Bowie Kuhn
Encyclopedia
Bowie Kent Kuhn (ˈbuːi ˈkjuːn; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer
and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball
from February 4, , to September 30, . He served as legal counsel for Major League Baseball
owners for almost 20 years prior to his election as commissioner.
, grew up in Washington, D.C.
, and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School. He then attended Franklin and Marshall College in the V-12 Navy College Training Program
before going to Princeton University
in 1945. He graduated from Princeton with honors in 1947 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics
. He then received his law degree in 1950 from the University of Virginia
where he served on the editorial board of the law review.
Following his graduation from law school, Kuhn became a member of the New York City law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher
because the firm represented the National League
. While working in baseball's legal affairs, Kuhn served as a counselor for the NL in a lawsuit brought against it by the City of Milwaukee
when the Milwaukee Braves
moved to Atlanta following the season.
After the owners forced out William Eckert
in , Kuhn seemed like a logical replacement for the job of commissioner. He, unlike Eckert, was very aware of the inner workings of Major League Baseball before taking office. Kuhn's closest challengers to the commissionership were Mike Burke, president of the New York Yankees
; and San Francisco Giants
head of baseball operations Chub Feeney
, who instead became president of the National League
. Kuhn was the youngest (42), tallest (6-foot-5), and heaviest (240 pounds, 109 kg) commissioner in history.
(most notably in 1981), owner disenchantment, and the end of baseball's reserve clause
, yet baseball enjoyed unprecedented attendance gains (from 23 million in to 45.5 million in ) and television contracts
during the same time frame.
Kuhn suspended numerous players for involvement with drugs and gambling, and took a strong stance against any activity that he perceived to be "not in the best interests of baseball."
In , he suspended star Detroit Tigers
pitcher Denny McLain
indefinitely (the suspension was later set at 3 months) due to McLain's involvement in a bookmaking operation, and later suspended McLain for the rest of the season for carrying a gun. He barred both Willie Mays
(in ) and Mickey Mantle
(in ) from the sport due to their involvement in casino
promotion; neither was directly involved in gambling, and both were reinstated by Kuhn's successor Peter Ueberroth
in .
Also in 1970, Kuhn described Jim Bouton
's Ball Four
as "detrimental to baseball" and demanded that Bouton retract it. The book has been republished several times and is now considered a classic.
On October 13, , the World Series
held a night game for the first time. Kuhn, who thought that baseball could attract a larger audience by featuring a prime time
telecast (as opposed to a mid-afternoon broadcast, when most fans either worked or attended school), pitched the idea to NBC. An estimated 61 million people watched Game 4 on NBC; TV ratings
for a World Series game during the daytime hours would not have approached such a record number. Kuhn's vision in this instance has been fulfilled, as all the World Series games are now shown in prime time.
traded Curt Flood, catcher Tim McCarver
, outfielder Byron Browne
, and left-handed pitcher Joe Hoerner
to the Philadelphia Phillies
for first baseman Dick Allen
, second baseman Cookie Rojas
, and right-handed ace relief pitcher Jerry Johnson
.
However, Flood refused to report to the moribund Phillies, citing the team's poor record and the fact that they played in dilapidated Connie Mack Stadium before belligerent and, Flood believed, racist
fans. Flood forfeited a relatively lucrative $
100,000 contract by his refusal to be traded to the Phillies.
In a letter to Kuhn, Flood demanded that the commissioner declare him a free agent
.
, which was language in contracts that essentially prevented a player from playing with another team even after his contract expired. In response, Flood filed a lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball on January 16, , alleging that Major League Baseball had violated federal antitrust
laws. Even though Flood was making $90,000 at the time, he likened the reserve clause to slavery
. It was a controversial analogy, even among those who opposed the reserve clause.
