The problem of congested dockets and delay of justice has been witnessed invariable times in past history. The real and ever present delay in the legal remedies afforded the people has permeated the public consciousness and has in stilled an awareness of responsibility among the servants of the judiciary. Those ministering justice have instigated legis lation in various states to accelerate the judicial process. Con cern for the civic effects of delay in our courts and for the legal effects on our judicial system has fostered conferences, commit tee studies, and projects on congestion and delay in the admin istration of justice. A determined public, bar, and judiciary can implement positive programs and methods enabling the judges to grant speedier trials.—Ed.
EW BUSINESS efforts receive the public attention accorded baseball. Every rhubarb' is given nationwide consideration; the calcium deposit on the heel of a quasi-peon2 becomes the object of universal concern. The country's greatest metropolitan dailies and its smallest biweekly newspapers invariably contain sport pages which dedicate themselves to the reporting of the minutest detail of every game, trade, or development in the sport of baseball. It is familiar scheduling for radio stations to provide fifteen minutes for news of the world, followed by an equal period of baseball news. As a result of such coverage, almost everyone has a fairly intimate knowledge of baseball. In significant contrast to this familiarity with the play of the game is the lack of familiarity with "baseball law," the self-imposed body of regulations under which "organized baseball" ' regulates its activity. The Agreement of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, 4 adopted in i9oi "to perpetuate baseball as the national game of America, and to surround it with such safeguards as will warrant absolute public confidence in its integrity and methods," S together with the Major League Agreement, 6 the Major-Minor League Agreement, 7 and the rules promulgated thereunder, comprise "baseball law." Because of faithful adherence to the dictates of its own rules, "organized baseball" has had few excur-* Subsequent to the preparation of this article it has been reported that Max Lanier and Fred Martin have decided to drop their suit against "organized baseball" which is discussed herein. N.Y. Times, § 5, P. I, col. 2 (Aug. 28, 1949). f* Member of the Ohio Bar. I A term used by sports writers to describe an altercation, more or less intense in nature, between participants on a baseball field. 2 A term used by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to describe a young athlete who receives a base pay ranging from $5,ooo to $ioo,ooo for each baseball playing season of five and one-half months. Gardella v. Chandler, 172 F. 2d 402, 410 (1949). 3 "Organized baseball" connotes the integrated system of baseball comprised of the two major leagues and the so-called minor leagues described more fully later in this paper. The players are "professional" in that they are paid salaries. Many other teams and leagues, often called "semi-professional," are composed of players some or all of whom are paid and, therefore, are in reality "professional." 4 The Baseball Blue Book 701 et seq. (1948). s National Association Agreement § 2.01 (a), The Baseball Blue Book 7o (1948). 6 The Baseball Blue Book soi (1948). 7 Ibid., at 6oi. BASEBALL-SPORT OR COMMERCE? 57 sions into the courts, and reported decisions are practically devoid of any reference to baseball. 8 This tranquillity, however, has been abruptly interrupted. The entire framework of the law of "organized baseball" has been challenged twice recently as illegal under the Sherman and Clayton Acts, 9 and that challenge has been given a substantial "assist" by the Court of Appeals for the Second ...
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