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

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Morris Bradley passed away in 1926, leaving Alva to run the Bradley empire. Overnight, Alva became chairman of the board of the Cleveland & Buffalo Transit Company, president of the United States Coal Company, and the sole head of Bradley Real Estate. As was the family custom, he became involved in civic affairs, serving on multiple boards of local charities. He had numerous friends, including, significantly, Ernest Barnard, the Indians executive. The connection here cannot be overstated. When Barnard attempted to sell the team for Mrs. Dunn, knowing her preference was to sell to a Cleveland man, the obvious choice was Alva Bradley.

In later years, Bradley enjoyed telling the story of how he bought the Cleveland team. In September 1927, Tom Walsh stopped by the Hotel Cleveland and met Alva and Chuck Bradley in the steam room. Barnard was also likely in the room, as was John Sherwin, a wealthy banker who wanted a piece of the team. While everybody dripped with sweat, a deal was put together. Bradley and partners to be named later would buy the Indians for a million dollars, double what Jim Dunn paid in 1916. All the stockholders in the Dunn group had to give up their shares before any documents were signed. Everybody shook hands, and unofficially, as Bradley would say, it was the only time a baseball team had been sold in a steam bath.