The case, Flood v. Kuhn
(407 U.S. 258) eventually went to the Supreme Court
. Flood's attorney, former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg
, asserted that the reserve clause depressed wages and limited players to one team for life. Major League Baseball's counsel countered that Commissioner Kuhn acted under the way he did '"for the good of the game."
Ultimately, the Supreme Court, acting on stare decisis
"to stand by things decided", ruled 5-3 in favor of Major League Baseball, upholding a ruling in the case of Federal Baseball Club v. National League
, (259 U.S. 200.)
owner Charles O. Finley
. A major embarrassment for baseball resulted from Finley's actions during the 1973 World Series
. Finley forced player Mike Andrews
to sign a false affidavit
saying he was injured after the reserve infielder committed two consecutive errors
in the 12th inning of Oakland's Game 2 loss to the New York Mets
. Andrews' teammates as well as manager Dick Williams
rallied to his defense. Kuhn in return, forced Finley to reinstate Andrews. In , when Finley attempted to sell several players to the Boston Red Sox
and New York Yankees
for $3.5 million, Kuhn blocked the deals on the grounds that they would be bad for the game. Some believe that Kuhn's actions were simply a revenge tactic, aimed at Finley, after Finley attempted to force an owners vote to remove Kuhn as commissioner in .
's record of 714 career home run
s. Aaron's Atlanta Braves
opened the season on the road in Cincinnati
with a three game series against the Cincinnati Reds
. Braves management wanted him to break the record at home in Atlanta
. Therefore, they were going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. But Kuhn ruled that Aaron had to play two out of three. The end result was that Aaron tied Ruth's record in his very first at bat
, but did not hit another home run in the series. Kuhn did not attend the game where Aaron broke the record citing a previous engagement.
, Ted Turner
. Turner admitted that he had made remarks at a cocktail party about acquiring San Francisco Giants
star Gary Matthews
, at a time when Kuhn had ordered owners not to speak about potential free agents. Kuhn concluded that Turner’s statement was not in the “best interest of baseball” and fined Turner, suspended him from baseball for one year, and penalized his club with the loss of a draft choice. Turner sued but both the trial and appellate courts refused to grant Turner relief, emphasizing the limited-extent of judicial review over baseball and the commissioner’s office.
, Kuhn supported recognizing the players in the Hall, but was unable to garner sufficient support from the Hall of Fame board of directors. As a compromise, Kuhn established a committee to select the greatest Negro Leaguers, to be honored with a display at the museum in Cooperstown. Satchel Paige
was selected as the initial inductee for the Negro Leagues display.
The decision to honor the Negro Leaguers with a separate exhibit received significant criticism. Sportswriter Jim Murray
of the Los Angeles Times
wrote, "They segregated the Hall of Fame! ... To have kept Satchel Paige from playing in the white leagues for 24 years and then bar him from the pearly gates on the grounds he didn't play the required 10 years [in the major leagues] is a shocking bit of insolent cynicism, a disservice to America. What is this -- 1840? Either let him in the front of the hall -- or move the damn thing to Mississippi." Larry Doby
, the first black player in the American League, commented, "With another wing ... whatever good they've done, they've torn it down."
Kuhn, in his autobiography, claimed that he "knew that the furor would be heard by the board of directors and that the public outcry would be hard to resist. That is exactly what happened." Within a few months, the Hall of Fame board of directors changed its mind and agreed to give Paige, and future honorees of the Negro Leagues selection committee, full membership in the Hall.
Bill James, in his book The Politics of Glory: How Baseball's Hall of Fame Really Works
, wrote that Kuhn seemed "very proud of how he handled the affair, doing an end run around the Hall of Fame board of directors by exposing the Hall -- and himself -- to public criticism. Perhaps this does reflect some personal courage, and he was able to see that the right thing was done. But the Hall of Fame was also damaged. ... The message that got through to the public, loosely translated, was that the Hall of Fame was a racist institution. ... Bowie Kuhn would have been a better friend to the Hall of Fame if he had led them to come to terms with their institutional racism in private, rather than leading them to expose it to the public."
