Baseball Meets the Law: A Chronology of Decisions, Statutes and Other Legal Events
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Description
Baseball and law have intersected since the primordial days. In 1791, a Pittsfield, Massachusetts, ordinance prohibited ball playing near the town's meeting house. Ball games on Sundays were barred by a Pennsylvania statute in 1794.
In 2015, a federal court held that baseball's exemption from antitrust laws applied to franchise relocations. Another court overturned the conviction of Barry Bonds for obstruction of justice. A third denied a request by rooftop entrepreneurs to enjoin the construction of a massive video screen at Wrigley Field.
This exhaustive chronology traces the effects the law has had on the national pastime, both pro and con, on and off the field, from the use of copyright to protect not only equipment but also "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" to frequent litigation between players and owners over contracts and the reserve clause. The stories of lawyers like Kenesaw Mountain Landis and Branch Rickey are entertainingly instructive.
ISBN
9781476664385
Publication Date
2017
Publisher
McFarland
Keywords
antitrust laws, copyright, litigation between players and owners over contracts
Disciplines
Antitrust and Trade Regulation | Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law | Law
Recommended Citation
Edmonds, Edmund P. and Houdek, Frank G., "Baseball Meets the Law: A Chronology of Decisions, Statutes and Other Legal Events" (2017). Books. 279.
https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_books/279
Comments
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 1
1. Baseball Origins and Club Teams, 1791-1865 13
2. Professionalization and the Rise of Leagues, 1866-1902 18
3. The National Commission Era, 1903-1920 44
4. Landis in Charge, 1921-1944 67
5. Owners on Top, 1945-1965 89
6. MLBPA and the Rise of the Players, 1966-1995 112
7. Selig, Steroids and Baseball Prosperity 151
Appendix A: A Selective List of Lawyers Involved with Baseball 173
Appendix B: A Selective Chronology of the Black Sox Scandal 199
Appendix C: A Selective Black Sox Bibliography 206
Chapter Notes 210
Bibliography 258
Index of Cases and Statutes 293
Subject Index 297