Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, February 25, 1877, Page 7

g LY n—— . THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: SUNDAY., FEBRUARY 25 1877—SIXTEEN~ PAGES. . PASTIMES. i gastern Horse - Sharps Banged 3 3 Aronnd Unmereifully. cedy Dissolution of the Bing i Predicted. ickok, Doble, and Green's i Strings of Trotters. mmation of the New International o Association, e Excellent Legislation for Non-League Clubs. pe Wisdom of What the Convention Did Not Do. he St Louis Side of the Dorgan Con- troversy. Jatest Lista of Players Engngefl-—sim Revolvers. THE TURF. THE EASTERN CIRCUIT. At the close of the trotting seuson Iist fall, {he wapagers of tue tracks composing the Sep- sistersl found themselves fn much the same jostion sssumed by the celebrated Kilkenny it of bistoric fame, except that the number of wir-puliers o each side Wwas somewhat greater. he seveu-sided combinativn was formed several geatons ag0, and evervthmg connected with it jed in such s placid and aitogether lovely Luoner thot even the parties in ‘nterest were rprised. But this fecling of mutual love and smiration was not. perhaps, to be wondered at, sigoe all the tracks in the Association weremak- foz money, and a well-filled purse isnotoriousty wuducive to a pleasant contemplation of life ud #ts surroundines. In eddition to this xcreesble feature, the National Board of Ap- jeals,—a costly iustitution maintained by the wotiiug associations of the entire country, and popularly supposed 1o deal out equal sud exact warse justice to all that applied,—smiled grciously upon the gentlemen of the Septi- lutersl until, like s woman's reputation, it be- came smirched by the tengue of gossip. Some tald, bed men in the West insinuated that the Board was * staundiug: ith the Septilateral management, and taking entirely too- active an fnterest in its aflairs. 3 While everything was booming along so aus- piciously, the President of Charter Oak Park at Bartfund (which Association, by the way, has the respect and gooid-will of horscmen all over the comatry) fhtrodaced 2 resolutiou) that for 1876 1he entrance-fee to all races should be reduced | from 10 10 5 per cent, half forfeit. The other.| tracis fell 1 witn the "propozition, and ft was | slopted. When the scason closed, Mr. Powers, | of Hartford, awoke to the melancholy realiza- tion that he had been boist by hig own petard. The meetings at bis city and Springticld were | feilures, stmply because the owvers of all but tieeor four of the best horses in each ciass, vers naturally preferred paying the 5 per cent forfeft and drawing their horses, to putting up | 10¢ balance of the money when there was no wrdlly chance to win it back. | Consequently, when the season closed, sud the asove-pamed associations found the bufunce to be on the wrong side of -the ledger, their managers suddenly discovered, what bad | teen spparent to other peovle for some time, | e they were merely actine as atail to the Cleveland-Buffalo-Rochester kite, and that the woner they abandoned that conspicuous but not aliogether plessing situation the better it wonld be for them. Therefore, when the Board | o Stewards held its aunual meeting st New TYork last week they organized a mournful but | desiant howl for 8 square deal. At first, not | ma: _ uatention was paid to it by the controlling element, but as Springfield hud already thrown down the gsuutlet. bj _claiming for its meeting the week beretotore monopolized by *Poughkeepsie, zn effort at conciliation was niade. The sorebeads demandcd that the Septilaterat be eutirely done away with, and twe Quadrilaterals fordied by | wmittng Fieetwood Park as s member. This | was agreed to, aud the time of closirg the en- tries changed, as bas already appeereq. This | cuncession having been made vy the frogp end of the concern, Suringileld was requested 10 zet back where it beiongcd, —in the line,—but vromptly refused to do su, and at Jast accounts wes stil unimured aud Iu the mng. Unless some compromise is clected, the .dutes there- fore will be as follows: Cleveland, July 24; Buflslo, July 81: kocbester, Aug. 73 Lt Aug. ii: Poughkeepsie and Springficid, 21; Hartford, Au. 25; Fleetwood Park, Sept. 4. Onthe whole, it Jooks 45 it the present was bat the beginning uf 2 general dissolutvn of a | concern that bas ueted the bog whenever an®p- | portunity offered, und its early demuse will be iled with pleasure by horsemen all over the tonntry, and espedially in the West. In regurd to®the programme for uext season, thefollowing purses bave been agreedupon: Free lor all, barring Goldsmith Maid, $4,009; for 2:21 horses, §3,000; for 2:23 Lorses, 325005 for 2:25 Yorses, $2,000; for 2:27 horses, 32,0005 for 2:2 lorses, $2,000; for 2:31 horses, SL.50; for 2:34 Lorses, 31,500. This arrangement, it will be Duticed, vlaces Badd Doble and Charley Green, o i to whom heretofore considerable loadying has becn Gonme, in a3 very bad Wr “With the Maud barred from the freeforall, she will be worthless, unless a #pedal purse for a trial of speed is_instituted, ud, even if this is dune, Doble will have two borses—Bodine and Albermarle—in the free-for- +li cluss, as both have records better than 2:21, and there is no purse between that for horses of the 2:2] class and the free-for-all. Budd is also bandicapped with Clementine and Thorndule, botk of whom must start in the 2:21 class if at + 8L Green fs in the same boat with Dable. as Le has Lula, Lucille Golddust, and May Queen, teir records being 2:15, 2:193, and 2:%03 althoueh, if a tyial-of-s) Maid and Luls guould be given, he would Dave one less useless horse on his hands. T change from the 2:22 to the 2:21 purse, and the piving of no purse for horses of the Aug. 218 class, will be found 1o work badiv. If the 18 purse Lad been given. the hhid&L%lliL. e the Suugpler, and Hopeful would Lave ma: free-fur-all race interesting, while such rood Oves a5 Fullerton, Bodine, Lucille Golddust, Great Eastern, Albemarle, and May Queen coni- pused a fine field of fyers in the 2:18 class. A Logether tae progrsmme is as fine an exhibition ol the how-uot-to-do-it policy 2s could be imagined. . INSTINCT TS. MEASUREWENT. Sioce trotting borses have becowe so plenti- that 3 threcminute nag can be secured for $he money that a few years azo would have suf- Bized only for the purchase of an ordivary bug- lrsy, the different strains of “blood Al baye been the most Success- fl - n producing valuable track and road horses are being juvestizated With 3 carefulness that, a few years since, would Lave beeu laughed at as uot only UNDECESSATY, bat sbsolutely Toolish. Not mauy years sgo it 4 mau posscssed a trotter, that “fict ompre- Lenged everviliug. It was not necessary that e horse should be handsome, or kind, or well- Ted. Speed was the desideratum, and, with Lat secured, the nossessor cared for little else in comectiot with his_horse. although, of ¢oaree, its value was enhanced if this was ac- @mpanied by stylish action and a good pedi- fifl‘- But of Jate years the breedinz of trotting tes has increased enormously, there being a asduation about the business,and as possidle Eest profit, that tempt all Jovers of the bLorse Laenter into'the busiuess, whether it be on the Sale of an Alexander, 2 West, or 3 Withers, or e more humble wethod of raising from a fa- | Kaown v Jorite mare, grown old in faithful service, a colt by some well-bred member of an acknowledsed trtting family. This source of supply bas heea Jastly anemented by the breeders of the Ken- treky blag region,—men who have made the subject, u life stu Bowe vears axo, wiaen the trotting-horse fever ¥as at its height. 