. Kuhn was quick to punish players who used drugs with heavy fines and suspensions. Kansas City Royals
catcher Darrell Porter
told the Associated Press
that during the winter of - he became paranoid
, convinced that Kuhn knew about his drug abuse, was trying to sneak into his house, and planned to ban him from baseball for life. Porter found himself sitting up at night in the dark watching out the front window, waiting for Kuhn to approach, clutching billiard balls and a shotgun. Ironically, when Porter was named the most valuable player of the 1982 World Series
while playing for the Cardinals, Kuhn was on hand to congratulate him.
In , during the Iranian hostage crisis, Kuhn sat at a baseball game with Jeremiah Denton
, a Navy admiral and former POW
in Vietnam
who would be elected U.S. Senator later that year from the state of Alabama
. Recalling the event to The Washington Post
, Kuhn believed that "that afternoon...the idea of a lifetime baseball pass was discussed," and upon their return from Iran, each of the 52 hostages was given one of these unique passes.
In , four players from the Kansas City Royals
- Willie Wilson
, Jerry Martin
, Willie Mays Aikens
, and Vida Blue
- were found guilty of cocaine
use. In addition, such established stars as Ferguson Jenkins
, Keith Hernandez
, Dave Parker, and Dale Berra
admitted to having problems with drugs. In , during a customs search in Toronto
, Ferguson Jenkins was found possessing 3.0 grams cocaine
, 2.2 grams hashish
, and 1.75 grams marijuana
. In response, on September 8, Kuhn suspended him indefinitely. However, Jenkins' suspension lasted only two weeks before, in an unprecedented action, an independent arbiter reinstated him and he returned to the league. Jenkins was not further punished by MLB for the incident, as he remained active until his retirement following the season.
.
and assumed presidency of the Kent Group, a business, sports and financial consulting firm. Kuhn left Willkie, Farr & Gallagher to join with Harvey D. Myerson, a former senior partner in the firm of Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey
, to form the firm of Myerson & Kuhn
. He also became an adviser and board member for Domino's Pizza
and the Ave Maria Foundation.
Kuhn had been a longtime resident of Ridgewood, New Jersey
. According to an AP
wire story, he partnered in a law firm with Harvey Myerson which subsequently went bankrupt and then sold his New Jersey home and moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
, because his home and other assets were shielded from the bankruptcy.
Kuhn became the Chairman of the Catholic Advisory Board of the Ave Maria Mutual Funds
upon the inception of their first mutual fund, Ave Maria Catholic Values Fund, in May 2001.
During a telecast of the 2004 World Series
, broadcaster Joe Buck
announced that just prior to his 78th birthday, Kuhn was scheduled to undergo open-heart surgery. He died on March 15, 2007 at St. Luke's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida
after being hospitalized for several weeks with pneumonia.
Kuhn was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008
, after having been elected by the Veterans Committee
nine months after his death.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball
Commissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
from February 4, , to September 30, . He served as legal counsel for Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
owners for almost 20 years prior to his election as commissioner.
Early life and career
Kuhn was born in Takoma Park, MarylandTakoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City," is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone...
, grew up in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School. He then attended Franklin and Marshall College in the V-12 Navy College Training Program
V-12 Navy College Training Program
The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II...
before going to Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
in 1945. He graduated from Princeton with honors in 1947 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. He then received his law degree in 1950 from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
where he served on the editorial board of the law review.
Following his graduation from law school, Kuhn became a member of the New York City law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Willkie Farr & Gallagher
Founded in 1888, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is an international law firm with eight offices in six countries . The firm has cultivated a strong corporate practice focused on investment funds, bankruptcy and intellectual property...
because the firm represented the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
. While working in baseball's legal affairs, Kuhn served as a counselor for the NL in a lawsuit brought against it by the City of Milwaukee
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
when the Milwaukee Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
moved to Atlanta following the season.
