
The league will be made up of
three St. Louis teams and one
Illinois team. The St. Louis
teams are the St. Louis Pirates,
the St. Louis Blue Sox, and the
St. Louis (Titanium) Giants. The
East Side aggregation is the St.
Louis Colts.
To Open With Twin Bill
Opening date of the loop has
been set for Sunday, May 8, at
Metropolitan Park, 5900 North
Broadway. On the opening day
a doubleheader will be played
wi+h all four of the teams par
ticipating. Each Sunday there
after there will be a single game
at Metropolitan Park and one at
the Colts’ park, 14th street and
Bond avenue, East St. Louis.
According to President Drake,
strict rules of clean, heads up
baseball will be stressed and good
umpiring will be demanded. The
umpires will be switched around
to each park.
The local league will be affili
ated with the Missouri. State
Semi-pro and National Negro
Semi-pro league. The winner will
represent Greater St. Louis in the
state championship series in Sep
tember.
^ The teams in the league repre
sent clubs that have been play
ing for a number of years in un
organized baseball. They boast
some of the best players in this
section and many who have
played in big league ball. All
of the teams have been strength
ened - and are now working out
diligently in preparation for the
opening.
The Giants played their first
practice game last Sunday and
defeated the St. Louis Cubs, 7-2.
Manager Vincent used three pit
chers. “T. L.” hurled the first
two innings and allowed no hits.
Smith hurled two frames, allow
ing three hits and two runs, and
Big Brackens breezed them over
the last stanza retiring the first
three to face him. Mgr. Vincent
and Stepter have buried the
hatchet and Step contributed a
doubl|' and single and fielded
sensationally to show he was glad
to be back in the fold.
Pirates at Tandy Park
Tha^Pirates will play Jelly
Stoned Roofers on Tandy Field
Sunday in an exhibition game.
Mgr. R. P. Boddie is tuning up
his sluggers for the opening game.
Sox Working Hard
Manager Ben Williams ran his
Blue Sox through a stiff practice
at Metropolitan Park last Sun
day. Tie plans to repeat the
grind -again Sunday at 12:30 p.
m. Williams reports the Sox
looking better than ever with the
addition of several promising
players.
Colts To Be Ready
Manager Elator Wallace and
Calhoun reported the Colts’ line
up for the season in great style.
The team promises to put the
same stellar squad on the field
that handed the Mounds Blues
their first defeat last year.
Philly Rifle
Team Holds N. J.
Guards to Tie
PHILADELPHIA, April 28—In
one erf the strangest matches wit
nessed here, the Square Circle
Rifle - team tied the representa
tives of Company C, N. J. Guards
at the former’s range last Sat
urday..
The two teams tied the match
by obtaining 486 out of a possi
ble 500 each. The high scoring
honors were shared by Sergt. G.
Cole of Company C and G. Glov
er of the Square Circle with 99
each. Sergt. C. Moore and J.
Davis of the Circles tied for sec
ond honors with 98 points each.
Sergt. T. Rivers and W. Glover
each shot 97. F. Burrell and M.
Brown of the Circles shot 96, a
long with Sergts. W. Woolford,
G. Jones and J. Reed of the
guards.
Itv- - - --
Tftfc Chicago Bee has more net
paid ^Chicago circulation than
any ether Negro newspaper.
Xavier Univ.
Host to Annual
Track, Field Meet
NEW ORLEANS, La., April 28
—The Xavier Invitational and
Louisiana Interscholastic Track
and Field meet for high schools
Will be held this year on Friday,
May 6, at Xavier university sta
dium, New Orleans, La., accord
ing to Theodore A. Wright, di-'
rector of the meet. The contests,
which are held annually, will be
held in conjunction with the Sixth
Annual Xavier University Invi
tational Sports Carnival featur
ing track and field events and
tennis play for colleges from all
sections of the country.
Coaches of schools intending to
represent in the meet will parti
cipate in the drawings to be held
| m the Xavier Administration
building at 9 a. m., Friday, May
| 6.
A trophy will be awarded to
the team scoring the most points,
also to the runner-up. A gold
medal for first, silver for second,
■ and bronze for third place will be
given.
Medals will also be awarded
.to winners of the relays. Events
of the meet, to which there will
be no entry fee, will include: 110
and 220-yard dashes, 440 and
880 yard and mile runs; 880-yard
relay; sprint medley; broad and
high jumps; shot put and pole
vault.
