Ty Cobb, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Tris Speaker, Eddie Collins, Walter Johnson, Honus Wagner, Frank Baker were all part of this All-Star baseball salary chart from 1917.
Your great-grandfather was arguing this one. This story ran on a feature page complete with graphic complete with a giant dollar sign and floating heads.
Bonus points if you can come up with the first names and teams of the All-Stars without reading the caption or story.
A wire feature published in the Daily Telegram February 18, 1917 with a spelling correction to the original headline:
Why Alexander Wants More Coin
Phillies great pitcher is paid less than any other great baseball star.
By Paul Purman.For two years, Grover Cleveland Alexander, signed to a contract which called for $8,000 a year, has wistfully regarded the salaries of stars on other teams and wondered why they were so lucky.
Alexander knows he is the mainstay of the Philadelphia team; that is mainly due to his wonderful work in the box that the Phillies won the pennant in 1915 and were contenders until the last days of 1916.
And when President Baker of the Philly club offered him an $8,000 contract this year, Alexander promptly sent it back and asked for $15,000.
There may be some question as to whether Alexander is worth $15,000 a year but Alexander was the greatest pitcher in the world last year, with 33 games won out of 45, 16 of them being shutouts, and he figures he is worth at least as much as Walter Johnson, who is drawing $12,500 a year.
That there are inflated salaries in the major leagues is not questioned, but that any of the rally great stars are getting more than they are worth is doubtful.
Ty. Cobb is said to draw $20,000 and he is worth it. Cobb is the greatest drawing card in baseball and the value of his services cannot be estimated.
Tris Speaker’s contract calls for $15,000 a year. Speaker made the Cleveland club last year.
Eddie Collins gets $12,000 a year with the White Sox and it is doubtful if Comisky is sorry he is paying his biggest star that salary.
Walter Johnson makes $12,500 a year. He is Washington’s greatest asset.
Frank Baker draws $9,000 from the Yankees. Baker didn’t do much last year on account of injuries, but the owners believe he will be worth the money this season.
Honus Wagner draws $10,000. That he has earned it is not questioned.
Lee Magee holds a wartime contract for $9,000. He has yet to show he is entitled to that much money.
With the evidence submitted, isn’t Alexander entitled to more than $8,000.
Ty Cobb was as ruthless a negotiator as he was a baseball player but the owners had the upper hand in most negotiations in the first three quarters of the 20th century. Cobb’s inflation adjusted 2012 salary would be $359,085.94, below the 2012 major league minimum of $480,000.
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I recently saw a biography on Babe Ruth from 1930 in a Cayucos antique story. And in the book, Ruth said his salary had just recently surpassed that of the U.S. president — which would have been Herbert Hoover — at $80,000. Pretty good coin for the Depression era. A decade earlier, he made $20,000 in his first year with the Yankees, despite having been a 2-time 20-game winner as a pitcher for Boston.
Guess he was worth more when he hit homeruns.
Antique “store,” not “story.”
It’s astounding how much baseball players make these days, compared to their historical peers. I wonder what would happen if we went back to this pay standard?
While I have no quarrel with how much players are paid now (they are getting what the traffic will bear, capitalism at its purest) it is also the main reason (there are several others) that I lost interest in the game. When I was a child, you pretty much knew who the players were on “your” team from one year to the next, and the good ones usually stayed with your team for a career. Now its go where the money is, and a career of 15 years might span 7 to 10 teams. Its not about the game anymore. Just about the money. Perhaps if the owners in the old days had paid players what they were really worth, there would have been no need for the reserve clause that, after Curt Flood challenged and defeated, led to the skyrocketing salaries we have today. Plenty of other “what ifs” besides this, but the bottom line is people with still pay $200 or more for a box seat for a regular season game. Not me though, when the guys on my team will be a different set of faces next year.
Sorry for the rant.
I couldn’t resist the temptation to add a few notes.
First, when Babe Ruth was told that in the previous year he made more money than the president he responded, “Well, I had a better year.”
Next I need to take exception to some of Mr. Dunlap’s assertions. Ballplayers DO make a lot of money and (as you noted) they make “what the traffic will bear.” The loss of baseball’s Reserve Clause is a good thing. Yes, it was comfortable to know the players on “your team” would be the same year after year but the lack of Free Agency relegated so many teams to chronic frustration year after year. How much fun was it to follow the Boston Braves or the St. Louis Browns or the Kansas City Athletics or the Philadelphia Phillies or the Washington Senators when you KNEW they were gonna get their butts kicked EVERY season?
Free agency has allowed baseball to spread “hope” throughout the ranks of teams that in the past would have been also-rans. This is evidenced by the range of “current” World Series winners where in the past eleven years there have been TEN DIFFERENT winners! Look at the number of “different” franchises that won the World Series in each decade: 7 different in the ’20s, 5 different in the ’30s, 5 in the ’40s, only 4 in the ’50s, 8 in the ’60s, 5 in the ’70s, 9 in the ’80s, 6 out of 9 in the ’90s (with no World Series in 1994) and 8 different WS winners in the ’00s.
$200 for a Box Seat???? Really???? At Yankee Stadium – yes. At Boston – no, they’re sold out. Other parks? Not so much. I attend a lot of games throughout the country (I’ve been to 34 different ballparks) and I keep pretty close tabs on the “going rate.” PLEASE check current prices… it is a lot lower than $200. For instance Detroit, Washington, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Anaheim, San Francisco, Seattle, Colorado, Arizona, the White Sox, Rangers, Astros, Royals, Cardinals, Reds…. and so forth are ALL much lower than $200.
Finally, Mr. Dunlap, you state that a ballplayer’s career “might span 7 to 10 teams.” Now I appreciate exaggeration as much as the next fellow but PLEASE submit a list of players whose career spans “7 to 10 teams” DUE TO FREE AGENCY. Players have ALWAYS played for various teams. Check out pitcher Bobo Newsom whose career included stops with SEVENTEEN teams. Remember… Free Agency is not the only reason that players change teams. Sometimes they are trying to hold on and move on when their previous team no longer wants them on the roster.
Some movie stars make MILLIONS of dollars for each movie — and yet you probably still go to the theater.
Okay, sorry for my rant.