2 number of the best-known slm:kflls{'.rs ot kentucky, who hed previously ’evotui their time to the production of horses or the running turf, found taat the few breed- <rs of trotting borses in New York, such menas Alden Goldsmith; Guy Miller, Capt. Rynders, and Edwin Thorn, wers disposiug of their young #tack 10 men of means fn 11l parts of the coun- try at prices that {oronghbred cast:the Kentucky sales of h vearlings completely nto the ;)uluie. They were not stow to profit by this act, aud, by reason of the unequaled natural- advauntages of Kentucky for the growth and de- ;elopmr:nt. of young stock, aud the fine class of roodmares there, consisting largely of the get of lho,m notable horses, Mambritio Chief, Alex- ander’s Abdalial, Pilot, ana Alexander's Nor- :nan, bred to such sires as Almout, Honest Al- er, George Wilkes, Mambrino Patehcn, Strad- er’s C. M. Clay, Jr., and others, they have been enabled to throw upon the magket dur- fng the last few years o hest of horses capable of trotting 8 mile in three minutes or .heuer‘vwhne suck briiliaut track performers as Allle West, Lady Turpin, Lula,” Ma: Queen, Blackwood, Jr.,” Woodford Chief, Mambrino Kute, and May Bird, show that the Kentucklans ;m;;l;lnz :h ula.uz fight Efi" n"ih Northern on the latter’s specialty, —the tion of the trotting horse, 7 T Produc: Of course this increase in the breeding inter- ¢sts of the country hus led to a vast umount of discussiou as to the best method of gccaring the zesult so ardently sought, viz.: the discovery of tle laws of animal reproduction, in order that, { trusting larpely to fortune, the man Who invests his capital in a_stock-farm may be tuided in its management by rules as 'mlfde- tned g those to which oridinary commercial ‘ursnits are subject, and by following which he may ut least uvoid the dixastrous end that bas overtaken €0 many sanguine persons who en-’ gaged in the business of breeding trotting stock with varue and sty ideas as to how it was all 20 be douc. As a vatural résult of this discus- sion, a great deal of nousense has been paraded and 3 vast amount of time and labor caployed in giving to the public ideas that had better have remained in their original seclusion, but, on the other hand, the subject has also been considerea by practical breeders, who are also men of ed- ueation, and, as a natdral result, the problem of ¢ How Lo breed the trotting-horse ** is much uearer solutfon thun most people imaeme, “The vist smount of beterogeueous fuformation on t0e subject has been boled down to two theo- ries. B One of these fs, Lo say the least, unigue. Tt 18, in brief, that u certain physienl conformation will enzble a horse to show great trotting speed. Thus, according to s theory, If aman has a horse that messures the same st 81} jmportant points a8 Bodine or Thorndale he is boundto be atrotter. ‘Lhis theory is an alluring ove, since it enables any one L0 owna trotter,—in bis mind,—but tiius far it has failed to “ pan out.” although supported by ove of the most intelli- gent turf-writers i the country. Anf‘ street- raitroad compauy i Chicago can doubtless pro- duce oue or more horses measuring the same at all essential points as some of the most cele- brated trotters in the country, and yet if placed in training they would e toial faflures. Indecd, the experiment has een tried in New York City with that result. The notorions fact that all sorts and descriptions of horses become trotters of merit seems to be in itself a complete refutation of the measurement theory. at Eastern is 2 unlike Goldsmith Maid ‘as ni is unlike day, but they are both tirst-class trotters, with records below 2:20. ‘The other theory is emvraced In the words, “trotting fustinet.” The originator claims that size and sbape have no effect whatever in the production of trotters, sithough admitiing, of course, that they may ivflucnce the rate of speed and the trofting action; but asserts that the speed-power or motive is to be found in the brain of the horse, placed there by successive geuerations of ancestors, most of wiom have speed at the trot developed to 2 erree; and that this trotting instinct may remain dormaut, wmay exigbit its workis at the first opportunity, or mag be developed by patient and skilliul hendling. ™ To sav the least, this theory is supported by facts which cannot have escaped the attention'of horsemen. Gov. Sprasue, that astonished theworld by trotting a full mite at Buffeloin his 4-year-old form in 2:21%, making the last hal{ mile in haif a nd less than the first, and trotting the quarter In thirty-four seconds,—a 2:16 guit, s o fine’ illustration oi the: *frotting in- % Sadie Bell, the mare that -0ld race over a fine field at the Breeders’ Mceting at Philacelphia last sumumer, is another horse” that seems to support this theory. Iler owner, when asked regarding the growth of her speed, replied that was never develuned: that she could trot as fast the first time sne was hitched 1o a sulky s she ever could, ber training serving only to accustom her to company and give her track-sense. Then awain, there zare horses of the best trotting families,—notably the Volunteers,—that require long and patient handling besore showing their speed, but when they do cowe, they come to stay. Taking into_consideratian these leading facts, which the limits of @ newspsper article will not permit of being elaborated, it would seem that the “trotting instinct” thedry is at least worthy of careful examination” by horsemen, eciaily by the “blood will tell® class who Dbrand 254 duffer every norse nof provided with 2 pedigree reaching back into the Middle Ages. E HICK TABLE. A gentleman in this city a few days sinee re- ceived a letter from Orrin Hickoli, the well- known diiver, who has becn sojuurnipg for sev- eral years in Caiiforniy, in wiich that party stated that he should come East next sumumer with u few trotters, the head of tne string be- ing St. Julien. This horss, being by Volunteer out of 4 mare by Sayre’s Harry Clay, is a brother in bloed to Bodine, but, unhke the latier horse, isamodel of size and beauty, this being no 5] { doubt due to the tact that he traces back on his dam’s side to an Arabian mare. The carcer of St. Julien was a phenomenal _one, Le having come out in his 6-year-old form in 1875, aud won six events in the Eastern cr- cuit, not_ losing a race. At Hartford the horse Unknown, who had beena * second money borse * ‘for several” scasons, was in the race, and mauaged to drive 8t. Julien out of the 2:24 class. In order to geveven, Bill Sareent, who was steering the Saint, took 2 pull on his liorse av the timsh of the second heat, and Un- first under the wire, a procecding to which he was wholly unaccustomed, and the de- pression in the mind of bis owner on account of thiscircumstance wasnotatali relivved when the judges announced the time, 2:2314, thus putting ihe horse in a class where he would huve but lirtle chance to win. It wasonc ot the neatest cages of * dump ' on record, and, although no- body but theé Unknown crowd felt bad about It, the judges called Sargent into the stand and told him to win the next beat or auother driver wonld be put into h'ssulicy. Like Peter Johnson, 2t Rochester last sumyner, bhe obeved. \When St. Juifen reached the first turn, he made a bad brealk, and wus soon a distauce out. Then be settled, and "began to show his speed, trotting the Jast half-mile in 1:05, and winning the heat in 2:22%¢, which:is his present record. He was afterwasrds purchased by Hickok lor 00), and takeu to Califoruia in the winter of 1575-'6. The climate did not agree with him, however, and last season he was *off’* and did pothing of consequence. Should he be right, when be strikes the circuit next summer, it will take a slick ope to beat hiw, althouzh he will be in the 2:21 class, with such llyers as Littie Fred, Gen. Graut, Kunsas Chicf, Adelaide, John H., Belia, Mollie Morris, Amy, Hennah D., Thorndale, Blackwood, Jr., Mattie, May-Bird, and Badger Girl, all of whom bave shown heats msiderably below . w“'im rez{ml to the other horses that will ‘compose Hiclok’s stable pothing is kuown, although come think that the much-talked-of #Spark Mare,” that has shown such wonderful traits, may be among the oumber. In any event, the-return ol Hickok to the Eastern turf will create a scnsation, siee the warmest friend- ship is known to exist hnwee; hlmsfil(fland‘)gtf Ule, their bippodroming tour through the coun- ry several yep;:‘sl ago with Goldsmith Maid and Lilcy having given~ them every opportunity to beeome thoroughly acquainte @ view of the fact that the schedule of purses arranged for the Eastern cireurt next suminer bas placed Doble 3n 3 bad bex regarding several of his horses, it is thought that he may transfer Thorndale or Sam Purdy to Hickok, in which event the pool- buyers will pe very careful how they fnvest their money on races i which the boys have horses. Or, it Hickok has