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Baseball Clubs Cry “Poverty”

Dramatic Changes in Wages, Gate Sharing for 1901

Another season has passed, and another dismal year at the gate has ensued for the clubs of the Baseball League. Annual gate fell yet again in 1900, down by five per cent in the First Division, and an even more dismal nine per cent in the Second Division.

Many more clubs are “in the red” this year than were last year. This is leading to great consternation among the chairmen of the various clubs, the very survival of their concerns becoming a more frequent source of discussion at League meetings in recent years.

Because of this, the Board of the League have made the decision to curtail players' wages, for the good of the League and its survival. Effective immediately, a maximum wage of £4 per week will be enforced. That will reduce wages of top players by some forty per cent versus last season, although average players’ wage will remain relative intact with a reduction of a relatively mere nine per cent.

In addition, the League has voted to implement gate sharing, much as they already do for football. In the future, twenty per cent of the gate of each match will go to the visiting club, not only to help defray expenses associated with travel, but also to shore up weaker clubs and help them maintain a sufficient level of competition on the pitch to maintain high interest among all baseball club supporters. This gate sharing decision goes squarely against the original wishes of Sir Francis Ley, chairman of the League Board and one of baseball’s old guard for over two decades, who believes that professional baseball should adhere to the principles of capital enterprise. In the end, Sir Francis was gently but firmly persuaded by nearly every other chairman, even those of the rich clubs, of the efficacy of the tactic, and in the end, the vote was unanimous.

The clubs are taking wage reduction steps for their football teams as well, and plan on weekly wages on par for both sports. However, the football season runs for thirty-four weeks, twice that of baseball, affording footballers a more comfortable salary for the year, whilst baseballers are left to scramble for eight winter months to fill the void in wages, while still staying fit enough to play when called upon in May. The better players, those who have not hied to America to try their luck in those more lucrative leagues, may find paying baseball work in Australasia, West Indies or British Africa, where the winter sun is warm and the game is nascent but growing; the remainder will be left to scour the offices, factories, mills and pits of their various home areas to fill the pay gap in between seasons.

Lest you be tempted to shed tears for the poor baseballers, cry not: their wages are still quite good when taken against the typical labourer, who while toiling does not also enjoy running about freely in the warm summer sun "working" a mere two hours each day; nor does the coal miner, textile operator or shipbuilder bask in the admiration of thousands of full-throated supporters every day while working at his job. Considering this and his better than average wages, the life of the professional baseballer is quite agreeable indeed.