1872.12: Difference between revisions

From Protoball
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(Created page with "{{Chronology Entry |Year=1872 |Year Suffix= |Year Number=12 |Headline=NA Clubs Struggle to Meet Payroll |Salience=2 |Tags=Business of Baseball, |Location=Baltimore, MD, |Coun...")
 
(Edited automatically from page 1872.12.)
Line 5: Line 5:
|Headline=NA Clubs Struggle to Meet Payroll
|Headline=NA Clubs Struggle to Meet Payroll
|Salience=2
|Salience=2
|Tags=Business of Baseball,
|Tags=Business of Baseball
|Location=Baltimore, MD,
|Location=Baltimore, MD,
|Country=United States
|Country=United States
Line 12: Line 12:
|City=Baltimore
|City=Baltimore
|Modern Address=
|Modern Address=
|Game=Base Ball,
|Game=Base Ball
|Immediacy of Report=
|Immediacy of Report=
|Age of Players=Adult
|Age of Players=Adult
Line 27: Line 27:
|Submitted by=Richard Hershberger
|Submitted by=Richard Hershberger
|Submission Note=FB Posting, 8/9/2022
|Submission Note=FB Posting, 8/9/2022
|Reviewed=No
|Reviewed=Yes
|Has Supplemental Text=No
|Has Supplemental Text=No
}}
}}

Revision as of 08:56, 8 September 2022

Chronologies
Scroll.png
Prominent Milestones
Ancient - 1700
1701 - 1780
1781 - 1815
1816 - 1830
1831 - 1845
1846 - 1850
1851 - 1855
1856 - 1860
1861 - 1865
1866 - 1876
Misc BB Firsts
Add a Misc BB First
About the Chronology
Tom Altherr Dedication
Add a Chronology Entry
Open Queries
Open Numbers
Most Aged

NA Clubs Struggle to Meet Payroll

Salience Noteworthy
Tags Business of Baseball
Location Baltimore, MD
City/State/Country: Baltimore, MD, United States
Game Base Ball
Age of Players Adult
Sources

 Baltimore American September 7, 1872.

Comment

Richard Hershberger, "150 Years Ago Today," 9/8/2022:

"The officers of the Baltimore Club are working to raise funds to carry the club over the coming winter. This speaks volumes. The Baltimores were a good team. At this point their record is 29-13-1, putting them in second place behind Boston. The quality of the product on the field is not their problem. Yet they aren't breaking even, and have to scramble to raise funds to stay afloat.

I have had two great realizations about the early business of baseball. It dawned on me years ago that the later 1870s makes sense only in light of the Panic of 1873 and the depression that followed. But that is in the future. My more recent realization is that even apart from the general economy, they did not yet have a viable business model. Competition for players inevitably drove salaries up beyond the break-even point. The scramble to raise funds we see here is the rule, not the exception. This is why the churn rate was so high. Investors got tired of being tapped for more cash. Two or three years was about the limit for most clubs.

The creation of "organized baseball" was all about controlling costs, by which I mostly mean player salaries. This will take a while for them to figure out. The great breakthrough will be the reserve system, but that won't come until the 1879/1880 offseason." 

Edit with form to add a comment
Query Edit with form to add a query
Source Image
Baltimore Finances 1872. jpeg
Submitted by Richard Hershberger
Submission Note FB Posting, 8/9/2022


Comments

<comments voting="Plus" />


Retrieved from "https://beta.protoball.org/index.php?title=1872.12&oldid=2178406"