#BaseballandtheLaw⚾️🏛️
Lou Schiff & Bob Jarvis, team up again as co-editors for a new book, "Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame" (McFarland)
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- Super Bowl note When Gallup asked Americans to name their favorite spectator sport in 1937, 34% named baseball & 23% football. Baseball continued to rank 1st before football gained the top spot in '72. Since '95 baseball & basketball have vied for 2nd place #AttorneysintheBaseballHallofFame 180-81
- Be sure to check out @depaullaw.bsky.social recent posting of Law School Dean and Professor Geoffrey Rapp's Law Library Faculty Publications Display here: libguides.depaul.edu/c.php?g=1506... He is the author of Chapter 3. James Henry "Jim" O'Rourke, #AttorneysintheBaseballHallofFame
- When a pregame pitch ends a career, who’s responsible? A college player’s injury led to a lawsuit against a minor-leaguer and an MLB club—settled on February 5, 2002. ⚾️⚖️ Sports law matters. #BaseballandtheLaw
- Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame is still in the top 10! Thanks for your support Don't yet have your copy? It's on-sale at McFarland Publishing. Use code: SAVE26 for a 20% discount or purchase your copy at Amazon. Amazon also has a Kindle edition. mcfarlandbooks.com/product/atto...
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- Reposted by #BaseballandtheLaw⚾️🏛️Who was MLB's first Black player? Not Jackie Robinson in 1947, not Moses Fleetwood Walker and his brother Weldy in 1884 … but William Edward White, in 1879. He passed for white for much of his life but, uniquely among MLB players, he was born a slave. ourgame.mlblogs.com/pioneers-wil...
- Helping the Other Team National Assn of Professional BB Leagues gave minor league catcher Angel Rodriguez an indefinite suspension on 2/3/1982 for tipping off opposing Latin American batters in Spanish of the next pitch, an allegation Rodriguez denied #BaseballandtheLaw Chp 2
- On 2/2/1921, Rep. Benjamin F. Welty (D-OH) called for a Congressional probe of Judge/Commissioner Landis. U.S. AG A. Mitchell Palmer said Landis was breaking no law in holding two posts. Welty then introduced a bill banning judges from paid nonjudicial work. #AttorneysintheBaseballHallofFame 13-14
- #MLB Approves Sale of Marlins... February 1, 2002 -- Baseball executives confidently rearranged the deck chairs and declared victory. Jeffrey Loria traded the Expos for the Marlins. John Henry skipped off to buy the Red Sox and MLB promised S. Florida stability & prosperity. #BaseballandtheLaw
- It's @sabrbbcards.bsky.social (SABR) Day! Lots of great programs being held in person and via Zoom today We will be making a Zoom appearance today at 3 pm Eastern time (noon Pacific) with the Maddux Brothers - Las Vegas Chapter. Hope you will stop by. #AttorneysintheBaseballHallofFame
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- Gavin, On behalf of the 10 co-authors of "Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame" we thank you for your kind words. Lou
- Fraudulent election...hmm 1/30/58 #MLB Commissioner Ford Frick announced that because fans had stuffed the ballot boxes for the 1957 All-Star Game, fans would no longer be given votes in selecting players for the Mid-Summer Classic #BaseballandtheLaw 558
- Thank you! Hope you enjoy it!
- Judge ruled against the men in blue, no professional courtesy given... A federal judge ruled #MLB didn’t have to arbitrate disciplining the MLBUA union boss. Read: Office of the Commissioner of Baseball v. World Umpires Ass'n courtlistener.com/opinion/2440... #BaseballAndTheLaw 237-42
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- Before Marvin Miller... Judge Robert Cannon was named the full-time executive director by the MLBPA board on 1/27/66 He was hand picked by #MLB owners. His tenure didn't last long and soon thereafter Miller was hired away from the United Steelworkers to head the MLBPA. #BaseballandtheLaw 668-70
- Muncie Ministers Mulled Moral Mandate (1/26/1909)— Mounting opposition to making Sunday baseball mainstream, while many fans mobilized to mute the mandate and make the statute meaningless. ⚾⚖️ #BaseballandtheLaw 5-6
- Battle of the Sexes, Title IX Edition⚖️ January 1998: Twin sisters sued after discovering their school’s baseball field had lights, bathrooms, & scoreboards—while softball had none. Federal court steps in. Equal playing fields aren’t optional @IWBC4Me.bsky.social #BaseballandtheLaw 958-67
- Early Baseball Labor Law ⚾⚖️ On 1/24/1912, Baseball’s “supreme court” ruled injured players could not collect salary while incapacitated, prompting warnings that general employer-liability law would soon collide with baseball’s internal rules. #BaseballandtheLaw 799
- Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis announced on January 23, 1940 that he was cracking down on illegal baseball farm systems, exposing fake transfers and coverups, freeing players, threatening fines and suspensions to enforce transparent, fair dealings. #AttorneysintheBaseballHallofFame
- “Ball players need to be governed with a strong hand.” Baseball law is nothing new. On January 22, 1890, the Wichita Daily Eagle criticized the National Agreement, observing that “many of its provisions…are obnoxious to fair-minded people.” #BaseballandtheLaw 18–24
- The Magna Carta of baseball is about to go on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/groundbreaki...
