Take Me Out to the Courthouse · The Reserve Clause
The First Baseman Who Jumped
American League Baseball Club of Chicago v. Chase (1914)
Charge: Injunction to stop a player from jumping to a rival league (suit against the player)Court: Supreme Court of New York (Erie County)Docket: The Reserve Clause
Should a court keep a player from switching leagues when his contract lets the club drop him at will but never lets him leave?
The facts
A slick-fielding first baseman with a Chicago big-league club jumped midseason to a team in an upstart rival league. His contract had a reserve clause and barred him from dealing with other clubs. His old club got a temporary injunction from a New York court stopping him from playing. The player's lawyers asked the court to lift it, arguing that organized baseball was a monopoly and that the club could release him on ten days' notice while he was bound indefinitely.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: American League Baseball Club of Chicago v. Chase, 86 Misc. 441, 149 N.Y.S. 6 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1914)
Read more at en.wikipedia.org. The source reveals the outcome.