Clipping:Athletic Club in financial straits
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| Date | Saturday, September 6, 1890 |
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| Text | A crisis which menaces the very existence of the famous old Athletic Club is approaching, and unless there is a very material change in the situation the American Association may be minus a club member. The club has been supposed to be behind hand financially for some time, but the local papers kindly refrained from mentioning the matter. The facts can be no longer suppressed, however, because the players have taken the matter in hand and propose either to force the club to pay salaries fully six weeks over-due or else quit. … As the counsel of the players held out but little hope of recovery by legal process, the players decided to appeal to the Association in accordance with Sec. 71 and 72 of the Association constitution to force the club to either pay up or release the players from contract and reservation. An appeal was accordingly drawn up by the lawyer. This will be signed by all of the players and forwarded to President Phelps to-night. Meantime the players will go on playing. They do not propose to forgo their legal claims whatever the result of this appeal, and have already engaged another lawyer to hold himself in readiness to enter suit in a day or two. The players are very bitter against Treasurer Whittaker, the ruling spirit of the club. They say that six weeks' salary is unpaid and that he will give them no satisfaction. He is never to be found near the ground when the players want to see him,a nd leaves the burden of putting off the just claims of the players, many of whom are sorely in need of money, upon poor Manager Sharsig, who has exhausted his private funds and receives no better treatment from the club than the players. This constant evasion of the Treasurer has greatly irritated the players, and they do no know what to make of it. They fear that they are to be sold out, or dumped in some way, and are apprehensive that the club will not make the next Western trip. They also say that upon the occasion of the second Western trip, a few weeks ago, it was very doubtful whether the team would start at all up to within a day set by schedule of departure. … Regarding the financial status of the club Mr. Whittaker said that it was indebted to the officers who had no better prospects of recovering their advances than the players had of getting their salaries. He himself had of late been the only man to put up money and that he had gone as far as he could, the club now being indebted to him many thousands of dollars. This is a lamentable condition for a club with name and prestige, such as the Athletic Club possessed, to be brought through long continued mismanagement, which the local press time and time again censured. The club does not appear to be so far in the hold but what it can be extricated from its difficulties, but the money needed does not seem to be forthcoming from those in control of the club, and cannot be raised apparently so long as the club is directed as at present. The action of the players, however, will force a settlement. |
| Source | Sporting Life |
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| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Origin | Initial Hershberger Clippings |
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