WASHINGTON BASEBALL PLAYERS TOO TIRED TO GET THEIR CHECKS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On October 11, 1924, the Evening Star reports some of the players on the world champion Washington baseball club "were almost too tired...to gather in the fat wads of United States currency that represents their share of the gate receipts."
Manager Bucky Harris, holding "a big sheaf of series' checks," told his players to "come and get these things."
Each check, written for $5959, was courtesy of Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis*.
The Star attributed the players' lack of energy to be from "nervous letdown" after the 7 game series, and "the attentions of admiring thousands" of fans.
JFK+50 NOTE
According to the CPI Inflation Calculator, $5,959 in 1924 would be valued at $109,699.46 in 2024, According to Sportico, each player on the 2023 World Series championship Texas Rangers earned a minimum of $554,263. We can find no information on whether or not they were too tired to get their checks.
*Kenesaw Mountain Landis (1866-1944) was born in Milville, Ohio & served as a Federal judge 1905-1922. KML was the 1st baseball commissioner 1920-1944 & is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
SOURCES
"C.P.I. Inflation Calculator," www.in2013dollars.com/
"Major League Baseball Post Season 2024: How Much Players Earn in Post Season," by Kurt Badenhausen, Sportico, www.sportico.com/
"Players So Tired They Don't Hurry For $5,959 Checks," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., October 11, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
