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[from C. F. Holcomb's column] How would “American League” do for the consolidated name? I have not seen it mentioned.

The rule calling upon players to address the autocrat as is deader than a salted mackerel. Everybody calls the gentleman now presiding by his christian name or his abbreviated surname.

There is going to be a big row in this old town over Barnie's Sunday base ball movement. The Law and Order League is already preparing to jump upon him, and to-morrow the preachers will make their protests against it. The city laws plainly forbid ball-0playing on Sunday, but the management, in connection with a beer garden proprietor across the river, in Anne Arundel county, propose to have a grounds especially for Sunday games. The stands are being erected and the grounds laid off. Accommodations will be provided for over five thousand people and Manager Barnie thinks he can pack the gardens every Sunday. The proprietor furnishes the grounds and expects to reap his reward in the profit on the beer and cigars sold. The Baltimore Club is running behindhand in its finances and the Sunday game movement is a desperate resort to raise funds to make ends meet. The attendance at the home games have been thin and but little interest is manifested in the team. Barnie expects a big enough crowd at the first Sunday game, billed for June 8, to pay for the stands and other improvements and a handsome margin of profit besides. Should ti rain next Sunday, however, Barnie will be ruined, particularly if the authorities prevent further Sunday playing. This innovation is likely to hurt Manager Barnie's reputation in Baltimore. Some of his strongest supporters have been church people, who are bitterly opposed to Sunday games. Such a movement will cause these people to withdraw their patronage from the week-day games. Barnie had often been urged by the sporting community to have Sunday games, but never made the effort until he got into the Atlantic Association. No beer is sold on the grounds at the week-day games.

[Jersey City vs. Baltimore 4/30/1890] German has a peculiar way of tossing the ball from one hand to the other while in the box, but it is not legal. Yesterday Burdock got on to it, and requested Umpire Valentine to prevent it. He cautioned German that he must use no motions to deceive the runner outside of his usual movements.

The Baltimore Sun says: “Umpire Valentine put a veto yesterday upon German's well-known trick of tossing the ball from hand to hand before hurling it in. captain Burdock, of the Jersey City team, entered a protest, and Valentine adjudged the motion to be illegal on the ground that, as stated in the rules, it is “calculated to deceive the base-runner.” German can continue to use his other deceptive movements, however.

[from a letter from Charley Mason] I have organized a strong club called the “Philadelphia Professionals” for the sole purpose of playing exhibition games with the Brotherhood clubs, and I am pleased to say that I have this day completed the entire circuit, playing two games in each city with each club as follows...

The team I have selected are the strongest players that are to be had, and will give a good exhibition of ball playing. I think it will be only a matter of time, when all the clubs will be only too glad to play the Brotherhood clubs. I was quite surprised to see the college clubs refuse to play the Players’ League. It certainly would be more to their credit and honor to play against the Brotherhood clubs. Why? The college clubs are mostly composed of gentlemen’s sons, and don’t you think it would be more to their credit to associate and play with men of honor, such as those who compose the Brotherhood, instead of playing against contract jumpers, oath violators, etc.? For good practice for any club it is best to select the best clubs to play against; hence, the Brotherhood comes in again.

[New Haven vs. Baltimore 6/30/1890] Perhaps the little second baseman touched the runner too hard, for McKee turned savagely and dealt Mack a stinging blow in the neck. Reddy retaliated with a right-hander on McKee's jaw, and then they clinched, and the crowd recognized that what they at first thought was play was a real slugging match. The players of both clubs surrounded the men. The crowd shouted: “Knock him, Reddy!” “Clean him out!” and then the police took a hand. Both combatants were arrested and bailed for a hearing to-morrow.

The game netted Sharsig quite a neat sum, and will give him another start in life. It is worth noting that neither Whittaker, Pennypacker or any other ex-Athletic official, except Director Mink, put in an appearance or even purchased a ticket.

