David George Surdam
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039140
- eISBN:
- 9780252097126
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039140.003.0004
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
This chapter examines one of the most contentious issues in professional sports leagues that were tackled at the Congressional hearings in 1951 and 1957: player rights. The reserve clause and the ...
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This chapter examines one of the most contentious issues in professional sports leagues that were tackled at the Congressional hearings in 1951 and 1957: player rights. The reserve clause and the player draft allowed owners to minimize competition for players and therefore to have salary-setting power over their players, giving them discretion in how much they paid them. Owners and their commissioners employed novel arguments supporting the necessity of having the reserve clause. This chapter first provides an overview of the sorry state of player salaries in professional team sports before considering the owners' explicit use of the reserve clause and how players began challenging it. It concludes with a discussion of Congress's inquiry into player rights, the challenges to the player draft, the formation of players' associations, the outcome of the hearings, and the inquiry's impact on owner-player relations.Less
This chapter examines one of the most contentious issues in professional sports leagues that were tackled at the Congressional hearings in 1951 and 1957: player rights. The reserve clause and the player draft allowed owners to minimize competition for players and therefore to have salary-setting power over their players, giving them discretion in how much they paid them. Owners and their commissioners employed novel arguments supporting the necessity of having the reserve clause. This chapter first provides an overview of the sorry state of player salaries in professional team sports before considering the owners' explicit use of the reserve clause and how players began challenging it. It concludes with a discussion of Congress's inquiry into player rights, the challenges to the player draft, the formation of players' associations, the outcome of the hearings, and the inquiry's impact on owner-player relations.
Nathan Michael Corzine
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039799
- eISBN:
- 9780252097898
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039799.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
This chapter examines Major League Baseball's (MLB) drug testing policy under Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, the man who inherited Bowie Kuhn's responsibilities and with them baseball's drug problems. ...
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This chapter examines Major League Baseball's (MLB) drug testing policy under Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, the man who inherited Bowie Kuhn's responsibilities and with them baseball's drug problems. Under Ueberroth's guidance, the league appeared to enjoy a remarkable renaissance. Nevertheless, there was something illusory about the success of Ueberroth's tenure: he struck out on the issue of drugs. This chapter considers Ueberroth's mandatory drug testing policy as part of his campaign to eliminate drugs from baseball in the wake of the Pittsburgh drug trial. It also discusses the league's joint drug policy with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), along with the dispute between the union and team owners over the issue of drug testing. The test case for the MLBPA's position would stem from the proliferation of contract clauses requiring voluntary drug testing.Less
This chapter examines Major League Baseball's (MLB) drug testing policy under Commissioner Peter Ueberroth, the man who inherited Bowie Kuhn's responsibilities and with them baseball's drug problems. Under Ueberroth's guidance, the league appeared to enjoy a remarkable renaissance. Nevertheless, there was something illusory about the success of Ueberroth's tenure: he struck out on the issue of drugs. This chapter considers Ueberroth's mandatory drug testing policy as part of his campaign to eliminate drugs from baseball in the wake of the Pittsburgh drug trial. It also discusses the league's joint drug policy with the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), along with the dispute between the union and team owners over the issue of drug testing. The test case for the MLBPA's position would stem from the proliferation of contract clauses requiring voluntary drug testing.
Mitchell Nathanson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036804
- eISBN:
- 9780252093920
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036804.003.0005
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
This chapter explores how the collective ethos represented by groups such as the Players Association was threatened by another American ethos, one that had more deeply entrenched roots dating back to ...
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This chapter explores how the collective ethos represented by groups such as the Players Association was threatened by another American ethos, one that had more deeply entrenched roots dating back to the nineteenth century, that itself felt threatened by the collective movement. This ethos—the individualistic, “positive thinking” movement—rejected the critical, often grim portrait of America drawn by the collectivists, and chose instead to embrace an optimistic worldview that depended upon the willful ignorance of the types of inconvenient facts often highlighted by the collectivists in their quest to bring about social change. The clash of these competing visions of American life would result in the culture wars that led a majority of Americans to turn against the civil rights and Players Association movements, and into the sunnier outlook of the positive thinkers.Less
This chapter explores how the collective ethos represented by groups such as the Players Association was threatened by another American ethos, one that had more deeply entrenched roots dating back to the nineteenth century, that itself felt threatened by the collective movement. This ethos—the individualistic, “positive thinking” movement—rejected the critical, often grim portrait of America drawn by the collectivists, and chose instead to embrace an optimistic worldview that depended upon the willful ignorance of the types of inconvenient facts often highlighted by the collectivists in their quest to bring about social change. The clash of these competing visions of American life would result in the culture wars that led a majority of Americans to turn against the civil rights and Players Association movements, and into the sunnier outlook of the positive thinkers.
Mitchell Nathanson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036804
- eISBN:
- 9780252093920
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036804.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
Baseball is much more than the national pastime. It has become an emblem of America itself. Stories abound that illustrate baseball's significance in eradicating racial barriers, bringing ...