So. American Gold
Lures N. L. Stars
NEWARK, N. ., April 28—Base
ball interests from Venezuela,
South America, have been secret
ly making-huge offers to star
players on Negro National League
teams here and elsewhere to lure
them to that nation, it was offi
, cially learned here this week.
Players have been offered from
$100 to higher amounts over their
present monthly salaries to make
the change.'
Last year similar offers made
from Santo Domingo resulted in
Satchell Paige and a number of
o^her stars jumping their con
tracts.
This year interests operating
from South America have been
trying to make another raid on
the league.
Give ’Em A Tincup,
Dark Goggles
I — I
--—-- By jAy H. FERGUSON --- --—— - -
SOMETIME ago “Fats” Jen
kins told you through the col
uns of this paper that the aver
age pay for Negro league ball
players is about $175 per month,
for a period of something like
four months, beginning in May
and ending in September
If the news was as startling to
you as it was to me, no doubt,
you will wonder why the moguls
of the Negro big leagues don’t
just give their hired hands a tin
cup and a pair of dark goggles and
tell them to sign up in the pan
j handlers league where they may
beg legitimately.
I was not only astonished but
j astounded to discover that the
boys who are called upon to give
j their best at all times in order to
' attract the fans through the turn
stiles. were being paid an aver
age salary of about $700 for the
season which, to them, is a year’s
work at that profession.
Of course, I know that Negro
organized ball cannot pay any
thing like the high salaries paid
by the white leagues of strong fi
nancial backing and long business
stand ng. But it certainly seems
bread merely for the sake of race
pride, if it is possible to get a
full measure of rations elsewhere
for the same effort.
I know a league mogul who
always goes into an unholy dud
geon if his team does not win ev
ery diamond contest. He shouts,
1 not want them to receive even a
living wage. You can’t buy dia
monds with a few pennies. And
by the same token, -Negro league
owners shouldn’t expect players
to be satisfied with a crust of
the employee.
Why, then, should they demand
that their hirelings be everything
and do everything, when they do
I mean compensation commensu
rate with the work required of
that our Negro baseball mag
nates ought to do far better than
the measly less than $40 a week
stipend they dole out to their
players. And it is my opinion
■hat they could do better.
CAN’T BLAME ’EM
Only last year several Negro
National league stars jumped
the'r contracts in order to accept
more lucrative pay in San Do
mingo. The owners dubbed these
men, who only sought to earn de
cent livings for themselves and
their loved ones, “rebels.” But,
in view of the starvation wages
paid by the Negro magnates, you
can’t blame a player for being
willing to be dubbed anything
but a child of God.
How can any man live on a
paltry $700 a year himself, much
less to maintain a home and a
family? Of what worth is the
skill of a man when he can’t get
a reasonable salary for that skill?
I don’t think the owners of Negro
ball clubs have any right to growl
when a player “jumps” a con
tract for a few more dollars, and
therefore a bit more butter on his
bread, so long as these owners
refuse to take seriously the mat
ter of adequate pay for their
hired hands.
THEIR WEAKNESS
Negro baseball magnates are
afflicted with the same weakness
1hat most all Negro businesses are
victims of. They run ball clubs
solely for the purpooe of person
al profit, and the cheaper they
can get men to work for them,
the larger will their own bank
roll grow. Many of them, it
seems, like many Negro business
men in other fields, give abso
lutely no thought whatever to a
“just” wage—and by “just” wage
“I pay you boys, and I expect you
to win these games. If you do
not win them, I’ll get somebody
else who will.” To which, if I
were a member of his team, I
would retort: “All right, boss, go
ahead and get ’em. They’re wel
come to your broiled crow menu
any old day.”
ALL STAR GAMES
It is reported that players in
the annual Negro all-star game
usually receive about $50 each for
their part cipation in that con
test. That looks like a big salary
for a few hours’ work, but it
really isn’t.
And here’s why: The best year
EIGHTH REGIMENT
ARMORY NEWS
HEADQUARTERS CO.
On Friday night, April 22, im
mediately after roll call, the
president of the enlisted men’s
club, Sergeant Fi'ederick Gam
ble, called a special meeting of
the group so that a committee
might be appointed for the au
diting of books before the elec
tion of new officers for the en
suing yeai% which will be the
fix-st meeting in May according
to the announcement by Presi
dent Gamble. The names of those
elected will appear in this col
umn.
The non-coms’ school which
will meet each Wednesday eve
ning at the ai-mory from 7:00 to
8:00 p. m., as before federal in
spection according to official an
nouncement by Captain Wendell
Derricks, company commander.
