Professional Baseball Cracks Down on Foul Language
New rules in the Pacific Coast League threaten fines and termination for players and managers who can't keep their tempers in check.
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The magnates of the Pacific Coast baseball league, of which the Tacoma club is a member, are determined to have clean baseball this year, even if they have to fine every player in the league. There was too much wrangling and rowdy work last year to suit the spectators. At the annual meeting in San Francisco, a resolution was adopted that any player who used vulgar or profane language on the field would be fined at once, and a repetition of the offense would mean his removal from the game. Every player must pay his own fines this year, too. Any manager who pays the fine of a player will himself be fined $100 for his first offense, and will lose his job if he repeats it. The magnates are going to have discipline this year, and every umpire will be held strictly accountable for the actions of the men on the field. He will have plenty of authority, and if he does not exercise it, President Burt will get someone who will.
“There was too much wrangling and rowdy work last year to suit the spectators.”
The struggle to maintain 'professionalism' and curb player conduct in professional sports remains a constant tension. This 1904 mandate highlights the early efforts of sports owners to commodify the game by ensuring it remained 'family-friendly' for the growing spectating class.
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