a large enough stable, of his own, it is bossible that William H. Doble, Budd’s father, may assist his son, a8 he did in 1875, A DREEDER ON MURRAY. Some years a%o, the Rev. W. H. H. Murray wrote 3 book deseriptive of his adventures iu the Adirondack Mountains. The subject was new, the books sold , “and tike many another man, Mr. Murray imagined that be- chuse what Le had sid on one subject was well received, his uttcrances on any topic would thereafter be looked upon as pearls without price. Accordingly he dashed futo horse liter- ature, no doubt imagining that the breeders a lovers of fast stock were without e‘.:‘l:depfion paragous of ignorance acd monaments of _ stupidits. ~ So long a3 Mr. Murray confiney himsell 10 “Bpe writing,” and dealt exclusively in re- sm?:ding ‘phrases without tXpressing an opinioa on subjocts of interest, he was not inlcrfer;d With, but when hie starfed in to_write about the £dente of brevding in_much the suine manner that a dime novelist pictures a landscape, he found himself in water counsiderably xbfl\"_\,‘n\s cars, and to say that Le was **fired out” is to express his manuer of exit from the pedigree literati in_a very mild manner. What one 01[ the guild thinks of him may be scen iu the fol- Jowing extract from a conunuvication to 3 an, Egstern monthly: s A approaches his 1o] e Roee bl hlinite credit and one which well acconuts for the valuuble discoveries’ which be subsequently aunounces. ‘*Young man,'y says 7r. Murray (though ‘whatespecial young mian ‘s ‘Sddreseed does not appear, unless the term be col- lective and intended to apply to'the Loard of Ag; Tealture], +if I have arrived at any trath, pic. In a_epirit have arrived at any correct understanding of this matter of breeding the horee, 1 am quite sure that i than to any other thing that tup reverentialiy. . . . H I have ar- abany teugh i this matter [say [ belicve 1 ¢ it to the fact thot T took the trat knowledge that T discovered out of the Bible.” : There it is. Behold the fountain from ‘Which réverend fricnd has quafded those de dranghts of knowledge, of which we are now pe: mitted to taste! Shall’s good tree bring forth co ruot froit! No. And while the rest of us have been poring over the light and vain stad book, the profane Trolting Rezister, and the proiitless pedi- gree, our wise brother has_sought Yruth where truth only is to be found, and thus at last has dis- covered the golden rule of brecding horses never before dreamed of, and comprised in these few words, v “*Every seed ehail bring forth after its kind.* Tmagine for a moment the horse to be a sced or a bulb, and the mystery ix un- raveled. ‘' Find 'the tvpical rose of all the world,” says the reverend anthor, **and you can repeat the first_rose that ever was made, ™ Tould we find the typical horse, would not the game resnit follow? ~ Fortunately we are not left in doubt on this subject citlier.~ A rearch prose- cuted with faith, we are assared, will lead us toa certain descendant of Justin Morgan, 3 very typical rose of Sharon, a sced which invariabl bringeth forth after its kind, and one which wil make the coming keason at the farm of the Rov. W. M. IL Murray. Butour anthor does not copfent himeclf alone with showing the ** young ma®” the tme path to follow; he al<o démonstrates the folly of the mistaken courses he heratofore blindly pursncd. ‘A dam." savs he, ‘‘that s not worth 350 perhaps, bred to & horse not worth 50 cents, with the hooe of geiting a Lula or a Gold- smith Muid! Just such wild dreams as that, I know {rom_correspondence [ am receiving from all over New Englaud,are being entertained by young meu. Fifty thousand dollars for the invested capl-. tal is not. in my opinion, a dollar too much, * Hearken well, young man! Lreea no more to thy 50-cent horecs, after the menner of the Keo- tuckian who walketh in darkness. Procure quickiy by $50,000. Cause the cumel to pass swiftly through'’ the eye of the necdle. Breed thy race- horse with a meck and lowly spirit. and doubtless thy prayers shull in the end prevall, TRACE TALK. Maj. J. R. Hubbard, better known under the nom de plume of * Alblon,” has taken charge ol the turf department of the Spiritof the Tlitues. Jobn F. Phelps, Jr.. the owner of the trot- ting horses Delhi, Sadie Howe, and others, died on the Gth of the vresent month at his resi- dence, Brooklyn, N. Y. + Col. McDaniel has concluded to sell the race mare Mattie A recently taken to Californfa, s e does not wish to ncur therisk of shipping her home by ruil. “Although not a first-class racer, she should prove o ¢ood brood mare, being by Australian out of Minnfe Mansfield by Glenvoe. Ar. James E. Berkley, of Dallas, Tex., offers to match Juck Hardy ‘or Belle Berkley a dash race of two wmiles or under against Chiquita (a daughter of fmp. Murrah) for from $2,000 to §5,000a side, the race_to be run at Honston, Galveston, Austin, or New Orlesns. In reply, the owner of Chiguita offers to match her against cither of the above horses, a dash of one, one and one-half, or two wmiles, for $5,000 a side, on any mile course not_sonth of Nusnville nor West of the Mississippi River, between Jan. 1 and Nov. 1,9877. The Kentucky Live-Stock Record savs: *In another column will be found o list of horses in training in Kentucky us far as we have beenable to obtain them. They number 176, which will be still further increased as the season opens, 56 that we can rely in Kentucky upon more than 200 horses for the spring meetings. Awong the list will be found 2 number of national fame, and wany youngsters of the richest and rarest blood. The outlook for sport wus never more flattering and brilliant. Nextweek we will give ist of Tenuessce horses In training, which 1l make the aggregate number to compete for stakes and purces iu the Southwest reach the enormous number 300, the largest ever known in the history of the turf, *Yah Amerikanski” is the nom de plumeof a reeent addition to American writers on turf sports, and, as tie has acquired the Irishman’s habit of hitting the tirst head in sight. his pro- ductions are not appreciated by the older beads in thie business, ond_especially the owners of trotting staltions. Not lung w0 Lhe owners of Godfrey’s Patchen were obliged to rap the young mnan over the head for stating that their horse was atlicted with rngbones, snd now Mr. E. L. Norcross, former owner of Fearnaught, has taken him In hand forabusing that deccased cquine. He offers to match his horse Bay Fear- naught against King Philip ( son of Jay Gould, in wuose interest *“Yah Amerikanski’ scems 10 have been, writing) to trot 2 race over Mystic Park, Boston, auy day in June mext, two miles and repeat, wagon and driver to weigh pounds, for $3K or 81,000 a side, balf forieit. BASE-BALL. THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION. inits organiclaw a lostility which was as un- ressoning as it was foolish, short-sighted, and damaging to tbe game. It is greatly “to the credit of the gentlemen who met at Pittsburg that they did not descend to fanaticism, but coofined thewmselves to doing what they could to better their own conditfon without any desire to follow out the paths made for them by such blind guides s had neitaer money or reputation at stake. In many respects the Convention was a Buccess, and, if more of the higher class of non- League professionals had been preseut, it would have been even more so. 3 ‘The gentlemen who came together Tuesday evening were nine in number,—one from Canads, oue from the Northwest, two from the South- west, two from the West, two from the East, and one from the Middle States. Theclubs rep- resented were as follows, taking them according to the location of their delegates us sct down above: i Buarry Gorman, of the Tecumseh Club, of London, Ont., representing his own club and the Maple Leafs, of Guelph, Ont. L. Meacham, of the Fairbanks Club, of Chi- Thomas McNeary, of the Red Stocking Club, of St. Louis. L. C. Waite, of St. Louis, representing the San Francisco Club and the Rochester (N. Y.) Club. & H. F. McKnight, of Pittsburg, reoresenting the Allegheuey Club of Pittsbure, the Actives of Reading, Pa., the Essex of Buffalo, and the Brown Stockings of Erie. J. A, Williams, of Columbus, O., representing the Buckeyes of that city. L. 8. Clark, of the