Both privates and privates first
class are welcome to attend this
school of instruction which will
enable each to better qualify
himself.
It is hoped that the time will
come when no one will have to
be punished for staying at home
on drill nights. I believe, we
should be as much concerned
about attending drill as we are
about going to our “daily job.”
When we become more serious
about our pledge of enlistment
our company will not be in that
“average class” but in the nine
ty per cent class—something
we may crow about”
P. C. D., editor.
COMPANY <C^°“
Company ‘C’ is very sorry to
have been absent from the news
for the last two weeks. Owing
to the tremendous amount of
work that had to be done for
the federal inspection, we were
forced to be absent for that pe
riod. Now that we are back, we
are very glad indeed.
We take this opportunity here
tc congratulate Private First
Class Alton Gill on his promotion
to sergeant and his assignment
to the supply department. We
think that there is no man in
the company better fitted for the
job than Gill. Congratulations,.
Sergeant Gill! We sincerely wish
* you the best of luck.
| The competitive drill squads
; have made tremendous progress
in the last few weeks. We take
the liberty here to congratulate
Corporal Claience E. Marshall
on his leadership ability and his
initiative in training the best
drill squad to date.
On the 20th of May, the play,
“Journey’s End,” will have its
premiere at the DuSable high
school auditorium. The play,
which was produced and direct
ed by Lieutenant Wesley John
son, has developed some of the
finest talent to date.
Lieutenant Johnson has work
ed tirelessly in moulding the
raw material into such a fine
body of players. One of his fin
est players to date is Gordon
Nelson. We cannot give this
young man too much praise. He
is, without a doubt, one of the
most sensational amateur finds
to date. I, for one, will not miss
the premiere of “Journey’s End.”
The Chevrons of ‘C’ has an
nounced a loan system strictly
for the members of the company.
The loan sharks of the other
companies who have heretofore
charged outrageous rates of in
terest will be sorely disappoint
ed this encampment to find the
ranks of their suckers very much
depleted.
Corporal Clarence L. Echols,
reporter.
COMPANY ‘A*
INSPECTION, SO WHAT?
Bring on your federal inspec
tion and see what do we care
was the attitude of the
personnel in Company ‘A’ as
this yearly “big event” hovered
just around the corner, April 19
to be exact. And the boys were
secure in this feeling for, past
performances show that whenev
er Company ‘A’ had displayed
that “cock-sure-feeling” on in
spection eve they advertently
passed this rigid examination,
with a very high average.
8TACCATTO NOTES:
Corporal Horace (Duck-water)
Driver lowering his dignity,>
temporarily, to aid in pressing
the uniforms. . . . Sergeant
Virgil Hummer finally showing
up and easing anxiety as to his
whereabouts. . . . Private James
Taylor seems destined to be sec
ond cook as Private Emanuel
Jones goes back to line.
Apparently Private First Class
Ernest H. Harris has something
on Corporal Dotries Mason that
makes said corporal quake in
his boots. . . . Private First
Class Robert A. Carter bringing
little brother up to drill. A po
tential soldier. ... Private
Walter Grose worried over the
disposal of Military Show Tick
ets. . . . Private Paul Wea
thersby coming up with the lon
gest last name in the company.
. . . Private First Class Cleo
Baker disposing of his
pipe and bumming cigarettes.
.... Sergeant Joe Henderson
“overseeing” while Private First
Class Robert Wheeler shines
shoes. . . . Corporal Wilbur
Wright dropping rank on Cor
poral John Hill, and getting
away with it.FAMOUS
LAST WORDS: “I’m sick today,
Top.”
COMPANY ‘G’
Captain Johnson and Lieute
nant Ellison participated in the
Terrain exercise, near Hinsdale
Sunday, April 24. Plat. Sergeant
Poague and Riddle were in at
tendance as observers. Both ser
geants were enthusiastic about
the problems.
The Sunday afternoon school
got down to brass tacks,. ironing
out the little difficulties that we
noticed during the inspection.
The non-commissioned officers
called a meeting concerning their
coming cabaret party, June 25.
However, you regimenteers will
hear more of that later. Just
save your pennies, boys.
Corporal Jones fell out Sunday
in a new front. Yessir, he wants
it known all over the stroll that
he is once more in the running,
after an involuntary retirement.
Hide your sweeties, boys, the
buccaneer is in your midst.
Sergeant Andrew Bohannon
continues to reduce the chicken
population. Folks, whenever a
general fowl exodus from Chica
go takes place, Sergeant Andy is
on a rampage.
