Take Me Out to the Courthouse · The Reserve Clause
The Shortstop Who Walked Out
Metropolitan Exhibition Co. v. Ward (1890)
Charge: Injunction to stop a player from playing for another club, enforcing the reserve clause (suit against the player)Court: Supreme Court of New YorkDocket: The Reserve Clause
Will a court of equity force a player to honor a reserve clause by barring him from playing elsewhere?
The facts
A star infielder signed a one-year contract with a New York club that included a 'reserve' clause letting the club hold him for the following season. When talks on a new deal broke down, he arranged to play the next year in a rival league. The club went to court asking for an injunction barring him from playing for anyone else. The player argued the contract was one-sided: the club could drop him on short notice, but he could never leave. The club argued he had signed the reserve clause with his eyes open.
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: Metropolitan Exhibition Co. v. Ward, 9 N.Y.S. 779 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1890)
Read more at beta.protoball.org. The source reveals the outcome.