After the owners forced out William Eckert
William Eckert
William Dole "Spike" Eckert was a lieutenant general in the United States Air Force, and later the fourth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1965 to 1968.-Before baseball:...
in , Kuhn seemed like a logical replacement for the job of commissioner. He, unlike Eckert, was very aware of the inner workings of Major League Baseball before taking office. Kuhn's closest challengers to the commissionership were Mike Burke, president of the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
; and San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
head of baseball operations Chub Feeney
Chub Feeney
Charles Stoneham "Chub" Feeney was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball and president of the National League during a 40-plus year career in baseball....
, who instead became president of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
. Kuhn was the youngest (42), tallest (6-foot-5), and heaviest (240 pounds, 109 kg) commissioner in history.
Actions as commissioner
His tenure was marked by labor strikesStrike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
(most notably in 1981), owner disenchantment, and the end of baseball's reserve clause
Reserve clause
The reserve clause is a term formerly employed in North American professional sports contracts. The reserve clause, contained in all standard player contracts, stated that, upon the contract's expiration the rights to the player were to be retained by the team to which he had been signed...
, yet baseball enjoyed unprecedented attendance gains (from 23 million in to 45.5 million in ) and television contracts
Major League Baseball television contracts
The following is a detailed description of the various television networks , rights fees, and announcers who have called Major League Baseball games throughout the years .-United States:...
during the same time frame.
Kuhn suspended numerous players for involvement with drugs and gambling, and took a strong stance against any activity that he perceived to be "not in the best interests of baseball."
In , he suspended star Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
pitcher Denny McLain
Denny McLain
Dennis Dale "Denny" McLain is a former American professional baseball player, and the last major league pitcher to win 30 or more games during a season —a feat accomplished by only thirteen players in the 20th century....
indefinitely (the suspension was later set at 3 months) due to McLain's involvement in a bookmaking operation, and later suspended McLain for the rest of the season for carrying a gun. He barred both Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
(in ) and Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
(in ) from the sport due to their involvement in casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
promotion; neither was directly involved in gambling, and both were reinstated by Kuhn's successor Peter Ueberroth
Peter Ueberroth
Peter Victor Ueberroth is an American executive. He served as the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. He was recently the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee; he was replaced by Larry Probst in October 2008....
in .
Also in 1970, Kuhn described Jim Bouton
Jim Bouton
James Alan "Jim" Bouton is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. He is also the author of the controversial baseball book Ball Four, which was a combination diary of his season and memoir of his years with the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, and Houston Astros.-Amateur and college...
's Ball Four
Ball Four
Ball Four is a book written by former Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bouton in . The book is a diary of Bouton's 1969 season, spent with the Seattle Pilots and then the Houston Astros following a late-season trade. In it Bouton also recounts much of his baseball career, spent mainly with the...
as "detrimental to baseball" and demanded that Bouton retract it. The book has been republished several times and is now considered a classic.
On October 13, , the World Series
1971 World Series
The 1971 World Series matched the defending champion Baltimore Orioles against the Pittsburgh Pirates, with the Pirates winning in seven games. Game 4, played in Pittsburgh, was the first-ever World Series game scheduled to be played at night....
held a night game for the first time. Kuhn, who thought that baseball could attract a larger audience by featuring a prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
telecast (as opposed to a mid-afternoon broadcast, when most fans either worked or attended school), pitched the idea to NBC. An estimated 61 million people watched Game 4 on NBC; TV ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
for a World Series game during the daytime hours would not have approached such a record number. Kuhn's vision in this instance has been fulfilled, as all the World Series games are now shown in prime time.
Curt Flood
On October 7, , the St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
traded Curt Flood, catcher Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
, outfielder Byron Browne
Byron Browne
Byron Ellis Browne is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Browne was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1963. In his first Major League at-bat, Browne lined out in the second inning of Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game. Browne had the dubious distinction of...
