The End of Baseball As We Knew It: The Players Union, 1960-81 (Sport and Society)

Charles P. Korr

ISBN 10: 0252027523 / ISBN 13: 9780252027529

Published by University of Illinois Press, 2002

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Synopsis:

The first book to utilize the files, letters, and correspondence of the Major League Baseball Player's Association, The End of Baseball As We Knew It replays the much-storied transformation of power from management to players that set the standard for labor relations not just in baseball but in all professional sports. Charles P. Korr also draws on interviews with ballplayers, journalists, and labor executives to construct this insider's view of the most successful sports union's formative years.

Review: "Korr puts labor issues and baseball in perspective with this history of the Major League Baseball Players Association from 1960-1981... Korr tells the story of these tumultuous years vividly... An insightful foreword by broadcaster Bob Costas provides additional context. An engagingly written, carefully researched study." -- Booklist "Korr carefully explores labor-management dealings involving major league players and team owners during a crucial two-decade imbalance." -- Library Journal "A sympathetic profile of the Major League Baseball Players Association. This academic book chronicles the organization as it rose from house union in the 1960s to the powerhouse that won free agency through the Andy Messersmith -- Dave McNally case in 1975." -- Washington Post Book World "Examines the rise of the players association. Korr is able to tell the story more completely than others who've tried before because the players association gave him access to archives previously unavailable to the public. From these seemingly dry documents springs up a conflict passionately waged by athletes and owners." -- USA Today Sports Weekly "An important book, probably because it goes past baseball as a game to look at baseball as a business. We fans tend to think that while we go to 'work' for a salary that's never enough, baseball players go to 'play' for outlandish sums. Korr reminds his readers of a reality we overlook: baseball players are workers, employees, just like you and me... [Korr] downplays the money and praises the players for standing up for the principle of control over their own fate -- a principle being tested this week. I can't say that I'll be cheering them on if they strike. But after reading this book, and as a fellow unionized worker, I'll be a lot less quick to scorn them." -- Harry Levins, Saint Louis Today

Bibliographic Details

Title: The End of Baseball As We Knew It: The ...
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Publication Date: 2002
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good