- “The most important piece of litigation ever to affect baseball.” — Buffalo Enquirer On 1/20/1915, the Federal Baseball League filed suit, challenging MLB’s National Agreement as an antitrust violation. #BaseballandtheLaw 50–53
- Boston catcher Marty Bergen killed his family and committed suicide in Brookfield, Mass. on 1/19/1900 Do you know a friend or family member in need of mental health assistance? Please Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (24/7): 988 ⬇️⬇️ #BaseballandtheLaw 784-5
- Two Leagues, Two Visions At the 1/16/1919 winter meetings, the N.L. voted 6–2 for a one-man commission led by a neutral chair. The A. L. also voted 6–2—but to keep the existing commission. The compromise: begin a search for a new chairman, with August Herrmann staying on #BaseballandtheLaw 100
- Getting the Green Light to Play Baseball With the United States having just entered #WW2, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wrote to #MLB Commissioner Landis on 1/15/1942 and said: "I honestly feel it would be best for the country to keep baseball going." #BaseballandtheLaw 621
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- Branch Rickey proved to be a very capable student. At the end of a letter written to his parents on 1/13/1910 he revealed news that suggested that he had found the path that would lead to his life’s mission. (read below) #BaseballandtheLaw #AttorneysintheBaseballHallofFame page 109
- Pickett’s Charge ⚖️⚾ Mid-season 1892, the Baltimore Orioles cut John Pickett, saying he had only “ordinary,” not “extraordinary,” skill. Pickett sued—and won. A jury awarded Pickett $1,285.72 (today worth $45k - $50k) The verdict was affirmed on 1/12/1894 #BaseballandtheLaw 24-26
- "Czar" and "Supreme Dictator" words used to describe Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis when he took the reigns as the 1st Commissioner on 1/12/1921 Nova Southeastern law prof Bob Jarvis & Mitchell Hamline adjunct law prof Lou Schiff wrote his revealing essay in: #AttorneysintheBaseballHallofFame 5-25
- From the Trenches to the Batteries 🔋 Back from World War I, the January 10, 1920 federal census shows Leland Stanford “Larry” MacPhail Sr. swapping overseas service for a stateside job as sales manager of the Prest-O-Lite Battery Company. #AttorneysintheBaseballHallofFame 130
- The votes are in… A resounding NO to a split season and/or in-season tournament… #BaseballandtheLaw #AttorneysintheBaseballHallofFame
- They’re Twins! 👶👶 (Minnesota Twins) 1/9/61, the Twins agreed to make a $600K indemnity payment to the American Assoc. for entering the minor league's territory in Minnesota. The settlement paved the way for the team to move to Minneapolis/St. Paul from Wash., D.C. #BaseballandtheLaw 317
- Happy New Year Sale --- "Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame" --20% off list price At checkout use code: SAVE26 “insightful biographical essays" Maryland Bar Journal "a must-have” @craigcalcaterra.bsky.social "fascinating and timely tales" ABA Journal mcfarlandbooks.com/product/atto...