Manchester, N. H. club. W. A. Cummings, of the Live Oaks of Lynn, Mass., representing 'also the Allentown (Pa.) club and the Altoona (Pa.) club. 5 A. B. Rankin, of Brookiyn, representing the Chelseas of Brooklvn, the Alaskasof New York, aud the Resolutes of Elizabeth, N. J. Of these eighteen clubs; only sixteen were rep- resented in any vote, the letters of authoriza- tion from the other of them being too vague to be voted on. The strength of the Convention in a moral way was gained from the presence of the Alle- gheney, the Buckeye, the Tecumsch, the Fair- banks, the Live Uak, and the Manchester Clubs, organizations of cousiderable strength in play, and all of them well backed by money and the influence and respect of the communities where iese, the Manchester and the kmown than the other three because they come this year for the first time prominently into the aréna with strong nines. The 3t. Loais Reds huve no playens engaged, aud thercfore nothing can surely be said about them as yet: while the of the list comes under the head of that class of clubs which did not take intercst enough in the Convention to .send a delegate. This does not apply to the Chelscas. who are, how- ever, 3 sort of co-operative team liable to con- tamn excelient players lunz enough to graduate them into other clubs. and quite likely to win a game in Brooklyn, but not to return the same. This may not be the case this year, and certain- 15 should not be. Sound lemislation is, bow- ever, oppozed to proxies, and it may be said in a general way that the best results must be gained by the conference of gentlemen having intercst, and not by tieir merely writing letters giving some onc else the right to vote for them. An instence in pomt at the” Pittsburg meeting was when four delegates- with th proxies very pearly vursted the new Assouiation wide opén before it eter elected an officer. "The clubs not present were no less prominent for their.feeling than those who came. Tt was a singular thine, and oue to be explainedin oniy one way, that such stronz towns as Lowell, Fall River, Taunton, Providence, tnl New Haven in the East: Binghunton, Ithaca, Syracuse, and 1lion in the Middle States; Detroit, Jacks =/ No movement in base-ball since the League meeting in Cleveland has been looked forward to with so much interest, anticipation, and ex- pectation as the Convention which met in Pitts- burg Tuesday of last week. It had been waited for by all the enewies of the League as the oe- casion for the birth of a new association or or~ ganization which should prove a stroug rival to that powerful body, and which should embody kson, Toledo, and Indianapolis in the West; and the whole of the Northwest, Southwest, and South (excepting two clubs) should remain unrepre- ted. '“fu is not interided to go into the details of the doings of the Convention,because that is mainly unpecessary. After orzanizing by the selection .of Mr. Meacham as Chairman and Mr. Williams as Secretary, Messrs. Cummings, Rankin, and Gorman were madeu committeetobring ina con- stitution.. Mr.Cummiogs, reporting forthe Comn mittee, read the League constitution with only a few amendments of an unimportant charac- ter, and the document was adopted section by scction “after discussion. The only points of variauce between the League constitution, as - printed in the.book, and the Association consti- tution, as adopted, are that the name of the latter s the International Association of Base- Ball Players; oue of its objects is ¢ to protect, and promete the mutual uterests of base-ball clubs, and both professional and amateur base- ball players™; any elub may join on belog ap- proved by the Judiciary Cominittee, and voted on at the nonual mceting, or by unani- mous ¢onsent - of said Committee tween the mectings; the officers shall be . a_ President, Vice-President, Secretary, and a Judiciary Committee of five members, il 1o be elected Dy ballot, and the Committee to clect its own “Chairman; the annual mecting shall take place on the third Wednesday in Febroary. In the article relating to clubs, the Association dida graceful and clever thing by inserting a clause which prevents auy club in the Assocla- tion from playing or attempting to play any player expelled from another elub “in this or any other Associatian,” clearly meaning that the Association would nou or play any player expelled from the League. The gentle- man who drew the clause explained its meaning in that way, and it was a credit to the Conven- tion that it was adopted without dissent. ‘The annual dues were fixed at §10 per club. Oue great evil from which the non-League professionals have suffered bas been the too common practice of players signing more than one contract. ‘To avoid that in'future, a clause was ndded to the scction on contracts providing that if any pluyer sigu two contracts cover the samospace of time be shall be expelled forthwith. In the sumnearticle it was provided that the Secretary of the Association spall noti- fy the Secretary of the League of all contracts imude between Association clubs and players, the intention_ being of course to accept the “League’s proffer of amity in shape of a resolu- tion not to meddle with-players under contract with outside clubs. After an honorable release from contruct o player may enguge and play at once without waiting twenty days, as in the League. The article on championship as adopted pro- vides that any club belonglug to the Association may euter, bitt is not obligéd to, for the pen- nant. The special fee for entrunce is §15 above the $10 for ndmittance into the “Association. ‘The chnmpionsbip gmblem must cost not more than §50,and the championship season continues from April 15 to Oct. 15, four gumes all around betner yequired. A committee, npgolutcd spe- cially for the purpose, prepared aud presented a supplementary section to the chumpionship code, but only a part of it was adopted. That part was to the eifect that cach visiting clup sbould take $75, or 50 per cent of the gross re- eeipts, whickever should prove to be the larzest sumn; ulso Pm in all championship fames ‘the admission fee should be 25 vents. The cham- pionship was very sensibly made only ot the As- £oviation, and no attempt was madé to assert that the winner of the flag suould be *cham- piows of Ame ” us had been proposed. Per contra, an uuwise thing was done in allowing Sunday contests for the tlag by removing that partof the Leazue sectfon Which prolhibited them. This concession o a barbarous practice which has never obtaiued auy footliold, except in St. Louis, was a great mistake. The playing rules were adopted as they are printed in'the League book except in the matter of scoring, where the section which demauds a record of bases was stricken out. The ball adopted was of the make of L. H. Mahn; of IBoston, and identical with the one adopted by the Leyrue. The dilicers elected for the coming season are as follows: Presjdent—W. A. Cummings. I'Kct-l’l'uhlaut—flurr{ Gorman. Secretary—J. A. Williams. 2 | Judiciary Committee~11. D. McRnicht, Pitts- burg: L. C. Walte, St. Lonis; N. P. Poud, Roch- B. Runkin, Brooklyn; George Sleeman, Guelph. 