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Baseball is much more than the national pastime. It has become an emblem of America itself. Stories abound that illustrate baseball's significance in eradicating racial barriers, bringing neighborhoods together, and building civic pride. This book probes the less well-known but no less meaningful other side of baseball: episodes not involving equality, patriotism, heroism, and virtuous capitalism, but power—how it is obtained, and how it perpetuates itself. Exploring the founding of the National League, the book focuses on the newer Americans who sought club ownership to promote their own social status in the increasingly closed caste of late nineteenth-century America. The book's perspective on the rise and public rebuke of the Players Association shows that these events reflect both the collective spirit of working and middle-class America in the mid-twentieth century as well as the countervailing forces that sought to beat back this emerging movement that threatened the status quo. Even his take on baseball's racial integration that began with Branch Rickey's “Great Experiment” reveals the debilitating effects of the harsh double standard that resulted, requiring a black player to have unimpeachable character merely to take the field in a Major League game, a standard no white player was required to meet. Told with passion and occasional outrage, this book challenges the perspective of the well-known, deeply entrenched, hyper-patriotic stories of baseball and offers an incisive alternative history of America's much-loved national pastime.Less
Baseball is much more than the national pastime. It has become an emblem of America itself. Stories abound that illustrate baseball's significance in eradicating racial barriers, bringing neighborhoods together, and building civic pride. This book probes the less well-known but no less meaningful other side of baseball: episodes not involving equality, patriotism, heroism, and virtuous capitalism, but power—how it is obtained, and how it perpetuates itself. Exploring the founding of the National League, the book focuses on the newer Americans who sought club ownership to promote their own social status in the increasingly closed caste of late nineteenth-century America. The book's perspective on the rise and public rebuke of the Players Association shows that these events reflect both the collective spirit of working and middle-class America in the mid-twentieth century as well as the countervailing forces that sought to beat back this emerging movement that threatened the status quo. Even his take on baseball's racial integration that began with Branch Rickey's “Great Experiment” reveals the debilitating effects of the harsh double standard that resulted, requiring a black player to have unimpeachable character merely to take the field in a Major League game, a standard no white player was required to meet. Told with passion and occasional outrage, this book challenges the perspective of the well-known, deeply entrenched, hyper-patriotic stories of baseball and offers an incisive alternative history of America's much-loved national pastime.
David George Surdam
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039140
- eISBN:
- 9780252097126
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039140.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
Between 1951 and 1989, Congress held a series of hearings to investigate the antitrust aspects of professional sports leagues. Among the concerns: ownership control of players, restrictions on new ...
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Between 1951 and 1989, Congress held a series of hearings to investigate the antitrust aspects of professional sports leagues. Among the concerns: ownership control of players, restrictions on new franchises, territorial protection, and other cartel-like behaviors. This book chronicles the key issues that arose during the Congressional hearings and the ways by which opposing sides used economic data and theory to define what was right, what was feasible, and what was advantageous to one party or another. As the book shows, the hearings affected matters as fundamental to the modern game as broadcast rights, drafts and players' associations, league mergers, and the dominance of the New York Yankees. It also charts how lawmakers from the West and South pressed for the relocation of ailing franchises to their states and the ways by which savvy owners dodged congressional interference when they could and adapted to it when necessary.Less
Between 1951 and 1989, Congress held a series of hearings to investigate the antitrust aspects of professional sports leagues. Among the concerns: ownership control of players, restrictions on new franchises, territorial protection, and other cartel-like behaviors. This book chronicles the key issues that arose during the Congressional hearings and the ways by which opposing sides used economic data and theory to define what was right, what was feasible, and what was advantageous to one party or another. As the book shows, the hearings affected matters as fundamental to the modern game as broadcast rights, drafts and players' associations, league mergers, and the dominance of the New York Yankees. It also charts how lawmakers from the West and South pressed for the relocation of ailing franchises to their states and the ways by which savvy owners dodged congressional interference when they could and adapted to it when necessary.
Nathan Michael Corzine
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252039799
- eISBN:
- 9780252097898
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252039799.003.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Sport and Leisure
This book charts the history of drug and alcohol use in Major League Baseball (MLB). It aims to recover the story of baseball and drugs from the tyranny of baseball mythology by analyzing the ...
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This book charts the history of drug and alcohol use in Major League Baseball (MLB). It aims to recover the story of baseball and drugs from the tyranny of baseball mythology by analyzing the perceived problem of drug use, with particular emphasis on illegal recreational and performance-enhancing drugs, in MLB. It examines how the drug testing movement, for two decades the persona non grata of professional baseball, surged to the forefront of Major League thought following the congressional hearings of 2005, culminating in the 2006 establishment of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program between the league and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The new testing protocols were buoyed by the findings of the Mitchell Report, which explicitly warned against retroactive punishment—the league could not slash and burn its way to integrity by torching past transgressions—and instead focused on the need for diligence in the future.Less
This book charts the history of drug and alcohol use in Major League Baseball (MLB). It aims to recover the story of baseball and drugs from the tyranny of baseball mythology by analyzing the perceived problem of drug use, with particular emphasis on illegal recreational and performance-enhancing drugs, in MLB. It examines how the drug testing movement, for two decades the persona non grata of professional baseball, surged to the forefront of Major League thought following the congressional hearings of 2005, culminating in the 2006 establishment of the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program between the league and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The new testing protocols were buoyed by the findings of the Mitchell Report, which explicitly warned against retroactive punishment—the league could not slash and burn its way to integrity by torching past transgressions—and instead focused on the need for diligence in the future.
