“‘They cannot pay the salaries in the first place. Beside, I happen to know that the manager of one new expansion team that has broken ground in the East has been trying to get the best players out of the Indianapolis team. This man, I always thought was a friend of mine.” W.H. Watkins of the then minor league American League quoted in “Watkins Predicts Failure: Hoosier Magnate Declares American League Has Not One Chance in Ten to Survive,” Buffalo Express, February 12, 1901, p10
No earliest use given in 2009 Dickson Baseball Dictionary
