Search Results

This chapter examines organized baseball's appeal following its loss in the Baltimore case as well as the Supreme Court's final decision, a period spanning May 1919 to October 1922. After Justice Wendell Phillips Stafford issued his verdict, organized baseball's attorneys began preparing the appeal. The defendants identified a total of thirty-five alleged legal errors committed by Stafford during the trial, ranging from various evidentiary rulings to the court's determination of the interstate commerce issue and its instructions to the jury. Meanwhile, George Pepper was preparing the brief that organized baseball would present to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The Baltimore Federals filed its own brief on September 15, 1920. This chapter first considers the Supreme Court proceedings in Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League as well as its decision-making process before discussing Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.'s ruling in favor of organized baseball. It also cites the Supreme Court's rejection of Baltimore's request for a rehearing.

Social inequality was the general consensus of the nation during the last decade of the 19th century. Organized baseball was no different, and segregation seems to be the way that things are going. The chapter also tells about John J. McGraw and his vision of negroes playing alongside whites. One controversial move was when he introduced Charlie Grant as a Cherokee named “Tokohama” to hide his race but the disguise was soon blown. This chapter also names the five black professional teams of that time: The Genuine Cuban Giants; the Cuban X Giants of New York; the Red Stockings of Norfolk, Virginia; the Chicago Unions; and the Columbia Giants of Chicago. Up to the early 1900s, Negro baseball experienced a great expansion and was no longer treated as novelties like they were in the 1890s.

This chapter examines the defense's arguments in the Baltimore Federals' Washington antitrust lawsuit against the American and National Leagues as well as the jury's verdict in the case. Organized baseball's attorney, George Pepper, discussed the substantive merits of the case, first by emphasizing to the jury the seriousness of Sherman Act cases and then attempting to minimize the impact of the plaintiff's evidence. Pepper's witnesses include Jim Gilmore, William B. Ward, Corry Comstock, and August Herrmann. After Pepper completed his argument, Charles Douglas issued a rebuttal on behalf of Baltimore. Then it was Justice Wendell Phillips Stafford's turn to make a decision: he delivered Baltimore a resounding victory, resolving every key question of law in the team's favor. This chapter first considers the defendants' witness testimony and each party's closing arguments before discussing Stafford's ruling on motions for a directed verdict as well as the jury instructions and verdict. It also describes organized baseball's response to the verdict.

This chapter examines the Baltimore Federals' lawsuit, this time filed in Washington's federal district court, against organized baseball. Baltimore separated its case into two separate antitrust claims, one alleging that organized baseball had illegally monopolized—or attempted to monopolize—the baseball industry following the formation of the National Agreement in 1903, and the other focusing on the major leagues' conspiracy to destroy the Federal League, ultimately culminating in the peace agreement of 1915. The team asserted that organized baseball's activities violated not only federal antitrust law but also the common law of monopoly and conspiracy. This chapter first considers the Baltimore Federals' settlement negotiations with organized baseball in 1917 before discussing each party's legal representation in the case, opening statements, and the plaintiff's witness testimony.

This chapter focuses on the legal battle between the Federal League and organized baseball during the period June 1914–December 1914. Following its loss in the Chief Johnson case, the Federal League continued to recruit players from the big leagues, starting with outfielder Armando Marsans of the Cincinnati Reds. Marsans, who was signed by the St. Louis Federals, was followed by New York Yankees pitcher Al Schulz and Chicago White Sox first baseman Hal Chase, both of whom defected to the Buffalo Federals. The Chicago Federals were able to secure pitcher Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators, but Johnson repudiated his contract with them and returned to Washington. The Federals vowed to pursue legal action to enforce Johnson's contract with the ChiFeds. This chapter discusses the litigation involving the Federal League and the major leagues, its impact on both parties, and the reactions of the baseball press and fans to the legal dispute.

This chapter focuses on Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis's delayed decision in Federal League of Professional Base Ball Clubs v. National League spanning the period February 1915 to February 1916. After attorneys for organized baseball filed their formal answers to the Federal League's allegations on behalf of each of the twenty-one defendants, all that remained was for the parties to wait for Landis to issue his opinion. The Federal League continued its preparations for the 1915 season while also also fighting off attempts by the American and National Leagues to steal back more of its players. As the weeks continued to pass without a decision, the Federals once again began to explore a possible settlement with both leagues. This chapter discusses the Federal League's petition asking Landis to lift the preliminary injunction against Armando Marsans, its settlement negotiations with organized baseball and how the peace process was impacted by the Baltimore Federals's grievances, and Landis's dismissal of the Federal antitrust suit “without prejudice.”

This chapter examines the history of the rivalry between the Federal League and the American and National leagues and how it culminated in a legal battle. The Federal League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was established in 1913, with the goal of challenging the supremacy of the two established major leagues. It was formed from the remnants of two failed 1912 ventures, the Columbian League and the United States League, through the initiative of John Powers, William McCullough, and Otto Stifel. This chapter first traces the beginnings of the Federal League, from its inception to its creation of franchises, recruitment of players, and team owners' efforts to elevate the stature of their fledgling circuit. It then discusses the origins of the Federal League's legal tussle with organized baseball, focusing on its use of the Sherman Antitrust Act to challenge the latter's blacklisting practices and the reserve clause and to convince the federal government to launch an antitrust probe of both leagues.

This chapter focuses on the opening salvos in the legal battle between the Federal League and the American and National Leagues that lasted from December 1913 to June 1914. It all began on December 27, 1913, when star shortstop and future Hall of Famer Joe Tinker signed a three-year contract with the Chicago Federals, or “ChiFeds.” Tinker jumped to the Federal League after his contract was sold from the Cincinnati Reds to the Brooklyn Dodgers. His defection forced organized baseball to begin taking the Federal League challenge more seriously. The Federal League was able to secure a total of fifty big league players for the start of the 1914 season, with catcher William Killefer proving to be the most significant legally. This chapter examines the lawsuits in which the Federal League lost, including the ones involving Killefer and Samuel “Howie” Camnitz.