1t was a pleasant tribute to the acknowledged ability of Mr. Young, the League Secretary, that on the Arst ballot for Secrbtary of ti Association nearly half thebailots were indorscd, #N.E. Yourg.” "It would be 3 zood thinz'for base-ball if it had plenty more “ N. E. Youngs to take responsible positions init. The remaining business done by the Conven- tion was not very extensive, and consisted in thaoking tue hotel where It stopped, in empow- ering tne Secretary to have the constitution and rules printed by the highest bidder, and in dis- cussing the League Alllance plan with reference to joining it. The lastitem was the cause of consfderable talk bus no particular action. The 1natter was finally settled by instructing the Secretary to write to Mr. Spalding, expressing as the decision of the Convention that the clubs composing it would join the Alliance, provided Art. 8 were expunged. This article is the one which provides tuat disputes shall be set- tled by reference to the League Board of Direct- tors. "It was sugeested that the Learue Board might be used as un appellate court, but finally the matter dropped without other action than that noted avove. After fixing upon the Sherman House, Chica- g0, s the next place of meeting, the Conven- Tioh adjourned. The account of the dolngs of the Convention would be fucomplete without adding some men- tion of what it did not do. Insome respects the things which it reirained from dving ure far more important than those which it did. In this conuection it is necessary to refer to the { circalar-call first {ssued for the Convention, which contained the following paragraph: In forming onr Assoclation it strikes me that two of the most easential points to be carried out are these: under no circuustuuces whatever should we play League clubs, aud only 25 cents admission shonld be cnarged to our games. Of course these two things were the out- growtlis of deadiy spite against the Leazue,and, though & majority of the clubs in the country only lauched st the idea of refusing to play Leamue clubs, yet the ideas abové given were presented to the Convention with due gravity and met with some support. The Committee on & special championship section incorpurated in it a provision that no club belonging to the Association should charge more than 25 cents admission to its_gumes, and reported the same unaufmously. It met with a strong fight, hows ever, the Buckeys and Fairbanks delegates ut- terly refusing to be bound by it, and sowe of the others objecting. The proxy system was so strong, however, that the “scheme was onl; beaten by one or two votes, aod then only > half beaten, OF, rathor, beaten in @ way that hurt the Association con- siderably. Itseffect was removed by the adop- tion of an amendmeut restricting the 25-cent clause to pomes Tayed for the champlonship of the Associution, leating members iree to charge waat they please for zames with League clubs. mittee, and growing out of this matter, was that the guarantce offered to- League clubs was never to exceed that given by one Association club to another. It was also gravely proposed that no guarantees at allde eiven League ciubs under any circamstances, but neither of these idess was seriousiy entertained by more than three ofithe Convention. The second of the original idess of the pro- Jjectors—that of playing no games with League clubs—was suggested by only two delerates, and met with so much oppositfon that it never came to a vote. ‘The third idea, which was opposed to League principles, and t0 good policy 28 wrll, was the one which Iins so persistently been advocated by the Clipper for more than a year—that contracts should not_be made during a player's term of service. The matter was roported in that way by the Committee, but was not favored by the fonvention, Mr. Clark making an excellent and telling specch with good effcet. [Finally, the ameudment was lost, and the League scetion allowing contracts to be made at any time adepted in its place. Still another thing which was neglected, and which may possibly tiave a bad effect, was the faifure of the delegates to bind thewselves or their clubs as they should have done. No agrecment of any kind was signed by aoybody, and the Association sctually presents the anom- aly of au orzanization wiih constitution, play- ing. rules, officers,.and all the paraphernalia, but without & single club belonging toit. A reliminary aereement referring to what had cen done should haye been siened by all the delegates cmpowered to do so, but, curiously enough, nobody thought= of it, and the Con- tion went home without referring tothe sub- ject at ali. It is mot creditable to the dele- ates that this Is so. As the matter now stands, it ismot in the power of anybody to say who will belong to ‘the Association until May 1 next, that belag the date on which the annual dues must be paid. Of course some of the clubs will send their fees to the Secretary before that time, but there is a general desire to bold to the moncy, and very few pay it out un- til obliged by regulution; therefore nobody can say, who belongs aud who dues not. What makes this even more unfortunate that there has alrcady been agood deal of vagueness about the Association and who would form it, and injudicious persons have Lept wri ing cards to the papers: asserung that *over forty clubs would be represcnted ”; and again that ‘ the number of delezates will be about fifty.” The clubs represented baving been re- duced to eighteen aond the delegates to niue, there is danger that clubs ouiside of auy organization .will put their fongues in their cheeks and Jpoke jokcs. Nobody would bave cared for that, except for this later error, which Another point advocated by some of the Com- | fservice in dram actually prevents the Associatfon from sayin: ‘what it Is, or who it s, or where it is. As ‘51’_1“"2_' ters now stand, nobody belongs, and, if sny club cares to stragule off and in the Léague Alliance, or play wdcpendent, they have only to neglect to send on their $10 amly the thing is done. It wasa piece of inextusable carcless- ness ou the Convention’s part, but nobody is to blame,—as is usual in such cascs. Perhaps it will tarn_out all right; certainly that is to be hoped. The proper thing for the clubs who intend to joinatallis to send on their entry fce and names at once. In that waj the mistake can Dbe corrected. Certainly 1x;m_hiug but the best is wished the Assoeiation ere. ¥ THE DORGAN CASE. The practice most pernicious in its effects uY on the best interests ot base-ball is \mdfiubbedg that popularly knewn as ‘reyolving,” whicl simply means that o player, having azreed play with a certafn club daring a certain period, repudiates such agrecment and sells, or under- takes to sell, his services to another club for the sawme period. ‘o the extirpation of this pernicious practice all honorable base-ball managers, both in and out of the League, have directed thelc best ef- forts, and the means that have been found effect- ual among League clubs having been adopted by the *‘ International Association,” it is reasonably certain that mo player guilty of tais offense will hereafter be able to find em- + ployment, since clubs are’ not only prohibited from employing such a defauiter, bit also from playing agalnst any club Tprcsenu‘ng such an in- dividual in its ninc. The player who seems likely to furnish the first illustratlon of the workings of this rle during the coming scason is M. C. Dorgun, who eained some reputation s a player in the Syracuse Stars of 1576. Lver since the announcement of his ehgagement to play with the St. Louis Clab in the present Year, conflicting rumors regardine bis contract aud his intentions have been clreulating through the press. Tug TRIBUNE, having a friendly 1nterest in the Star Clubof Syracuse, has published the views of the adierents of that club, who claim that Dorgan should stay in Syracuse, snd, in order that its readers may understand the mnat- ter fully, herewith presents an account of the transactions between the St. Louls Club and Dorzun, which it has succeeded in obtaining from sources in St. Louls that can be relicd unon: Nov. 20, 1876, an officer of the St. Louls Club wrote to Dorgran, asking if he was at liberty to sign a contract with that club for 1377, to whizh he replied aflirmatively, and stated that he would enter the service of that club on cer- tain_terms, which he specified. After further negotiations, in which Dorzon manifested his desire 10 join the St. Louis Club, he signed a contract Dec. 19, 1876, that was in _the cxact form of the contract between the St. Louls Club and Clapp, and the contract was siened by Dor- gan in the presence of Clapp. This contract was transmitted to theSt. Louis Club by Clapp, and on the date of its receipt (Dec. 25) & remit- tance of an_advance under the contract was wmailed to Dorman, together with a form of no- tice of the contract, to be signed by Dorgin for transmission to the Secretary of the League. Jun. 1 Dorgan telegraphed an oflicer of the St. Louis Clubas follows: I wish you would send me on some money at once, 45 I need it bad, and oblige yours, M. C. Doroax.” Having already sent the money the eame of- ficer Jan. 2 telegraphed Dorgan, asking if he Iad received the money and papers to which D;n{f?? replied Jan. 3, % Have received them all right. au, 9, one week after its receipt, Dorgan