Full Description
From the introduction of the reserve clause in 1879 to the lockout and new basic agreement of 1990, baseball players have been engaged in one of the longest and most colorful labor struggles in our nation's history. The Imperfect Diamond tells the stories of the players and their opponents, the powerful owners: how John Montgomery Ward led the Players League Rebellion of 1890; the rise and fall of David Fultz and the Baseball Players Fraternity (1912-18); the iron-fisted regime of Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis; the case of Danny Gardella vs. Happy Chandler and the blacklisting of the players who jumped to the Mexican League; the founding of the Baseball Players Association in 1953 and the tempestuous but triumphant reign of Marvin Miller; the struggles of Curt Flood, Andy Messersmith, and Dave McNally, and how they brought about the demise of the reserve clause; the unprecedented midseason strike of 1981 and the collusion cases of the late 1980s. In the epilogue for this Bison Books edition, Lee Lowenfish guides the reader through the turbulent 1990s and first decade of the twenty-first century, covering expansion teams, the monumental 1994 strike, and performance-enhancing drugs. Listed by the Society of American Baseball Research as one of the fifty essential baseball books, The Imperfect Diamond will stand for years to come as the source for the real story behind America's national pastime.
Contents
IntroductionForeword by Robert W. CreamerPrologue: The Messersmith-McNally DecisionPart I: John Montgomery Ward and the Bitter Legacy of the Players League Revolt of 18901. The Rebellion of the Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players in 18892. The Rise and Fall of the Players League of 1890Part II: The Age of Fitful Fraternity, 1900-19203. Ban Johnson and the Rise of the American League and the Failure of the Players Protective Association4. David Fultz and the Creation of the Professional Baseball Players Fraternity of 19125. The Rise and Fall of the Federal League and the Players FraternityPart III: The Age of Landis, 1921-19446. The Shield of Holmes and the First Years of Commissioner Landis7. A Czar Tries to Achieve DemocracyPart IV: 1946: Year of the Great Challenges8. A Tale of Three Veterans9. A Prophetic Failure: Robert Murphy and the American Baseball Guild of 194610. Gardella vs. Chandler: The Case that Almost Toppled a MonopolyPart V: Seedlings of Change in a Quiet Decade11. The Celler Sub-Committee Hearings of 195112. The Birth of the Major League Baseball Players AssociationPart VI: The Coming-of-Age of the Major League Baseball Players Association13. The Arrival of Marvin Miller14. Curt Flood and the End to the Perpetual Reserve ClausePart VII: The Wars of the Monopolies: Players Versus Owners, 1980-199015. The Showdown of 1981: The Unprecedented 51-day Strike16. Old Wine in New Bottles: From Strike to Collusion to LockoutEpilogue: The Cataclysmic Strike of 1994 and the RecoveryBibliographical NotesGlossary of TermsIndex