In a game between two amateur clubs, the Elliots and Woodburns, of Cincinnati, O., played at Walnut Hills May 18, before about a 1000 people, a remarkable home run was scored. With two on bases, the batsman hit a ball to left field, an ordinary base hit, but the ball took refuge in a lady spectator's dress and was not found or recovered until three runs had crossed the plate, the batsman counting a home run. It was the feature of the game.

[from the Rochester correspondent's column] A foul tip from Greenwood's bat collided with catcher Munyan's mask, breaking it, and the wires cut his face so badly that several stitches were necessary to close the would. He retired from the game in favor of Trost.

[Ed Morris speaking of Fred Carroll] If for no other reason than that the Pittsburg National League Club broke a promise to him, Carroll should abandon the National League. When the club was transferred to Pittsburg from Columbus, President Nimick gave Carroll a written guarantee that at the end of the first season he would be given a release to go wherever he desired. When the season ended, though his guarantee bore the personal signature of President Nimick, he absolutely refused to live up to it, giving as an excuse that while he was willing to do so the other stockholders objected. He also took the pains to assure Carroll that any attempt to go to law about the matter would result fruitlessly, as he (Nimick) had no right to make the pro9mise without the consent of his co-partners, and that the document would not hold in law. Carroll then asked for an increase of salary, which was also ignored until he was forced to sign at the old terms on the opening of the season.

It was intended to open the new grounds with the Pennsylvania University team in April, but the manager of the latter has, under pressure of some other parites, decided to break his contract and has so notified President Love. He weakly feared that he would not be able 6to get on games with the Philadelphia League and Athletic clubs. Of course, this is a fact, but the few games he will be able to arrange with these two clubs will hardly compensate him for breaking a formal agreement, especially in view of the fact that he would probably have realized more money for his University team by playing with the Players' league team, which will be the great novelty of the opening season, at least. It is more than probable that the Players' club would also have given the Pennsylvania University team a date for every one they lost by sticking by their agreement. Under any circumstances the Pennsylvania University team should not have permitted itself to be bulldozed into breaking an agreement.

Last Sunday at Sportsman's Park, there were two amateur games played. The first one was between the West Ends, the champion colored club, and the N.O. Nelsons. The feature of the game was the umpiring of a lady, who hailed from St. Charles, Mo., where, it is said, she has umpired several games. She was a lady of color.

In the American Association it is too expensive and troublesome to hold directors' meetings to look after a failing club or the grievances of players. Once upon a time it was too much trouble for the League to meet its players in mid-summer, and—well, we all know the result.

[from the London correspondent] We hear but little—hardly the faintest echoes—of the Brotherhood trouble over here. The few papers that have referred to it have done so in a humorous strain. The highest pay a professional cricket or foot ball player gets is less than $75 a month, and the fact that fellows in the States who have received from $2500 to $4000 a season should be striking for more money is, to the English people, irresistibly funny.

Marshal Brown, who conducted the defence of Charles W. Bennett when the Allegheny Club sought to enjoin him...in 1882, declares that the old League has no case against the Players for damages or against the stockholders for conspiracy. He says the two cases are very similar, as in many respects the agreement entered into between Bennett and the Allegheny Club is similar to the reserve agreement, in the League contract, in that they are both merely preliminary agreements anticipating the signing of a regular contract.

[editorial matter] Judge O'Brien based his refusal of a preliminary injunction against Ward on the construction of the contract itself, which he considered unconscionable, lacking in mutuality, indefinite and uncertain. Judge Thayer reached virtually the same conclusion. Judge O'Brien, however, was so ambiguous in his references to the famous eighteen paragraph relating to reservation or option—on which paragraph the League rested its entire case—as to lead the League people to consider it a sort of judicial recognition of the reserve rule, and to hope for favorable results in other courts. But in jumping to this conclusion they simply deluded themselves, as was pointed out in The Sporting Life of Feb. 4, in which Judge O'Brien's decision was so exhaustively reviewed, the results of it so clearly pointed out, and Judge Thayer's decision really so fully anticipated, as to make extended further comment here unnecessary.