re~ turned the notice unsigned, and s draft for the sume amount as be had received from the St. Louia Club. In his letter of transmittal Dorgon refused tosign the notice, and asked for his release. . The letter, although signed AL C. Dorgah,” being evidently written by the same person whoa few days previously had written to St. Louis as an officer of the Star Club, the St. mavazement eent Clapp to Syracuse to sce Dorgan, Lelcgmi:hiug Clapp, who was still at his home in lthaca, N. Y., the following instructionts: “We will not release Dorzan under any circumstances, He must comply with contract or suffer consequen- ces,” Clapp saw Dorgan, and the Iatter signed the notice, which was subsequently transmitted to- the Secretary of the League. The St. Louis Club has since reccived notice that Dorgan will %ot go 1o St. Louis, and that he will play in the Syracuse nine. This case requires but little comment. Had Dorgan been under contract with the Stars for the Scason of 1577 when e sizned, on Dec. 19, the contract to play with St.” Louis for that period, be would undoubtedly be a * revolver™ irom the Syracuse Club, but the officers of the latter organization exoressly admit and certify that " he was not under contract with “the Stars at that time, hence Le was fully eligible to contract with the St. Loufs Club, His omission to sign_the notice (which was not at the time l;rescnmd for his signature) could not, in the slightest decree, impair the validity of the eontract, or aifect its binding oblization upon -cither the St. Louis Club or himself. The provisivn of the Leazue Consti- tution regarding notices of contracts that was in force when the Dorgun contract was mdde, is as follows: * It shall be the duty of a club, as soon as it shall have entercd into a coutraet with a playur, tafile 2 notifivation of the same, signed by the Club and the player, with the Sécretary of the League, who shall indorse thereou the date of its reception, and forthwith notify every other League club of such con- tract.”? ‘This provision had no effect whatever upon contracts, but simply provided a method of advising Leazue Clubs of their Laving been made. Tn thfs case the St. Louis club did not send the notice to the Sceretary ““assoonas™ the contract with Dorman was made, fur the reasou that its agent had omitted to obtain such a puver, and the sole reason why Dorgan did not sign such notice at the same time that he sfirmed che contrast is that Clapp neglected to ask him to do so. So far as the contract itself is concerned, the notice to the League Secretary, like the attestation by a witness, forms no pait of the contract, but ‘is merely evidence of its execution. ‘Were any such evidence lacking in December, it was fully supplied in January, by Dorzan’s telegrams asking for & part of the consideration money, and acknowldging its receipt. The evidence of the contract, and of Dorgan’s cligibility to make -it, is perfectly conclusive, without the notice which he ‘subsequently slened, and should he fail to comply with its terms Wheu the season opeos he will” nadoubt- cdly suffer the penalty, and any club that may undertake to present” him in itsnine will be shut out from the base-ball arena. % A GRACEFUL ACT- Mr. Henry Chadwick, the well-known ball editor, does equal nonor to his head aud heart in the followiny letter to Secretary Svalding of the Chicazo Club. It isnot a little to Mr. Chadwick’s credit that he has risen aboye any other feeliug than that of sympathy and friend- liness for a gentleman attacked by a scavenger, as Spalding has bee Brookiyy, Feb. 17.—d. G. Spalding, Dear Sir: 1tis with sincere regret that I have seen pub- iished statements retlecting upon your iutegrity of character a & vase-bail player. While it can with entire safety be left to vour honorable record alone refute any such absurd charge, still {t Iy well that those who have been Intimate with your ca- reer in base-bull circles ehould come to the front in un cxpression of their opinion on the subject, a3 have your former confreres of the Boston club, 2nd their honored ofiicers who have been ¥o intimete with you for years pust during your terms of club- service with them. Knowing you as n pitcher siuce July, 167, —ten years ago, ~and watcalag youe concuct on the field in the important contests dur- ing that perjod, it is perhaps unnecessars for me 1o eay that I kiow of no man whose intégrity of character ua u base-batl player bay been more con- spicuous, or whose conduct on und off the feld has been in every respect more characteristic of an ho- orable and nianly ball-plarerand of a_gentleman. Trusting that yon will find ft_unneceseary to-reply to necusations emanating from diszppointed gam- Dlers, aiming to inyure you, s they would all they cannot make tools of, and 'resrettinz that & con- temporary has =0 hastily given credence to the ] tory, 1 begto remain, very truly yours, PLUREES o e EENIT CUADWICK. WRIGHT. The Cinciunatt Erquirer says: G0 TRIBUNE and Philadelohis are hay- villain” quarrel. ‘The motors seem to st at one end of the line und Al Spald- ing ft the other end—Al-lies, 8¢ it were, It Is bet- fer thian the Gabble civher dispatch. This week's Suspar Tmicese drove a nail clear throngh the w.cked Wrizht. 3eanwbile we &tand by with a smile, and In the language of the prophet aay, **Whio op-la boys!™ W i T It is proper to say, by way ol information, that if Dan)’t.hin mure {s heard from Wright Tue TripuNe will drive, not o nail but a spike, through his reputation. The weapon is forzed. The Chicago Saturday Herald comments on Wrisht as foflows: - i s az Trisusr devoted considerable space Sunday Ln";:x;c.zn"f];g that one Al Wright, of Philadelplia. & noted base-bsll shyeter, 3 1o better then he should be. In the abstract, it might eecm that the game was not worth the powder. but, after all, we are ink that TuE TRBUNE is doing good e L euming out of camp the acalawags who have done all they conld to render base-ball disreputable. | ok i From the standpoint of 8 society paper the above is all r{zhl..pbut‘[‘us TRISONE thinks that it is a auty to kil askunk whenever he begins to perfume the erounds. ITENS FROM REVOLVERS. » One of the must. discouraging features with which the scason of 1577 opens is the large number of players sho are under contract to two or more clubs. Sometimes these contracts are verbal, and azain they are written, and bave been indorsed with payments. Below is given a partial list of nluvers who are claimed bv two BeAl Wi or more clubs, some of them on the strength of promises and oftener by signature: Bradley by the Tecumsch and Cricket. Dorgan by the Srar and St. Lonis. Bennett by the Athletic and Milwaakee. Dailey by the Manchester, Cricket, and Live Oak. Hotaling by the Star and Maple Leaf. Ilastings by the Live Oak and Maple Leaf. Mutrie b{ ihe Live Osk and Fall Rivre. Whitney by the Lowell and Live Oak. ‘Weaver by the Athletic and Buckeye. Adams by the Rochester and Live Oak. Mason by the Lowell and Live Oak. West by the Chelsca and Allezheny. Jerome by the St. Paul and Milwaukee. McGlymn by the Star and Resolutes. Riley by the Live Oak and Gencseos. These “shocking examples” are of course but a small traction of what might be ascer- tained by inquiring thoroughly into-the matter. They are stm; ply & dozen o o found floating nhog:»in hnhiuil dozen pn‘)fim It the new as- sociation sl vrevent this double dealing it will have done well. = SEMI-PROFESSIONALISYS, The Blue Stackings, of Minneapolfs, have made contracts with O'Day, 8 b, Philips, 1 b, Bohn, p, and Hoffman, c. The Fairbanks Club have signed the Le: 21 Alliance, and have bonuuulgnwlm all :::l: Pplayers for the season of 137. Stahr, formerly of the Philadelphia nine, will play with the Allentown tesm .the comioz scason, and Richardson Is chiefly expected in Binghamton. It is said that the Columbus Buckeyes have a good chance of getting Weaver, formerly piteherof the Philudelphiss, Hewould strength- en their team very much, especially where it is quite likely to be Weak. o The new Fall River (Msss.) team is sald to be composed so far of Mutrie, Piggott, Libby, M- Gonivle, and Capary. This club holds the championship of New England and will need a strong team to keep it this year. The Lowell (Mass.) Club is under way with good prospeets, barring that it is o trifle late to et. good men ualess it indulges Hu piracy. ast year it had a fine team, but most of them went up to Manchester for 1877 The Athletic Association announces that it” Proposcs to engnge Bennett as catcher, thongh e is under contract to tie Milwaukee Club that the writer kuows of. 