Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 209, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 September 1913 — IS REGULAR BASEBALL CONTRACT VALID? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

IS REGULAR BASEBALL CONTRACT VALID?

The regular professional baseball contract—the link which welds together the great chain of organized baseball —is to be tested in the courts at Chicago. Arthur F. (“Artie”) Hofman, former outfielder and utility man of the Chicago National League Baseball team, has filed suit against the club for $3,000 which he claims is due him as back pay through failure of the club management to ’notify him of the termination of his contract. Hofman’s suit is an attack on the validity of the regular baseball contract in that he charges a system of practical peonage, by which the player is handled as a chattel. Through this system, according to Hofman’s suit, baseball players may be “blacklisted” and kept from earning a living at their profession unless in perfect accord with the club owners. The system, Hofman alleges, holds

Its strength through the ironclad agreement existing between each and every club owner in the National, American and other league operating under the “national agreement.” Hofman was traded to Pittsburgh by the Chicago team, but played with the Pirates but a short time. This season he was released to Nashville of the Southern league. Jimmy Sheckard, another old-time Cub favorite, was released early this season to St. Louis and from there he went to Cincinnati to join Joe Tinker, “Miner” Brown and Johnny Kling, all of whom helped materially to make the Cubs famous. A rumor anent the getting nd of Jimmy Sheckard is that Huggins feared the former Cub outfielder was after his job as manager of the St. St. Louis Cardinals. Accordingly the St. Louis leader let Sheckard go to the Reds for the waiver price.

Artie Hofman and Jim Sheckard, Former Chicago Cub Outfielders.