Читать книгу No Money, No Beer, No Pennants. The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Great Depression онлайн

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A short time later an article appeared in the Plain Dealer claiming that Speaker’s syndicate included Alva Bradley, a local man with vast real estate holdings in the downtown area. Almost immediately, Bradley denied any intention to buy the Indians, stating that his other interests would prevent him from getting involved in purchasing the team. He told the newspaper, “Last night Speaker mentioned to me that Mrs. Dunn was willing to sell but he, Speaker, could not swing the deal alone. He did not ask me to go in with him and I did not volunteer.” There was not any fire yet, but the smoke was beginning to gather.

In less than a month another group surfaced via a secret conference in Cleveland. As is usually the case, local reporters quickly found out the details. Some very big names were mentioned in the proposed syndicate. Harry Frazee, the former owner of the Boston Red Sox, was supposedly involved. Phil Ball, the current president of the St. Louis Browns, had an interest in the group, along with Tom Walsh, the Indians vice president. Walsh had been a close friend of Jim Dunn and an original stockholder of the Cleveland team since 1916. Evidently, Walsh was acting under orders from Mrs. Dunn to find a suitable buyer for the team. The papers speculated that the deal would take place in July. Another story had Ed Barrow, the general manager of the New York Yankees, as an interested party. He led a syndicate of men ready to make Mrs. Dunn an offer the following day. There were denials from all the men involved, but the likelihood of a sale became greater every day.