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

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Edwards asked Bradley why he wanted to buy the team. In a revealing answer, Bradley replied, “We are not going into this because we are such great baseball fans and are eager to get mixed up in the national game. But we feel that a winning baseball team is a splendid asset to any city and we are for Cleveland first, last and all the time.” This was a novel approach for a prospective Major League owner. In 1901, Charlie Somers started the Cleveland franchise mainly because he loved baseball. Certainly, he saw the opportunity to earn a fortune, but his heart and soul belonged to the game. The late Jim Dunn had seen the Indians as a money-making proposition. He learned to orchestrate trades to his advantage and within five years brought home a world title. “Sunny” Jim had great affinity for his players and the fans, but managed the bottom line extremely well. So here, in Bradley, we have a new man, one who wanted to enhance the city by owning the team.

Just who in fact was Alva Bradley? He was a leap year baby, born in Cleveland on February 29, 1884. His father was Morris A. Bradley, one of the top men in the Great Lakes shipping industry. Alva’s paternal grandfather, Alva, Sr., was the first Bradley to sail the open seas. He began as an ordinary deckhand but showed enough skills to later become a captain. With his expert knowledge of ships he took on a partner and by the 1860s made a mark in the shipbuilding trade. Their warehouses were located in Vermillion, Ohio, where the partners concentrated on building the largest wooden ships in the Great Lakes region. The business later moved to Cleveland, where he added to his already large fleet. The Captain piloted many of those ships and never lost one during his time at sea.