Double Play

In their day, the Chicago Cubs trio of Tinker, Evers & Chance pulled the most famed double-plays in baseball. But last week the New York Yankees closed a real-estate deal that was even harder to follow. Yankee Owners Dan Topping and Del Webb sold Yankee Stadium (but not the ball club) for $3,600,000 in cash, and took back a $2,900,000 mortgage and a long-term lease. The buyer: a syndicate headed by Chicago Investor Arnold Johnson, 46, vice chairman of Automatic Canteen Co. of America (of which Topping is also a director) and director of the Chicago Black Hawks hockey team.

It was a shrewd bit of trading. Topping and Webb, in partnership with Yankee President Larry MacPhail, had bought the Yankees team, stadium and four farm clubs for $2,800,000 from the estate of Colonel Jacob Ruppert eight years ago. Later they bought out MacPhail's one third share for $2,000,000. After last week's deal with Johnson, Topping and Webb still owned the Yankees, had got back nearly twice their entire investment, and were in a position to write off rent on the stadium against taxes.

As soon as the deal was closed, Johnson tossed the ball to another player: the Knights of Columbus, who had been looking for a good place to invest idle insurance funds. For $2,500,000, the K. of C. bought the land under Yankee Stadium from Johnson, leased it back to him again for 28 years at $182,000 rent a year, with renewal options running for 70 years. Since the land is not to be used for charitable purposes, taxes will be paid as usual. If Johnson does not buy back the land for $3,000,000 before the lease expires, the Knights will get full title. It was also a smart deal for Johnson: with a cash outlay of only $1,100,000, he will control a property appraised recently at $8,000,000.

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