The Post-Journal

Former Falcon Owner Contact Man For Syndicate Seeking White Sox

John Jachym, former owner of the Jamestown Falcons, may be back in the Major League picture shortly, according to stories out of Chicago and announced here in yesterday’s second edition of The Post-Journal.

Jachym, according to a story by William Gleason, a Chicago American reporter, was the contact man for a syndicate which included Bill Veeck, former owner of the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Browns which is interested in purchasing the Chicago White Sox.

Sports Editor Leo Fisher of the same newspaper had written a day previous that Mrs. Dorothy Comiskey Rigney, president of the White Sox, might sell her majority interest in the Chisox.

John Rigney, Dorothy’s husband, said: “If the right offer comes along, my wife might take it, and again she might not take it.”

Mrs. Rigney’s bother, Chuck Comiskey, with whom she has been waging a bitter court battle for control of the club, expressed surprise his sister planned on selling.

“If she wants to sell, I hope it is to me,” he told reporters.

Rigney told newsmen direct contact had been made by Jachym, referred to as “a baseball dynamo who astounded the American League in 1949 by suddenly coming up with 39.7 percent of the Washington Senators’ stock.

“At that time Jachym was only 31 years old and his baseball executive experience had been gained as owner of the Jamestown, N.Y. team in the Class D PONY League.

“Jachym held the Senators’ stock for only eight months then sold it, reportedly at a profit of $80,000 to H. Gabriel Murphy, who presently is striving to gain control of the Washington club.” - end of quote from the Chicago American story.

Rigney said Jachym called “one night and asked that he be kept in mind in the event we wanted to sell. He took us by surprise.”

Chicago writers feel that, although Comiskey has a decided edge in his court battles with his sister, he will be in a ticklish situation if Mrs. Rigney decides to sell to someone outside of the family. Because Mrs. Rignet holds 1,541 shares and Chuck 1,041, the party who purchases Dorothy’s portion of the club will be in the driver’s seat.

It is unlikely, Chicago sources feel, that either Veeck or Jachym would allow Chuck to remain as a minority stockholder. Thus, it is felt, young Comiskey will make every attempt to either buy his sister’s shares or convince her not to sell at all.

Jachym bought the Jamestown falcons from Harry Bisgeier in 1946 and operated the club for two seasons, ’46 and ’47. He sold the franchise to Detroit for a reported $55,000, about double the amount he paid Bisgeier. Jachym signed on with Detroit as a scout, part of the sale agreement, a position he held for one year. He is now connected with a brokerage firm in Chicago.


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