'This doesn’t seem exactly the best way to start a new club on the * high moral lay."” Bachli of last year’s Acmes, who lately signed with the St. Paul Club, has sought a release from his engagement owi Lither, which necessitates” his residing in this city. e will doubtless finda place in one of Cliicagro’s amateur clubs this season. The Red Caps of St. Paul have seot to the Secretury of the Leugrue notice of the engae- ment of £, M. Gross, John C. Buchli, Sumner A, Lly, and Edward E. Gaujt, for the season of 18i7. The sume club is aflvertisin:s for a good sccond baseman. It Icoks gs if the business was more than- usually rushing this. senson. Ciubs didn’t have to advertise 10r players last year. N A special dispa¥eh says: ¢ The wrangle in the Indianapolis Buse-Ball Club has endapgered its efliciency for the coming’ season.” From what is known here of the President of that club the writer confidently predicts that the * wrunglers,’ whoever they may be, sill have o short shrift, und furtber, that the elub named will take higlt rank during the cominzr season, aud probably enter the League fn December. The - Fairbsnks Club were out in full strength ou Thursday on their.new grounds. The boys show the effect of their moutl’s training in the gymnasium. and are batting very well in prac- tice ns well 1s olaying un excellent flelding game. Tleir infield as now placed is about a9 Strong as could be found in auy amateur club in the city, and will make most of our semi-pro- fessional clubs 100k to cheir honors. They will continue in practice in the gymnasium uptil Moy L The Syracuse Courier says that nelther Au- burn, Ithaca, nor Ilion will have ball-clubs this year, but that Geneseo will have the following team backed by a considerable cash capital? Wilbur, of last year's Rochesters, pitehers Doty, firat bese; Snyder, of last year’s Living- stons, second base; Ballentine, of the Alleghe- ny City Club, short-stop; Riley, of the Charter Quks, of Hurtford, third base; Esmond. of the Auburns, left field; Sullivan, of the Arlingtons of New York, centre field: Leonard, of the Liv- ingstons, right Seld; Heath, of the Rochesters, tenth mau and change catcher. It does not at present look as it the Cricket Club, of Binghamion, was pursuing esactly an houorable course in getting or_attewpting to get players. On every hand is heard the com- plaing that the managers are trying to et men 10 breal their coutracts, and, at least, two in- stances “of success are_known, and referred to elsewhere. Dailey and Bradley are the men. This policy may be well euough in_ getting o team, but if the League Alliance and the Inter- national Association both retuse to play the Crickets on account of , their _dishonorable actions, they may find it a good deal harder to pay a team than to et it. The new team engaged for Manchester, H., wiil pe the strougest one ever known that State. It bas an excellent ground, and, with | manuzewment, come’ out | all = right. Following ure the players: Carl ana Blogg, ¢.; Snigz and Bond, p.; Cogs- well, 1 b.; Woudheard, 2b.; Say, s. s.; Mincher and tue change pitcher and catcber in the field. The managctnent sapposed they Lad Daiiey, of last year's Crickets of Binghamton, but later developments are to the etfect that Dalley is one of those fellows who Sign with o club, take advance money, and_then Dlay with another club. At least it looks so. The Chelsea Club of Brooklyn has notified the Secretary of the League that it has sizned the League Alliance agreement, und i Dbas cogaged the following Hayes, Denpis Clare, Nicholas Harrigan, 3. B. ” Clare, “Jolin ~Corran, Thoinas Cassidy, John Dunu, Benjamiu ILaughlan, Jokn "Hanxipson. Tiis is abuut the sawme team that plaved under the Chelsea nuwmne last season, aud won some very creditable vietories. Inasmuch as the Chelsea Club sent a proxy to the Pittsburg Conveation, it is to be presumed that they did 50 “to see what it was like,” for they caunot very well subnut any questions which they may have to two tribunals. The easiest way for them isnot to bave any dis- putes. The Allegheny Club, which represents Pitts- burz, wili have oue of the best non-League nines in the country, if auything can be judged from reputation. = As between the Indian- apolis, the Buckeye, and the Allegheny, he will be a wise man indeed who can name 8 Wwinner. Toe Allegheny team will be: Dolan, of the St. Louis Reds, and Holbert, of the Louisvilles, catchers; Galvin, of tke St. Louis Reds. and McKelvey, of last year's team, Ppitehers; Goodman, of Reading, 1 b.; Williams s0n,2 b; Nichols, vf the utuals,’3 b.; Nel- son, s. 8.; Creamer, ¢. f.;and West, of the Chelseas, withs a pitchier or catcher, o3 flelder. ‘West is so much better player than Willlamson that it looks as though he wonld be quité likely tooceupy second base before tne teum had played many gunes. William Coates will act as manager. The Tecumsehs,-of London, Oat., champions of Capada, have the following excellent team under contract: Powers, c.; Goldsmith, p.; Bradley, 1 b. and change p.; Somerville, 2 b. Doeschier, 3 b.: Knodell, 3. s. and change e.: Hornung, 1. f.: Hunter, ¢. {.; Dinnin, r. £ " The average heizht of this team Is cver 5 feet 10 inches, and the average weight nearly 170 _pounds. There i3 the ghost of a shadow iu the way of the manager of thiz team, or will be when he comes to get his men together. Bradley, his first baseman, 15 the samne one who pitched for the Bostons at the last end of last season. It is stated on good au- thority that he has been contracting with, and accepting advances from, more than one, or even two, clabs. If this Is so, the Tecumsehs had much better let him \70 at once, A player who signs two contracts is N. G. The Tecum- sehs will no doubt have as successful a season this year as last. They descrve it by Hberaland honest management. THE SCRAP-IEAP. Messrs. Spalding, McVey, Barnes, and Glenn, who have been in Chicazo all winter, are ex- pecting Waitt, of the new Chicago team, within a few days. The Boston Hera/d says that Sutton expects to take the field at the opening of the season Iree from his )nstmfcar's Jameness, he having been under medical treatment all winter. The St. Louis team is expected to ‘be all on hand ready for work Lefore the close or this week. It 'will not take long after that to tell whether Dorgan proposes to fishjor cut bait. Among all the hurry for players, canvassing their merits, and bidding for scrvices, Tae TRIBUNE has listened for voices shunfl-u% out and demanding the presence of Eggler. Where is Exgler, and why is he suffered to stand fdle all the day loug! The two great unsettled questions in the League are, Who are to be umpires tuder the new rule? and, When will the schedule of gnmes be ready, so that the public can know how they are to be played! Nelther of these queries can be scttled in'a hurry, but both of them are under way. ¢ 5 The Cincinnati Enquirer pathetically asks, as it holds up.the Lonisville team to view: ‘3:‘:’0“—, can Taz Cmicaco TRIBUNE ?ze upon that galaxy of pitchers and say anything more aboot tr. Keciss menaverie?” * Considering. the mat- ter judicially, and as if under oath, THE TRIiB- UNE prononnces that Craver aund Devlin as aginst Hicks aud Higham would be about as near a stand-off as possible. The On'x'lzper asks if Ls e-Alliance clubs will have *‘to play under the League tariff of. 50 cents.” It doesn’t appear from ansthing that can be well ascertaincd that the Leasue hbas, or ever’ had, any tarifl. If the Hartford Club chooses toipl:l( Tor 25 cents admission who * shall stop them? Certatnly not any enactment, of she League., It having become evident that no mew club will be organized in season to represent Brook~ 1yn in the League this year, arrangements are Row being periected for the transfer of the Hartford Club to Brooklyn. This strone and well-trainel club, under Fergusdh’s efiicient management, will give Brooklyn nine she may well be prond