, and left-handed pitcher Joe Hoerner
Joe Hoerner
Joseph Walter Hoerner was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A native of Dubuque, Iowa, the left-hander was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1957 season. He played for the Houston Colt .45s , St...
to the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
for first baseman Dick Allen
Dick Allen
Richard Anthony Allen is a former Major League Baseball player and R&B singer. He played first and third base and outfield in Major League Baseball and ranked among his sport's top offensive producers of the 1960s and early 1970s...
, second baseman Cookie Rojas
Cookie Rojas
Octavio Victor Rojas Rivas , better known as Cookie Rojas, is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and outfielder who played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Kansas City Royals. After retiring as a player he went on to both coach and manage in the...
, and right-handed ace relief pitcher Jerry Johnson
Jerry Johnson (baseball)
Jerry Michael Johnson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from through . He batted and threw right-handed.-Third baseman:Johnson was signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent third baseman in...
.
However, Flood refused to report to the moribund Phillies, citing the team's poor record and the fact that they played in dilapidated Connie Mack Stadium before belligerent and, Flood believed, racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
fans. Flood forfeited a relatively lucrative $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100,000 contract by his refusal to be traded to the Phillies.
In a letter to Kuhn, Flood demanded that the commissioner declare him a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
.
Flood's letter to Kuhn
December 24,Flood v. Kuhn
Kuhn denied his request, citing the propriety of the reserve clauseReserve clause
The reserve clause is a term formerly employed in North American professional sports contracts. The reserve clause, contained in all standard player contracts, stated that, upon the contract's expiration the rights to the player were to be retained by the team to which he had been signed...
, which was language in contracts that essentially prevented a player from playing with another team even after his contract expired. In response, Flood filed a lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball on January 16, , alleging that Major League Baseball had violated federal antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
laws. Even though Flood was making $90,000 at the time, he likened the reserve clause to slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. It was a controversial analogy, even among those who opposed the reserve clause.
The case, Flood v. Kuhn
Flood v. Kuhn
Flood v. Kuhn was a 1972 United States Supreme Court decision upholding, by a 5–3 margin, the antitrust exemption first granted to Major League Baseball in Federal Baseball Club v. National League. It arose from a challenge by St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder Curt Flood when he refused to be...
(407 U.S. 258) eventually went to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. Flood's attorney, former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg was an American statesman and jurist who served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Supreme Court Justice and Ambassador to the United Nations.-Early life:...
, asserted that the reserve clause depressed wages and limited players to one team for life. Major League Baseball's counsel countered that Commissioner Kuhn acted under the way he did '"for the good of the game."
Ultimately, the Supreme Court, acting on stare decisis
Stare decisis
Stare decisis is a legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedents established by prior decisions...
"to stand by things decided", ruled 5-3 in favor of Major League Baseball, upholding a ruling in the case of Federal Baseball Club v. National League
Federal Baseball Club v. National League
Federal Baseball Club v. National League, , is a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Sherman Antitrust Act did not apply to Major League Baseball.-Background:...
, (259 U.S. 200.)
Charles O. Finley
Though he had a reputation as an owners' commissioner, Kuhn did not avoid confronting owners when he deemed it necessary. For example, he was a major adversary of Oakland AthleticsOakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
owner Charles O. Finley
Charles O. Finley
Charles Oscar Finley , nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who is best remembered for his tenure as the owner of the Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball team. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas City, moving it to Oakland in 1968...
. A major embarrassment for baseball resulted from Finley's actions during the 1973 World Series
1973 World Series
The 1973 World Series matched the defending champion Oakland Athletics against the New York Mets, with the A's winning in seven games to repeat as World Champions....
