Law Commons^™

Ball, Bat And Bar, Harold Seymore

Cleveland State Law Review

Most Americans assume that they live under one set of laws which govern everybody. They also think that while monopolies and their abuses were once a problem, regulatory measures have long since eliminated or controlled them. The business of organized baseball proves that both these assumptions are mistaken. Recent operations of some baseball "companies" have underscored the falsity of these assumptions. The baseball business operates under its own complicated body of private law, and has been doing so ever since the business got its real start with the formation of the National League in 1876. Organized baseball is also a …