Relative to the withdrawal of Indianapolis from the circuit it may be
said that Mr. Brush flatly refused to give up his club, asserting
stoutly that he was perfectly able to continue the fight, but when he
felt that the exigencies of the occasion demanded that Cincinnati become
a member, he agreed to give up the franchise, providing that he be
permitted to retain his membership in the National League, and transfer
such of his players as New York desired to the latter city. It has been
alleged that he demanded an exorbitant price from New York for the
transfer of the players.
This is untrue. He asked the price of his franchise, the value of his
players, and the worth of giving up a Base Ball year in a city in which
there was to be no conflicting club and, as he had expressed full
confidence in his ability to make a winning fight for the National
League, it was agreed that his rights to be considered could not be
overlooked. To retain his National League membership he accepted stock
in the New York club.
Toward the close of the Base Ball season the Brotherhood League dealt
what it believed to be a death blow to the National League by the
purchase of the Cincinnati franchise. It proved to be a boomerang, for
before the first day of January, 1891, the Brotherhood League had passed
out of existence. The backers of the organization, tired of the general
conduct of the sport, were only too willing to come to an acceptable
agreement and retire.
A.G. Spalding, John T. Brush, Frank De Hass Robison, Charles H. Byrne
and A.H. Soden were prominent members of the National League to bringing
this result about. Of these, Mr. Spalding and Mr. Soden survive, but
have retired from active participation in Base Ball affairs.
It was through this settlement, resulting upon the Base Ball war, that
Mr. Brush's activities were turned toward Cincinnati. The National
League had a franchise in that city, but no one to operate it. Mr. Brush
agreed to take up the franchise and attempt to operate and rebuild that
club. That, however, is a detail which relates purely to the continuance
of a major league circuit.
The next most noticeable achievement in Mr. Brush's Base Ball career
and, to the mind of more than one, the greatest successful undertaking
in the history of the game, was a complete revolution in the
distribution of financial returns. By his success in effecting this Mr.
Brush brought about the very purpose which he had sought to attain by
his classification plan.
But the method was better, for the instruments of this readjustment of
conditions were the owners and not the players. Briefly, it was the
following:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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