The Baseball Strike and the Union

The Baseball Strike and the Union

Nothing seemed more sturdy in the American psyche than Major League Baseball. Since the turn of the century, baseball’s two leagues – the National and American – had their share of controversies. A betting scandal nearly wrecked the sport; a player was struck by a pitched ball and killed; a world war decimated the ranks of skilled players for five years; and in the 1960’s another sport – football – leaped ahead in popularity based on its title game, the Super Bowl. Even during the dark years of World War II, baseball (urged on by President Franklin Roosevelt) continued its tradition of all-star games and the World Series. Later, the Major Leagues still conducted itself prosperously and with fan support through team re-alignments in new and expansion cities. Integration of the sport, while jolting, was more or less thorough at the player’s level by the 1980’s. Still, no one was prepared for the series of labor disputes of t...