Corporal Charleston Lee, clerk.
The CHICAGO BEE has more
paid Chicago circulation than
any other Negro newspaper.
Scribe Sees Poor Salaries for Players as
Bane to Good Performance on Field
of the all-star series, according
to reports, netted a profit of some
thing like $25 000. The attend
ance at that game was said to
have been around 30,000 specta
tors. Now, if twenty-six players
took part in this contest at $50
each, their aggregate salaries a
mounted to only thirteen hundred
dollars. And - even if the mag
nates had to pay this amount out
of the reported $25,000 profit, a
neat sum of $23,700 would have
been left for somebody—but not
the men who did the work and
made the show worthwhile.
NOT SUCH A GAMBLE
It will be argued for the mag
nates side that, in the case of the
all-star games, they take a great
gamble in renting a park for
which they are required to pay
a reported $5,000 rental; pay
transportation charges and other
incidentals that must be paid re
gardless of the financial returns
on the venture, in staging this
annual classic.
It is all true about the expens
es. But as for the gamble, that’s
just a bit of hooey. If the head
men weren’t certa’n 1hat they
would be able to “clean up” on
the venture, they never would
have started it. They are quite
aware that there are enough fans
in the city in which the contest is
staged to guarantee a return on
their investment. They are by no
means as dumb as they would
have the public believe them to
be.
Then, too, when they permit
the fans to have a voice in the
choosing of the participants in
this classic, they are assured of
something above expenses by the
interest noted among the base
ball loving public. The truth is,
they never take a gamble on this
game, and no one knows iT bet
ter than they.
Yet, because of avarice and par
simoniousness, they feel that the
best they can do by the player is
to give him $50 for his day’s
work as a principal actor in the
great drama of entertaining the
thousands who have paid thou
sands into the till to see this
player, along with others, “do his
stuff.”
WE GET THE BLAME
But the baseball moguls of our
group find it an easy matter, so
they think, to explain the low
wage scale existing throughout
the league. We, the fans, so they
say, do not support the game in
sufficient numbers to warrant a
higher salary for the players. But
that’s what THEY say, and is
only a camouflage to hide the in
born avarice of individuals who
want most everything for them
selves at someone else’s expense.
It may be true that Negroes do
not support Negro baseball as
they could and should do. It is
true that often Negro teams are
called upon to play before well
nigh empty grandstands. And it
is also true that the expenses in
volved in running ball clubs are
no widow’s mite. Nevertheless,
it is hardly believable that the
margin of profit is so slim that
professional baseball players can
only be guaranteed a measly $175
per month for four month’s of
actual league play.
And while 1he league season
runs only from May to Septem
ber, most of the Negro league
players are required to put in at
least an extra month in training
for which they receive no salary
at all. Still, they must live and
are expected to get into the pink
of condition by May 14, the date
of the opening of the league.
WE’D QUIT
You must not lose sight of the
fact that Negroes take advantage
of their own in the matter of em
ployment as do business men of
other groups—if not more so. The
Negro employer realizes that his
race is economically handicapped;
that no matter how skilled an
ndividual Negro may be, he can
not sell 1his skill to the whites
except in rare instances.
That handicap places the Negro
artisan, the Negro professional,
the Negro baseball player in a
posi+ion where he is forced to
sell his labor and his skill for a
mere song—and this song is usu
ally without rhythm, especially if'
he is dealing with a Negro em
ployer. And the irony of it all,
the Negro baseball magnate, just
as does the Negro business man
in other fields of endeavor, is al
ways ready to pat himself on the
back and, in the most grandilo- j
quent manner, pra se himself for
“offering opportunity to men to
earn a living!”
MUST LOOK UP
Negro baseball moguls must get
out of ■ the valleys. They must
look up to the hills from whence
cometh strength. And, like the
traveller trudging along the road
through the valleys, look longing
ly at the hill and anticipate the
i joy that will be his when he at
ta ns the distant eminence.
That means, of course, that Ne
gro baseball magnates must be
willing to make sacrifices—to take
up the burden which they are 1
placing upon the players by re
quiring them to work for a pau
pers’ dole. Only when they take
upon their own shoulders the
heavy load of making Negro pro- |
fessional baseball attractive, not
only to the fans, but also to the j
i men who make up the teams may j
I they expect a permanent institu
! tion assured of prosperity and
: continuity.
There’s a great big difference :
between a well satisfied workman
and one who works simply be- '
cause he feels that it is a matter 1
of life and death with him. The
under-paid employee, while he
may do his best under the cir
cumstances, cannot do his real
best, because he forever feels
that he is nothing more than a
quasi slave.
