Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 October 1897 — BIG MONEY IN BASE-BALL. [ARTICLE]

BIG MONEY IN BASE-BALL.

New York and Boston Pocket a Quarter of a Million of Dollars. “The Boston club will make fully $150,000 this season,” said James Mulcahey, who looked after the finances of the St. Louis team during the recent eastern trip. An employe of the Boston management, estimated the profits of the club at the above sum in a conversation while the St. Louis team was playing in Beantown. One gatekeeper at Boston said that the average attendance there this season was the best in the history of the game. Ned Hanlon, the manager of the Baltimore*, received $9,000 as liis club’s share of the gate receipts for three games at Boston. New York will make at least $100,(XX). Like Boston, the attendance in New York has been large from the commencement of the season. New York has the best paying grand stand in the league. All the Gotham regulars patronize the best seats at the new Polo The visiting clubs get none of this rake-off. New York paid St. Louis $6,500 for six games this season. For one game, on April 29, the St. Louis club received sl,500. Baltimore has made plenty of money, but ilie heme patronage did not keep up consistently. The strong clubs only drew big crowds in Baltimore. They say at Cincinnati that they will clear about $60,000 on the season. Washington will also make big money, something like $20,000. Philadelphia started off pretty well in the spring, but the poor work of the Quakers toward the finish cut the attendance down to nothing. St. Louis received $3,000 less than it did in 1896 for its series in Philadelphia. Reach and Rogers will be lueky to break even on the season, so they say in Philadelphia. Cleveland’s profits fell off one-half. In ’95 and ’9O, when they were pennant factors, the Spiders made big money on the road. This season there was a big slump in their playing speed. The attendance in Cleveland has never amounted to much. The Pittsburg club also fell behind in a money making way. The home attendance of this club fell off. Chicago’s stockholders will receive good interest as a result of the season’s profits.”