. Finley forced player Mike Andrews
Mike Andrews
Michael Jay Andrews is a retired American Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. He is currently the chairman of The Jimmy Fund, an event fundraising organization affiliated with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston,...
to sign a false affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
saying he was injured after the reserve infielder committed two consecutive errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
in the 12th inning of Oakland's Game 2 loss to the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
. Andrews' teammates as well as manager Dick Williams
Dick Williams
Richard Hirschfeld "Dick" Williams was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967–69 and 1971–88, he led teams to three American League pennants, one National...
rallied to his defense. Kuhn in return, forced Finley to reinstate Andrews. In , when Finley attempted to sell several players to the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
and New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
for $3.5 million, Kuhn blocked the deals on the grounds that they would be bad for the game. Some believe that Kuhn's actions were simply a revenge tactic, aimed at Finley, after Finley attempted to force an owners vote to remove Kuhn as commissioner in .
Hank Aaron
At the start of the season, Kuhn inadvertently got into the middle of a small controversy during Hank Aaron's pursuit of Babe RuthBabe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
's record of 714 career home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s. Aaron's Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
opened the season on the road in Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
with a three game series against the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
. Braves management wanted him to break the record at home in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. Therefore, they were going to have Aaron sit out the first three games of the season. But Kuhn ruled that Aaron had to play two out of three. The end result was that Aaron tied Ruth's record in his very first at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
, but did not hit another home run in the series. Kuhn did not attend the game where Aaron broke the record citing a previous engagement.
Ted Turner
In 1977, Kuhn battled the brash new owner of the Atlanta BravesAtlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
, Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
. Turner admitted that he had made remarks at a cocktail party about acquiring San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
star Gary Matthews
Gary Matthews
Gary Nathaniel Matthews Sr. , nicknamed Sarge, is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball. He now serves as a color commentator for the Philadelphia Phillies. From through , Matthews played for the San Francisco Giants, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Seattle...
, at a time when Kuhn had ordered owners not to speak about potential free agents. Kuhn concluded that Turner’s statement was not in the “best interest of baseball” and fined Turner, suspended him from baseball for one year, and penalized his club with the loss of a draft choice. Turner sued but both the trial and appellate courts refused to grant Turner relief, emphasizing the limited-extent of judicial review over baseball and the commissioner’s office.
Race
When baseball writers came out in support of inducting Negro League players into the Hall of FameNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
, Kuhn supported recognizing the players in the Hall, but was unable to garner sufficient support from the Hall of Fame board of directors. As a compromise, Kuhn established a committee to select the greatest Negro Leaguers, to be honored with a display at the museum in Cooperstown. Satchel Paige
Satchel Paige
Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige was an American baseball player whose pitching in the Negro leagues and in Major League Baseball made him a legend in his own lifetime...
was selected as the initial inductee for the Negro Leagues display.
The decision to honor the Negro Leaguers with a separate exhibit received significant criticism. Sportswriter Jim Murray
Jim Murray (sportswriter)
James Patrick Murray was an American sportswriter at the Los Angeles Times from 1961 to 1998.Many of his achievements include winning the NSSA's Sportswriter of the Year award an astounding fourteen times...
of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
wrote, "They segregated the Hall of Fame! ... To have kept Satchel Paige from playing in the white leagues for 24 years and then bar him from the pearly gates on the grounds he didn't play the required 10 years [in the major leagues] is a shocking bit of insolent cynicism, a disservice to America. What is this -- 1840? Either let him in the front of the hall -- or move the damn thing to Mississippi." Larry Doby
Larry Doby
Lawrence Eugene "Larry" Doby was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball....
, the first black player in the American League, commented, "With another wing ... whatever good they've done, they've torn it down."
Kuhn, in his autobiography, claimed that he "knew that the furor would be heard by the board of directors and that the public outcry would be hard to resist. That is exactly what happened." Within a few months, the Hall of Fame board of directors changed its mind and agreed to give Paige, and future honorees of the Negro Leagues selection committee, full membership in the Hall.
Bill James, in his book The Politics of Glory: How Baseball's Hall of Fame Really Works
Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?
Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?: Baseball, Cooperstown, and the Politics of Glory is a book by famed baseball sabermetrician and author Bill James...
, wrote that Kuhn seemed "very proud of how he handled the affair, doing an end run around the Hall of Fame board of directors by exposing the Hall -- and himself -- to public criticism. Perhaps this does reflect some personal courage, and he was able to see that the right thing was done. But the Hall of Fame was also damaged. ... The message that got through to the public, loosely translated, was that the Hall of Fame was a racist institution. ... Bowie Kuhn would have been a better friend to the Hall of Fame if he had led them to come to terms with their institutional racism in private, rather than leading them to expose it to the public."
Kuhn's war on drugs
After being in office for over ten years, Kuhn had grown a strong reputation for being hard on players who abused drugsDrug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
. Kuhn was quick to punish players who used drugs with heavy fines and suspensions. Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
catcher Darrell Porter
Darrell Porter
Darrell Ray Porter was a former American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. He was known for his excellent defensive skills and power hitting...
told the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that during the winter of - he became paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
, convinced that Kuhn knew about his drug abuse, was trying to sneak into his house, and planned to ban him from baseball for life. Porter found himself sitting up at night in the dark watching out the front window, waiting for Kuhn to approach, clutching billiard balls and a shotgun. Ironically, when Porter was named the most valuable player of the 1982 World Series
1982 World Series
-Game 1:Tuesday, October 12, 1982 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MissouriThe Brewers' left-hander Mike Caldwell pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits. The Brewers' offense was led by Paul Molitor, who had a World Series-record five hits and two RBIs...
while playing for the Cardinals, Kuhn was on hand to congratulate him.
In , during the Iranian hostage crisis, Kuhn sat at a baseball game with Jeremiah Denton
Jeremiah Denton
Jeremiah Andrew Denton Jr. is a retired United States Navy rear admiral, naval aviator and a former Republican U.S. senator, for the state of Alabama...
, a Navy admiral and former POW
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
who would be elected U.S. Senator later that year from the state of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. Recalling the event to The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, Kuhn believed that "that afternoon...the idea of a lifetime baseball pass was discussed," and upon their return from Iran, each of the 52 hostages was given one of these unique passes.
In , four players from the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
- Willie Wilson
Willie Wilson (baseball player)
Willie James Wilson is a former Major League Baseball player for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago Cubs. He was an outfielder known for his speed and ability as an effective leadoff hitter....
, Jerry Martin
Jerry Martin
Jerry Lindsey Martin is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is the son of major league pitcher Barney Martin....
, Willie Mays Aikens
Willie Aikens
Willie Mays Aikens is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He had established himself as one of the top sluggers in the game before drugs derailed his career. In , Aikens was sentenced to twenty years in prison on four counts of crack cocaine distribution and one count of use of a firearm...
, and Vida Blue
Vida Blue
Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 17-year career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , and Kansas City Royals He won the American League Cy Young award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971...
- were found guilty of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
use. In addition, such established stars as Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins, CM, is a Canadian former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams,...
, Keith Hernandez
Keith Hernandez
Keith Barlow Hernandez is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He is currently a baseball analyst working for the New York Mets, for whom he played from –, on SportsNet New York and WPIX television broadcasts...
, Dave Parker, and Dale Berra
Dale Berra
Dale Anthony Berra , is a former Major League Baseball player who primarily played as an infielder from through . He is the son of Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra.-Early years:...
admitted to having problems with drugs. In , during a customs search in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ferguson Jenkins was found possessing 3.0 grams cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, 2.2 grams hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
, and 1.75 grams marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. In response, on September 8, Kuhn suspended him indefinitely. However, Jenkins' suspension lasted only two weeks before, in an unprecedented action, an independent arbiter reinstated him and he returned to the league. Jenkins was not further punished by MLB for the incident, as he remained active until his retirement following the season.
