LABR 2P90 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Dave Mcnally, 6 Years, Reserve Clause
23 Oct 2015
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Document Summary
When player signs a contract he becomes property of the club/team. If player traded, acquiring team obtains exclusive rights to player. If player retires and returns, player is bound to last club with which they had a contract. Team owners had monopsony control (only one buyer of the player"s services) Disincentive for owner to pay higher salaries to players. Deems every contract, combination or conspiracy illegal that restrained trade or commerce among the several states . Goal to ban monopolistic practices that prevented competition. Federal antitrust laws applies only to acts of interstate, not intrastate, commerce. Eventually folded and owners could no longer pay high salaries. Baseball was a business, but putting on games is not trade. Antitrust laws was used in other sports, but not baseball. 1922 supreme court decision: pro baseball not interstate commerce. Court says transportation of players from city to city was incidental to business of pro baseball because wholly intrastate.