of. that Tom The rumor is found in the Clj Pratt is organizing a team in Philadelphla. It isn't at all probable. Another rmmor in the same paper is that *‘the reozanized Atlantics will take the field in 1877 as the representative League club of Brooklyn.” Please add in next iseme who will “reorganize® them, and what material he witl use as a eroundwork. There will be a s; meeting of the Chicago Amateur Base-Ball Assochtion%t the Tremont | House club-rooms ‘Tuesda y evening of this week at § o'clock sharp for the parpose of nom- inating officers for the coming year, and to" transact such otner businessas may come be- {ore the meeting. - All clubs who are members Iu good standing are requested to be on hand, and all clubs forming who desire to become figmmn are requested to send delegates tothis ng. The Cincinnati Enguirer ascerts that a corre- £poudant of this paper was in error in saying - tiat Higham and “McCormick were to play in Cincinnati. To reply, the Em(m‘rrr savs that Ar. Keck has ten men, and will bire only one- more, and him a change pitcher. It insists that Manaing, of the Bostons, is to be the man pro~ vided he can arrange to take $1,500. Concern- ing McCormick, the Enguirer says: We hiave before s a lctier from McCormick, of the Syracuse Stars, in reply to an inquiry whether he would come ™5 Cincinball 10 play. if teris could be agreed npon. He says, in the rst place, that he has sizned to play with the Syracuse S during the coniing sea<on: in the second place, ke Tos bad a 2o0d offor from the Hartford Clubs in the third place; Tic doesn't care whether he pitches for any club at all this years the letter ends by re questing Mr. Keck, {f he has any offer to make,to ‘*send [t in.”” ‘The tone of the latter leads ns to ' think that the Stary have engaged Mr. MeCormick * ata pretty stif enlary, but that if be conld get an offer of a few more hundred in excess he would acceptit with rendiness. It may be quite safe to say that the chancea of Syracuse ScCormick's com- ingto Cincinnati to play this year are rather slin. The close of the article comments on Tuz TRIBUNE’S name, ‘*Mcnageric,” as fli)b"fll 10. the Reds, and concludes: *Oh, no, Mr. TRm- . UNE, Mr. Keck will take no stock in 3 mepageric, aud the first animal that pats his foot over the rope will get kicked out promptly.” The pro- - prietor of the Club bas o rather ominous name; it would be @ pew punishment, aud one to be dreaded, to be Kecked out of a club, > QUESTIONS ANSWERED. Uxrine, —The vumpires have not yet been select- ed. Can't say what chance your application would Lage. Try it. . L. B. K.—The Treasurer’s report was not pub- Jlished.” The League has never levied an usseas- ment.” It had a surplus, A L. P.—*Whichis_considered the atrongest, the Frank]in or Fairbanks Clab?" There Is noth- ingshort of a game between them which will an- swer your question. INTERNATIONAL.—Yon will find the information in the report of the proceedings. The bail ks pre- clsely the same as that sdupted by the League, and made by the same mwancfactorer.. Coxrmacts.—A radical change has been made In the particular in question. Yon had better com- ‘paie the contract article In last year's League book ith the article as amended In_tnis year's book. ‘The latter, of course, has no efiect on conracts made prior to Jan. 1. LEAGUE ALL1sXCE.—Of conrse not. The agree- ment provides that the Leaguc Board shall arbi- trate dispuies betwoen League Alliance clubs. Shoulda_dispute arise between 3 Leagueanda Leasue Allance_club, ic would, be adjusted pre. disely u8 if the two clubs were independent of ‘any association:and if by arbitration, by such arbi- trators as they might matually agree upon. Frerosn.—Cassidy, of the Hartfords, made the best felding_average, but he played in only eight games. Of players particlpating Jn more thar twenty-five games, Hines, of Chicago, has the bes. . . sverage. e played In sixty-four gaines, put o and assisted 167 times, and wmade tilteen errors George Hall plased in sisty games, oot ont and on sisted 157 times, and made thirty-nine errora. OTHER SPORTS. . PEDESTRIANISM. The Liverpool Post of Feb. 5 contains a glow- ing accourt of O'Leary’s six days’ walk, which commenced Jan. 29 and ended Feb. 8. The great Chicagoan was opgosed In turn by Biggs, of St. Helens, and Smythe, of Liverpool, he un~ dertaking to make more iniles in six days than they both combined. The result was that Biggs walked 133 miles, and his partner, Smythe, 195, while O’Leary had made 418 miles, or 90 miles of the contest is thus described: - b The result of the contest was received with great enthusiasm by the larze gathering which crowded the rink, and it would be almosE impos- sible to describle the sceme. The ntmost excite- went prevailed. The crowd cheered voc:ferously, * 2nd jostled, crushed, and sgneezed each other in the mo:t {rantic manner, in_their attemot to catch 2 glimpse of the stardy, dark-complexjoned Amer- ican, the bero of thc hoar. AT the close of the. cdntest the people shonted vizorously for OLeary, and ecveral men immediately In front of the box would be satisficd with nothiing short of shaking hands with the piucky American, who good- naturedly gratitied their desire in this direction. ~ The match between O'Leagy aud Weston nest month is looked forward to with bright nnllcxgu- tlons, und the general opinivn séems to be that **the champion of tie world™ will give his coun- tryman a thorough beatinz. WRESTLING. troit, and a Vermonter who called himself Cas-. anaugh ond did not care to take off his slivs, met in Utica and wrestled for a stake of $1,000, the former winning two falls in six and eighteen minutes respectively. The Winner was at the close of the wrestle challenged by Baver. The challenge was accepted, the wrestle to take place in Utiea, March 5. : James Owens, of Vermont, who recently tumbled McLaughliu in Bostun, has covered the deposit for a collar and elbow mateh with Jacob H. Martin, of Ypsilanti, Mich. COCK-PIGUTING. It is announced ' that Monroe and Hages have made amain which will be fought Sarch 4, probably in Truesdell, Wis, The couditions are to show thirteen birds, and fight all that fall in for $50 a side for the battles and $230 a side fos the main, A NOVEL CHALLENGE. CurcaGo, Feb. 24.—Tp Dres; Goods Men: The undersiened will anroll 4 piece of three- fourth dress groods contsining Dot less than fifty-five yards, thrice, and rull it twice,with any man claiming dry goods as his profession it this country for ‘any reasonable consideration. Those wishing to contest will announce throog} the press. M. J. CuvsiNGaAN, No. 110 State Street. ——— -~ MY CHOICE. T'd bave 3 Joser brave and trae, A fond adorer ever, Who'd woo me with untiring zeal, And be inconstant never; Who'd boldly seek and gawn my hand, And ‘*bounce each othar ** feller;™ o, if a rival dared approach, Would bit him on the **smelier.” Td have him have a heart and soul Oerilowed with truth nnd daring: ‘Who knew his rights, snd claimed them too Withont a shade of fearin. Who'd ever press his earnest snit With honest, manly spirit; ‘Who'd want my heart, and dare to strive Before all men to win it. Some zitls would like s handsome besz, Who brings them rings and candy, And some a'man with iots of **tin,” And some could love & dandy. Soma like a timid chap, who €'er "Twixt hope and fear doth hoser; Bat none of there conld auit my m} 1 want a dashing lover. ‘He need not be £0 very rich, 1f he do Jove but me, And does not flirt with other girls When I'm not near 1o see. 1f such a fellow breathes on earth, On him my heart is ser, And, when I catch a sight of him, vif ;&0 for him. you bet [ Cricaco, ¥eb. 16, "77. “ULLix R. AKXRSTRON, ITWAS NOT LOVE. ~ ‘The banquet o'er, the bal)-room’s charm Awhile seemed gone; the lights had faded; Fair Anna took my proflered arm, . And in the hall we promenaded. 3 Bt while—her hand within my own— Ve whispered words of softest meaning, 1 felt her sandder, heard hcrm:ml ‘And found ber gently ‘gainst me leaning. **What, dearest, thus thy bosom stirs?™ e T un Soth Loves ofs malad— - Tasked s 3" ‘Then she pressed my hand In hers. “And murmured, ++ O, that lobeter-saad”. —XNew Xork Mail. —_— N more than both the others together. The close .- — Last Taesday evening McLaughlin, of De- v L, e