[SelzShoes]

“Does anyone have any additional comments? Mr. Perini.”

Lou Perini stood before his fellow NAL owners. “Please, we have to be patient. Yes the press is hard on us for excluding the Yankees, and it appears the Contential League is getting the positive press—but if we just wait a couple more months, I’m telling you the Yankees will come to us. The plan is not to exclude them, but to wait until we have the upper hand.”

“My God, do you hear what the New York papers are saying about me,” Stoneham of the Giants yelled. “I will not have me and my club savaged so.”

“And what kind of hero will you be when we let the Yankees in? All the people care about is if the Yankees are part of our league—the date of admittance does not matter. Have you given thought to who the second team added should be?”

Phil Wrigley chimed in, “It should be a National League club. St. Louis seems to be stable now.”

Perini was red with rage, “There is no National League. The only thing that matters is this league right now, the old structures, rivalries, they are dead now.”

“Since this discussion is going nowhere, I suggest we vote: Do we approach the Yankees to join us.” Briggs of Detroit suggested. After a seconding, the matter went to the owners. Fourteen to two to invite the Yankees back, with only Milwaukee and Los Angeles against.

“Tom, I thought you understood what we were trying to do here?” Perini pleaded with Yawkey.

“Lou, the papers are just ripping us. I can’t take that kind of negative press.”

Perini stood, “Fine, go find out what they want to join. If you had just waited, we could’ve dictated the terms, but now. You are right back where we started on this. Don’t bitch to me when the Yanks have left us all in the dust because of your cowardice.”