• Sporting Life reprinted a story originally published in the Chicago Journal that included what purported to be 1901 salaries owed by the Athletics to several players

• To wit: third baseman Lave Cross ($3,000), outfielder Elmer Flick ($3,000), second baseman Nap Lajoie ($3,500), catcher Ed McFarland ($2,800), left-handed pitcher Win Mercer ($3,000), and right-handed pitcher Vic Willis ($2,700)

• By the time of the reprint both Flick and McFarland had said they would be returning to the Phillies

• Catcher Harry Smith, a recent Athletics signee, was likely to be the subject of a lawsuit by the Pirates, who claimed they held his rights following a trade with Milwaukee

• Athletics manager Connie Mack said it was nothing to do with him and that the Pirates should take up the matter with Milwaukee

• The team signed right-handed pitcher Chick Fraser

• Fraser had played for the Phillies and presumably that team still believed had a reserve on him

• According to some sources the signing was performed by American League president Ban Johnson, not the team

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