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Reading's Witman Draws Up Plans for New Outlaw League


PHILADELPHIA, PA. December 21, 1911 - William A. Witman, formerly of Reading, issued a statement last night announcing the formation of a new baseball league that will begin play in April of 1912.

Witman, 52, is a former City Councilman of Reading that is well known in that area for his political career as well as other ventures. The first of six children to a father who was a master mechanic for the Reading Railroad Company, Witman is a prominent builder and contractor in eastern Pennsylvania.

After finishing his education, William and his brother John created Witman and Brother, a company that started as a coal yard that later became a quarry and then a construction business. In 1886, he entered the political world as a Common Councilman of the Eighth Ward. Over the next twenty years, he rose up the ranks of city government.

However, in 1906 he was accused of defrauding the city in a garbage and sand contract. He was found guilty, and was forced to leave the political arena.

His next endeavor was quite ambitious. After receiving a post-card from the Philippines, he became inspired by the Asian architecture. He decided to stop scarring the mountainsides with his quarry business and build a Japanese pagoda to use as a luxury hotel and resort.

In 1908, he finished the Pagoda, a 72 ft. tall brick and tile structure on Mt. Penn's southwest slope. Witman dreamed that it would be Reading's most glamorous luxury hotel, 886 feet above the city.

However, when Witman applied for a liquor license, he was denied. The hotel was a flop. In 1910, the Pagoda was sold to Jonathan Mould, a prominent business man. Earlier this year, Mould sold the Pagoda for a total of $1.

Witman's next challenge could prove to be just as difficult. No other details have been announced, be we expect to hear more in the next two weeks.