Leaving office
Kuhn was both praised and attacked for the firm stand that he levied against offenders. However, his hardline stand on PED use and the 1981 strike caused most of the MLB owners to turn against him. In , Kuhn and his supporters made a last-ditch effort to renew his contract but ultimately failed. Kuhn, though, was allowed to stay for the regular season before being replaced by Peter UeberrothPeter Ueberroth
Peter Victor Ueberroth is an American executive. He served as the sixth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1989. He was recently the chairman of the United States Olympic Committee; he was replaced by Larry Probst in October 2008....
.
Life after baseball
Following baseball, Kuhn returned to the law firm of Willkie Farr & GallagherWillkie Farr & Gallagher
Founded in 1888, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is an international law firm with eight offices in six countries . The firm has cultivated a strong corporate practice focused on investment funds, bankruptcy and intellectual property...
and assumed presidency of the Kent Group, a business, sports and financial consulting firm. Kuhn left Willkie, Farr & Gallagher to join with Harvey D. Myerson, a former senior partner in the firm of Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey
Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey
Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey was a United States law firm founded in 1968. The firm, based in New York, had grown from eight lawyers at its inception to over 700 lawyers at the time of its bankruptcy and dissolution in 1987...
, to form the firm of Myerson & Kuhn
Myerson & Kuhn
Myerson & Kuhn was a New York-based law firm that operated from 1988-1990. It was formed by name partners Bowie Kuhn and Harvey D. Myerson, former partner in the defunct Finley, Kumble, Wagner, Underberg, Manley, Myerson & Casey who brought some 80 attorneys with him from the unraveling firm...
. He also became an adviser and board member for Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza
Domino's Pizza, Inc. is an international pizza delivery corporation headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America. Founded in 1960, Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States and has over 9,000 corporate and franchised stores in 60 countries and all 50 U.S....
and the Ave Maria Foundation.
Kuhn had been a longtime resident of Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
. According to an AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
wire story, he partnered in a law firm with Harvey Myerson which subsequently went bankrupt and then sold his New Jersey home and moved to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
Ponte Vedra Beach is an unincorporated seaside community in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located eighteen miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville and north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jacksonville Beaches area. It is an upmarket tourist resort area best known for its...
, because his home and other assets were shielded from the bankruptcy.
Kuhn became the Chairman of the Catholic Advisory Board of the Ave Maria Mutual Funds
Ave Maria Mutual Funds
Ave Maria Mutual Funds is a U.S. mutual fund family that targets clients interested in financially sound investments in companies that do not violate certain religious principles of the Roman Catholic Church. Often described as socially responsible investing , but more accuratedly in the case of...
upon the inception of their first mutual fund, Ave Maria Catholic Values Fund, in May 2001.
During a telecast of the 2004 World Series
2004 World Series
The 2004 World Series was the Major League Baseball championship series for the 2004 season. It was the 100th World Series and featured the American League champions, the Boston Red Sox, against the National League champions, the St. Louis Cardinals...
, broadcaster Joe Buck
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...
announced that just prior to his 78th birthday, Kuhn was scheduled to undergo open-heart surgery. He died on March 15, 2007 at St. Luke's Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
after being hospitalized for several weeks with pneumonia.
Kuhn was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008
Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, 2008
Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame for 2008 proceeded according to revised rules enacted in 2001 and further revamped in 2007. The Baseball Writers Association of America held an election to select from among recent players...
, after having been elected by the Veterans Committee
Veterans Committee
The Veterans Committee is the popular name of the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee to Consider Managers, Umpires, Executives and Long-Retired Players, a committee of the U.S...
nine months after his death.
External links
- Baseball Hall of Fame - 2007 Veterans Committee candidate profile at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
- BOWIE KUHN by A. D. Suehsdorf
- Ave Maria Mutual Funds site
- The Official Site of Major League Baseball: History: Bowie Kuhn, 1926-2007
- Associated Press: Former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn dead at 80
- Without Playing Politics, Kuhn Governed the Game Well