Federal Baseball Club v. National League
E620538
Federal Baseball Club v. National League is a 1922 U.S. Supreme Court case that famously held professional baseball exempt from federal antitrust laws, shaping the legal status of Major League Baseball for decades.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Toolson v. New York Yankees | 2 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
antitrust case ⓘ sports law case ⓘ |
| appliedStatute | Sherman Antitrust Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
antitrust law
ⓘ
commerce clause interpretation ⓘ sports law ⓘ |
| background | arose from dispute between the Federal League and established Major League Baseball leagues ⓘ |
| citation | 259 U.S. 200 ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| createdDoctrine | baseball antitrust exemption ⓘ |
| decidedBy | Supreme Court of the United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1922-05-29 ⓘ |
| decisionType | unanimous decision ⓘ |
| defendant |
American League of Professional Baseball Clubs
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
National League of Professional Baseball Clubs NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| effect |
granted Major League Baseball an exemption from federal antitrust laws
ⓘ
shaped legal status of Major League Baseball for decades ⓘ |
| effectOnIndustry | allowed MLB to maintain centralized control over franchises and territorial rights ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasJurisdiction | United States federal law NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| historicalContext | followed collapse of the Federal League after 1915 season ⓘ |
| holding |
federal antitrust laws do not apply to the business of providing professional baseball exhibitions
ⓘ
professional baseball is not interstate commerce for purposes of the Sherman Antitrust Act ⓘ |
| impact |
became a foundational precedent in U.S. sports antitrust law
ⓘ
distinguished baseball from other professional sports for antitrust purposes ⓘ |
| keyConcept |
interstate commerce
ⓘ
monopoly in professional baseball ⓘ |
| languageOfOpinion | English ⓘ |
| legalIssue | application of federal antitrust laws to professional baseball ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| opinionAuthor | Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| plaintiff | Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| precedentFor |
continued antitrust exemption for MLB franchise relocation rules
ⓘ
continued antitrust exemption for MLB reserve system until later reforms ⓘ |
| proceduralPosture | appeal from lower federal courts to the Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| reasoning |
professional baseball exhibitions were characterized as purely state affairs
ⓘ
travel across state lines was treated as incidental to the business of staging games ⓘ |
| relatedOrganization | Federal League NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
American League
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Major League Baseball NERFINISHED ⓘ National League NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
league agreements and player contracts
ⓘ
professional baseball ⓘ |
| subsequentTreatment |
partially limited in Flood v. Kuhn
ⓘ
reaffirmed in Toolson v. New York Yankees ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1922 ⓘ |
Referenced by (5)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Toolson v. New York Yankees
this entity surface form:
Toolson v. New York Yankees