- Umpires sued for reinstatement ⚾️⚖️ Three MLBUA umpires who quit during the 1999 labor dispute sued MLB on Jan. 8, 2002 in Kansas City to get their jobs back. The lawsuit was settled in 2004 under a five-year labor agreement. #BaseballandtheLaw 237-250
- Charlie Hustles out of prison... 1/7/1991, after serving a 5 month term for tax evasion, Pete Rose was released from the US Penitentiary in Marion (IL) The Reds legend paid $366K in back taxes & interest, a $50K fine, & did 1K hours of community service #BaseballandtheLaw 739
- Ice base-ball 🧊⚾ Here’s one for our Canadian friends and followers… On 1/6/1879, the Montreal Star proposed playing baseball on ice. Turns out they weren’t entirely kidding — the earliest documented ice baseball game was played on 1/16/1860, in Rochester, N.Y. (NYTimes). #BaseballandtheLaw
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- Never on a Sunday Trying to get around the NYC ban on Sunday BB, the NY Highlanders (Yankees) on 1/4/1904 proposed playing 14 Sunday games for the '04 season at Long Island's Ridgewood Park where there wasn’t a ban The Dodgers said it would be an invasion of their territory #BaseballandtheLaw 5-6
- Hockey 🥅 at loanDepot Park ⚾️ Before the ice ever met the turf, attorneys were reviewing and negotiating the documents that made the #NHL #WinterClassic possible—from venue agreements to liability and field protection. #BaseballandtheLaw
- The Boss Buys the Yankees ⚾️ On 1/3/73, George M. Steinbrenner III—a 42-year-old shipbuilder from Ohio—led a group buying the Yankees from CBS for $10M. In 2025, Forbes values the team at $8.2B. #BaseballAndTheLaw pp. 186–98, 245–46
- What's all the fuss? The National Commission hired attorney John Galvin on 1/2/1914 to review the National League contracts regarding the "reserve clause" and "the controversy arising out of the fuss the Federal League has started." #BaseballandtheLaw 50 - 78
- Last day of sale…
- "Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame" use code: SCHIFF25 25% discount Sale through 12/31/25 "fascinating and timely tales" Randy Maniloff, ABA Journal “a must-have” craigcalcaterra.bsky.social mcfarlandbooks.com/product/atto...
- First #MLB Free Agent? Try...Herschel "Red" Bennett. Declared a free agent by Commissioner Landis after he discovered Browns owner Phil Ball was "playing games" hiding players. Milwaukee American Assoc. v Landis 49 F.2d 298 (N.D. Ill. 1931) 12/31/31 #BaseballandtheLaw 198-207
- After years of study “The Mills Commission” on 12/30/1907 released the "Origins of Base Ball" report, wrongly concluding the game was invented by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown in 1839. Pictured: Abraham Gilbert Mills (March 12, 1844 – August 26, 1929) #BaseballandtheLaw 6
- On 12/29/1977 Sports Illustrated reporter @MelissaLudtke73.bsky.social filed her civil rights law suit against #MLB and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn that eventually overturned the MLB-Kuhn locker-room ban on female reporters. #BaseballandtheLaw 223–36 #AttorneysintheBaseballHallofFame
- "Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame" use code: SCHIFF25 25% discount Sale through 12/31/25 "fascinating and timely tales" Randy Maniloff, ABA Journal “a must-have” craigcalcaterra.bsky.social mcfarlandbooks.com/product/atto...
- Weather got you down? Try Indoor Base Ball Indoor base ball may have began in Chicago in 1887. Rules were written by George Hancock, "Hancock's Indoor Base Ball Guide," published 1891 and on 12/28/19 the 1st no-hitter of the 1919-20 season was reported in the Chicago Tribune #BaseballandtheLaw
- A message from Bob and Lou... Thank you to our almost 2,000 followers of @baseballandlaw.bsky.social who take time to read us each day & those of you who purchased "Attorneys in the Baseball Hall of Fame" Thanks for your encouragement and kind words We hope you will continue to follow us in 2026
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- The Christmas Eve Letter heard around the world... "December 24, 1969 Dear Mr. Kuhn, I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes." Curt Flood, who was only 31 MLBPA paid his legal fees for his U.S. Supreme Court case #BaseballandtheLaw 60-73
- Reposted by #BaseballandtheLaw⚾️🏛️Gather ‘round the pole! We’ll air grievances at 3! Chambers Festivus! Please forward any grievances you would like us to air on your behalf.
- Order today on Amazon and you can have the book by Christmas Eve. Or, you can order your Kindle edition on Amazon and have your book immediately “Attorneys in the Baseball Hal of Fame”
- 50 years ago… Free agency was born on 12/23/75, when arbitrator Peter Seitz cast the deciding vote in the Messersmith-McNally arbitration, ruling for the MLBPA.bsky.social against #MLB. MLB didn’t expect Seitz’s decision and then they fired him. #BaseballandtheLaw 651-7
