Outlaw League and the Battle That Forged Modern Baseball

Award-winning writer and researcher Daniel R. Levitt is the author of several critically acclaimed books on baseball, including Paths to Glory: How Great Baseball Teams Got That Way, with Mark Armour which won the Sporting News–SABR Baseball Research Award. Levitt is a longtime member of the The Society for American Baseball Research, and a past president of the Minnesota chapter. He lives in Minneapolis.

• PrefaceDramatis PersonaeChapter 1: The Opening SalvoChapter 2: America Meets Sports LeaguesChapter 3: RumblingsChapter 4: Going MajorChapter 5: A Real Players UnionChapter 6: The Battle for ChicagoChapter 7: Organized Baseball RespondsChapter 8: The Season Opens: On the Field and in the CourtsChapter 9: The Struggle ContinuesChapter 10: A Possible SettlementChapter 11: Player ReinforcementsChapter 12: Antitrust AttackChapter 13: Owner ReinforcementsChapter 14: A Long SummerChapter 15: The Final CountdownChapter 16: AftermathNotesSources

Almost a century has passed since Major League Baseball faced its last serious challenge from an upstart league, but the short-lived Federal League left its mark. Consisting of eight teams located in Midwestern and Northeastern cities, the Federal League launched in late 1913 to compete with the American and National Leagues (which were suffering their own growing pains at the time) and lasted two seasons. Backed by wealthy owners and an aggressive business strategy that included selling public shares in some cities, the organization struggled to gain players and profits. Award-winning writer Levitt (Ed Barrow: The Bulldog Who Built the Yankees’ First Dynasty) offers a richly detailed account of how the battle between the leagues played out in the press and in the courts. Not only was the Federal League responsible for introducing the first successful labor union to the game, its failure resulted in the landmark 1922 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that the Sherman Anti-Trust Act did not apply to Major League Baseball. Despite such accomplishments, the Federal League didn’t help its cause by striking a game from the standings 'because an umpire made a bad decision at first base,' considering a rule change to allow a walk after three balls instead of four, and permitting owners of some teams to bankroll financially struggling competitors. Levitt’s thorough research makes for . . . rewarding reading.