The Good Ol' Days
A few historical quotes from owners whining that they were about to be put into the poorhouse. The Spalding quote is an absolute classic. Bud Selig said the same thing 113 years later, almost word for word.
Professional baseball is on the wane. Salaries must come down or the interest of the public must be increased in some way. If one or the other does not happen, bankruptcy stares every team in the face.
-- A.G. Spalding, 1881
I believe salaries are at their peak, not just in baseball, but in all sports. It's quite possible some owners will trade away, or even drop entirely, players who expect $200,000 salaries. ... There is no way clubs can continue to increase salaries to the level some players are talking about.
-- Peter O'Malley, 1971
There is no such money in baseball. Ruth is the first ball player to get $80,000, and he will be the last.
-- Colonel Jacob Ruppert
And here are a few quotes for the folks who insist that today's players are spoiled and greedy and play only for the money, unlike the guys in the Good Ol' Days, who played for the love of the game and didn't care how much money they made, yadda yadda yadda until you want to hurl.
I played baseball because I could make more money doing that than I could doing anything else.
-- Bill Terry
A man ought to get all he can earn. A man who knows he's making money for other people ought to get some of the profit he brings in. Don't make any difference if it's baseball or a bank or a vaudeville show. It's business, I tell you. There ain't no sentiment to it. Forget that stuff.
-- Babe Ruth
Ball players should get all they can in the way of salary from their bosses, and there should be no ceiling on salaries.
-- Babe Ruth, 1948
I don't give a damn about any actors. What good will John Barrymore do you with the bases loaded and two down in a tight ball game. Either I get the money or I don't play.
-- Babe Ruth to Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, who had said the Babe was asking for more than Barrymore
What the hell has Hoover got to do with it? Besides, I had a better year than he did.
-- Babe Ruth, when a reporter told him that he was making more money ($80,000) than the president ($75,000)
It's a business. If I could make more money down in the zinc mines, I'd be mining zinc.
-- Roger Maris, 1961
"I probably could have caught the ball," the veteran major-league player said, "but I would have had to dive for it."
"And as long as you were three runs ahead, you decided not to dive?" a reporter asked.
"I'm not going to dive into concrete for anybody."
-- Roger Maris, quoted in Sport magazine, December 1963
I always thought I had to put a little acting into the game -- you know, make it more interesting for the fans. So, whenever a ball was hit to center field, I'd try to time it right and get under the ball just in time to make the catch. It always made the play look a little more spectacular.
-- Willie Mays, 1974. This quote's a little out of place with regard to the subject, but it reminds me of the people who accuse certain modern guys of being hot dogs, such as, let's say, Andruw Jones.
I loved the game. I loved the competition. But I never had any fun. I never enjoyed it. All hard work, all the time.
-- Carl Yastrzemski
Check out When We Were Very Young for more on the Good Ol' Days -- if you can stand it.