Judge Thayer in his thorough analysis of the contract, and the sparing language with which he lays bare its many flaws, shows the League people conclusively not only that they have really no contract that will hold good in law anywhere, but that they need not hope for any legal recognition of the reserve rule as it has been practiced in the past. The decisions of Judges O'Brien and Thayer show that a sort of reservation agreed to in an equitable contract could probably be enforced, but to make such enforcement possible, the terms of reservation would have to be so explici8t, so certain, as to make a one-year contract virtually a two-year contract, and so equitable as to defeat and render useless the reserve rule, whose purpose is to simply hold the player to a club from season to season, in order to keep it intact, without entailing enforceable legal obligations upon the club owners.

[a lawsuit by York to enjoin Frank Grant from playing for Harrisburg] Continuing Judge Simonton said:--”There is no distinct allegation in the bill that complainant will be injured by the playing of defendant Grant for the co-defendant, except as such playing involves his loss as a player to complainant. Therefore an injunction restraining Grant from playing for the other defendant would not, in any degree, lessen the injury and damage to the complainant, unless it should have the effect of compelling him to play for plaintiff. This it would not, and could not, do directly, and it is concede by the counsel for the plaintiff that the court could not compel him, by its decree, to do this directly, and, therefore, according to the principle laid down by Justice Sharswood, which is undoubtedly correct, ought not to attempt to do it indirectly.”

The Court holds as another reason why the injunction should not be granted in this case that the contract between Grant and the complainant is not mutual. The agreement set out in the bill contains this clause:

“It is further agreed between the parties hereto that the party of the second part (the plaintiff), reserves the right to abrogate this agreement at any time when it appears that the said party of the first part is not fulfilling his agreement to the best of his ability.” Judge Simonton says, under this clause it would be in the power of the plaintiff, at any moment, to dismiss the defendant from its service, and that the contract is therefore not mutual.

[quoting the Boston regarding Arlie Latham] He has an inexhaustible fund of wit, and is known among the fraternity as a 'big card.' How well he sustains this reputation can be seen by the large number of spectators who crowd the bleachers near third base and shout themselves horse when he is in particularly high spirits. He is rarely guilty of repetition, which is most remarkable when his volubility is considered. Every phase of the play suggests a new idea. His legs are no less active than his brain, and, when covering his position, he personifies what the boys call a 'dancing jack.' He frequently gives expression to his feelings when an exceptionally fine play is made by his side, in throwing as clean a flipflap as was ever seen in a circus tent. He turns the most trivial incidents into mirth-provoking characterizations. He at all times preserves a remarkable equipoise, and was never known to insult a player or spectator, no matter what the provocation might be. His remarks to the umpire, from anyone else, would bring down upon him the stern reprimand of the autocrat of the diamond, but the cleverness with which he serves out his comments is never followed by a reprimand. If there is any of life in his club he will bring it out and make it show for all it is worth. He is an excellent third baseman, and a ball coming into his territory invariably means that the batsman must retire to the benches.

[from a column by George Edward Andrews] The batting order ought always to be made out with a good waiter leading off. He should be a good batter also to take advantage of any good ball itched, and a cool, level-headed fellow how knows, and will work every point known, to get his base. Once we have a runner on first base we have let on the first steam. Taking it for granted that our men in the batting order thoroughly understand each other, we are ready to begin. The base-runner and batsman following him have it understood that the second ball pitched is to be hit at. This understanding is either had before he goes to bat or is arrived at afterwards by preconcerted signals. This second ball is to be hit at—not blindly, but with method—to punch the ball slowly toward right field, and at the movement of delivery our runner is off for second base. In a successful attempt the second baseman of the side in the field is drawn to cover his base by the man on first starting to run down, thus leaving about seventy-five feet or more of room for the batsman to hit the ball through. In ninety-nine times out of a hundred the second baseman cannot recover himself to field the ball, no matter how slowly hit, and the first baseman cannot go for it except in very rare cases, when he fields the ball to the pitcher, who covers the base. It is very seldom, however, that the first baseman can made this play, being obliged to be right on top of his base to hold the base-runner from getting a start. Here we are now—a man on first and second and no one out, simply by a stroke of “team work.