1867.13

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Moneyball 1867

Salience	Noteworthy
Tags	Baseball Professionalism, Business of BaseballBaseball Professionalism, Business of Baseball
Location
City/State/Country:	Brooklyn, NY, United States
Modern Address
Game	Base BallBase Ball
Immediacy of Report	Contemporary
Age of Players	AdultAdult
Holiday
Notables
Text	"Many will be surprised to learn that the Atlantics have vacated the scene of their greatest triumphs, and have located themselves on the Eckford grounds, or rather the Union ball grounds, in Williamsburgh, entirely out of the way of the residence of the majority of their members, and in opposition to the wishes of many of the best men in their club. It would appear from all accounts that the present ruler of the club, failing to make any advantageous arrangement with Weed & Decker for a greater share of the proceeds in match days than the players received last year, and finding Cammeyer of the Union grounds ready to offer good terms to secure the club, they availed themselves of the latter offer of sixty per cent of the receipts and closed with him at once. But this being against the rules of the association, they made out a new form of agreement and hired the grounds after paying forty per cent of the receipts taken in lieu of rent. They change will not benefit the club, and it is the worst precedent Cammeyer could have adopted as all clubs can now fully claim a share of the sale money."
Sources	New York Daily News, April 21, 1867, per 19cbb post by Richard Hershberger, Sep. 30, 2013
Warning
Comment	1867 would be a watershed year for baseball finances.  At the beginning of the season ten cents was still the standard admission.  Midway through the season some clubs would experiment with twenty-five cent admissions.  It turned out that the public was willing to pay this, and this changed everything.  At ten cents the receipts paid for expenses, but only the top draws like the Atlantics and the Athletics could turn a significant profit.  At twenty-five cents this opened up a revenue stream to many more clubs, and the fraternity found itself awash with cash (at least compared to previously).  A similar thing would happen a century or so later with television money.  The effect in the 1860s was to lock in professionalism.  By 1868 there were openly professional picked nine games being played, and the following year they dropped the pretense entirely. Edit with form to add a comment
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Source Image	[[Image:|left|thumb]]
External Number
Submitted by	Bob Tholkes,
Submission Note	2/23/2015
Has Supplemental Text

1867.13 Moneyball 1867"

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