Federal Baseball Club v. National League

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Federal Baseball Club v. National League is a 1922 U.S. Supreme Court case that famously held professional baseball exempt from federal antitrust laws, shaping the legal status of Major League Baseball for decades.

All labels observed (3)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States Supreme Court case ⓘ
antitrust case ⓘ
sports law case ⓘ
appliedStatute Sherman Antitrust Act ⓘ
areaOfLaw antitrust law ⓘ
commerce clause interpretation ⓘ
sports law ⓘ
background arose from dispute between the Federal League and established Major League Baseball leagues ⓘ
citation 259 U.S. 200 ⓘ
country United States ⓘ
court Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
createdDoctrine baseball antitrust exemption ⓘ
decidedBy Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
decisionDate 1922-05-29 ⓘ
decisionType unanimous decision ⓘ
defendant American League of Professional Baseball Clubs ⓘ
linked to: American League

National League of Professional Baseball Clubs ⓘ
effect granted Major League Baseball an exemption from federal antitrust laws ⓘ
shaped legal status of Major League Baseball for decades ⓘ
effectOnIndustry allowed MLB to maintain centralized control over franchises and territorial rights ⓘ
fullCaseName Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs ⓘ
hasJurisdiction United States federal law ⓘ
historicalContext followed collapse of the Federal League after 1915 season ⓘ
holding federal antitrust laws do not apply to the business of providing professional baseball exhibitions ⓘ
professional baseball is not interstate commerce for purposes of the Sherman Antitrust Act ⓘ
impact became a foundational precedent in U.S. sports antitrust law ⓘ
distinguished baseball from other professional sports for antitrust purposes ⓘ
keyConcept interstate commerce ⓘ
monopoly in professional baseball ⓘ
languageOfOpinion English ⓘ
legalIssue application of federal antitrust laws to professional baseball ⓘ
majorityOpinionBy Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. ⓘ
opinionAuthor Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. ⓘ
plaintiff Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. ⓘ
linked to: Baltimore Terrapins
precedentFor continued antitrust exemption for MLB franchise relocation rules ⓘ
continued antitrust exemption for MLB reserve system until later reforms ⓘ
proceduralPosture appeal from lower federal courts to the Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ
reasoning professional baseball exhibitions were characterized as purely state affairs ⓘ
travel across state lines was treated as incidental to the business of staging games ⓘ
relatedOrganization Federal League ⓘ
relatedTo American League ⓘ
Major League Baseball ⓘ
National League ⓘ
subjectMatter league agreements and player contracts ⓘ
professional baseball ⓘ
subsequentTreatment partially limited in Flood v. Kuhn ⓘ
reaffirmed in Toolson v. New York Yankees ⓘ
yearDecided 1922 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Federal League → legalCase → Federal Baseball Club v. National League ⓘ
Flood v. Kuhn → precedentReliedOn → Federal Baseball Club v. National League ⓘ
Flood v. Kuhn → precedentReliedOn → Toolson v. New York Yankees ⓘ
linked to: Federal Baseball Club v. National League
Flood v. Kuhn → relatedCase → Federal Baseball Club v. National League ⓘ
Flood v. Kuhn → relatedCase → Toolson v. New York Yankees ⓘ
linked to: Federal Baseball Club v. National League
Federal Baseball Club v. National League → fullCaseName → Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs ⓘ
linked to: Federal Baseball Club v. National League