That may be the reason why
we have so much squabbling in
games by players of the Negro
leagues. The players are as dry
tinder, ready to ignite at the
least spark of disgruntlement. A
decision of the umpire, a bad play
by a teammate, or a razz from an
over-zealous and not too urbane
fan—all these things are sparks
that serve to ignite the tinder
that has been sunbaked by the
ever-present knowledge that the
player is poorly paid.
This is a condition or situation
without rhyme or reason. The
moguls can and must do better by
their players. If they find they
really can do no better, then they j
should quit. At that the players!
would be little worse off, even!
though idle. And it is quite cer-i i
tain that a field would open up to
them offering a greater harvest
as a reward for their labor.
LET’S ALL PULL TOGETHER
What I have written I have
written. The surest way to build
a strong house is to lay first, a
firm foundation. Negro profes
sional baseball is a structure in
the building. We want a strong
structure that will endure. To
have this, we must begin to build
it up from the foundation—and
that foundation is the men who
make up the various league
teams.
If we have well-paid, and
therefore, satisfied players, we
are sure to have games well
worth the admission price we
pay to see the contests.
-
Philly Stars
Defeat Red Sox
10 to 4 Sunday
MEMPHIS, Term., April 28—
The powerful Philadelphia Stars
baseball club defeated 1he Red
Sox last Sunday at Martin’s
Park by the score of 10 to 4. The
Stars had one big inning, in fact
one very big inning, when they
scored all their runs.
The teams got the same num
ber of hits but the Stars were
able to bunch their hits together
with four walks by Wilson and
Moss, who relieved him in the
third inning when the Stars scor
ed all their runs on 7 hits and
four walks.
In the big third inn’ng, Giles,
first up, hit to right field. Par
nell doubled to right center;
Spearman walked; Dunn hit a
home run over the left field fence
scoring three runs ahead of him.
Perkins went out on a fly to
left field; Harris hit the first
pitched ball over the left field
fence for a home run. Moss
went in to relieve Wilson. Crescy
walked, Brown walked, Carter i
ait through short; Giles walked; |
Parnell went out on a fly to 3rd ;
base; Spearman tripled to deep
eft center, scoring three runs.
Hilton Heads
N. J. Tennis Assn.
ORANGE, N. J., April 28—Dr.
E. O. Hilton was elected presi
dent of the New Jersey State
renn's association at its monthly
neeting.
Other officers were Dr. Walter
E. Longshore, vice president; Miss
Inez R. Patterson, secretary; Miss
Edith Kemp, financial secretary;
Lawrence Dancy, treasurer.
Named to Committee
Dr. Hilton named Henry Wil
liams, Logan McWiison and Dr.
Allison Cobbs, member's of the
Ecckburn trophy committee.
Tournaments scheduled in the
state include the class B week
end of July 4; the Union Tennis
Elub Open, for New Jersey play
ers, July 16-23, and the New Jer
sey closed, Labor Day week-end.
Tried Out With
Crackers in Ga.
COLUMBUS, Ga., April 28—
W. L. Moore, the Birmingham
[professor, SIAC football and Am
I erican league baseball official,
purchased the Birmingham Black
Barons during the winter and hir
ed William Dismukes, old-time
Indianapolis ABC’s great, as
manager. Dismukes arrived in
Birmingham last week, accord
ing to reports, and immediately
set forth to put a team together.
Word reached Mooi'e that one
cf his star 1937 flingei's, “Bo”
Mitchell, is working out with the
Atlanta Black Crackers in their
camp in this city. The statement
is true; Mitchell is in the Black
Cracker camp.
In a recent communication to
Executive Secretary W. B. Bak
er, the Birmingham owner closed
with this statement: “Please di
vest yourself of Pitcher ‘Bo’ Mit
chell for he is Birmingham Back
Baron property.” There is noth
ing left to do but tell the bow
legged curver bon voyage and let
him be on his way.
Promotional plans for the
games with the World Champion
Homestead Grays were completed
and the games got under way on
Sunday, April 24, and ran for
three days. Sizeable crowds at
tended each game, and the pro
moters were well pleased with
the results of their efforts.
The Black Crackers plan many
changes his season for the good
of the team. New blood will be
added which, it is hoped, will add
greatly to the strength of the
team. Local fans are becoming
more and more interested in the
game in this city, because of the
promise of a better team.
Gcr^r
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jrardless of size.
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