Ba Mss 100 Bl-2966.2001

GUIDE TO THE BOWIE K KUHN COLLECTION National Baseball Hall of Fame Library National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum 25 Main Street Cooperstown, NY 13326 www.baseballhall.org Collection Number BA MSS 100 BL-2966.2001 Title Bowie K Kuhn Collection Inclusive Dates 1932 – 1997 (1969 – 1984 bulk) Extent 48.2 linear feet (109 archival boxes) Repository National Baseball Hall of Fame Library 25 Main Street Cooperstown, NY 13326 Abstract This is a collection of correspondence, meeting minutes, official trips, litigation files, publications, programs, tributes, manuscripts, photographs, audio/video recordings and a scrapbook relating to the tenure of Bowie Kent Kuhn as commissioner of Major League Baseball. Preferred Citation Bowie K Kuhn Collection, BA MSS 100, National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum, Cooperstown, NY. Provenance This collection was donated to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by Bowie Kuhn in 1997. Kuhn’s system of arrangement and description was maintained. Access By appointment during regular business hours, email [email protected]. Property Rights This National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum owns the property rights to this collection. Copyright For information about permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the library. Processing Information This collection was processed by Claudette Scrafford, Manuscript Archivist and Catherine Mosher, summer student, between June 2010 and February 2012. Biography Bowie Kuhn was the Commissioner of Major League Baseball for three terms from 1969 to 1984. A lawyer by trade, Kuhn oversaw the introduction of free agency, the addition of six clubs, and World Series games played at night. Kuhn was born October 28, 1926, a descendant of famous frontiersman Jim Bowie. Kuhn attended Princeton University and the law school at the University of Virginia. His first position as an attorney was with the New York City firm of Willkie, Farr and Gallagher, which represented the National League. As a result he became familiar with the business of baseball, and when the job of Commissioner became vacant, he was selected for the position by the owners in 1969. He oversaw the game during a time of great labor conflict, including strikes in 1972, 1976 and 1981. He intervened a number of times in the affairs of teams, most famously in 1976 by preventing Oakland Athletics owner Charles Finley from selling off three of his star players, Rollie Fingers, Joe Rudi and Vida Blue, who were threatening to leave as free agents at the end of the season. He then voided Finley's trade of Blue to the Cincinnati Reds because the amount of money involved was too large, whereas the Reds were only giving up untested minor leaguer Dave Revering for the All-Star pitcher. He mediated the owners' decision to play a split season in 1981. He was the named defendant in the Flood v. Kuhn suit which was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1973 and temporarily upheld the reserve clause. However, baseball's age-old reserve system was upended only two years later, by arbitrator Peter Seitz's decision in the case of pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally which opened the doors for widespread free agency. In a highly controversial move in 1983, Kuhn banned Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle from associating with Major League Baseball because they were employed by casinos in the late 1970s. The ban was lifted in 1985 by his successor, Peter Ueberroth. In 1999, The Sporting News named Kuhn the 60th most powerful person in sports in the 20th century. Bowie Kuhn passed away March 15, 2007 in Jacksonville, Florida. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008. Source: http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen Scope and Content This collection is organized into eleven series and sub-series by subject matter. Series I: Committees These papers provide excellent documentation of the organization and operation of Major League Baseball through comprehensive meeting minutes. Sub-Series 1: Executive Council Sub-Series 2: Other Committees and Ad-hoc groups Series II: Labor Issues Papers in this series document the evolution of the player-management relationship during Kuhn’s tenure as Commissioner. Sub-Series 1: Player Relations Committee Sub-Series 2: 1981 Strike Sub-Series 3: Misc. Labor-Related Files Sub-Series 4: Flood Case Series III: Major League Baseball Meetings These papers primarily include minutes, itineraries and other documents related to the meetings. Sub-Series 1: General Manager Sub-Series 2: Joint Major League Sub-Series 3: Owners Meeting Minutes and Notes Series IV: Litigation and Television Sub-Series 1 includes cases involving major league owners and cases brought against MLB as a whole. Sub-Series 2 includes material relating to the negotiation of broadcasting contracts. Sub-Series 3 contains exclusive documents relating to the lawsuit. Sub-Series 1: Litigation – Non-Labor Sub-Series 2: Television and Radio Sub-Series 3: Finley v. Kuhn Series V: Official Trips and Tours These include itineraries, correspondence, programs and related documents. Also included is material on Kuhn’s numerous trips promoting baseball across the world. Series VI: Administrative and Misc. Commissioner Files This series documents both the operation of the Commissioner’s office and rulings. Sub- Series 3 includes files on baseball related issues within and outside of MLB, such as winter leagues, designated hitter, gambling. Sub-Series 5 primarily documents Kuhn’s role as director of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and its expansion in the 1970s. Sub-Series 6 are the Lieberman Research Report and its findings. Sub-Series 1: Commissioner’s Office Files Sub-Series 2: Team Files Sub-Series 3: Miscellaneous Files Sub-Series 4: Publications and Clippings Sub-Series 5: Organizations Sub-Series 6: How Sports Fans Feel about Baseball Sub-Series 7: Financial Data Series VII: Correspondence This is arranged chronologically and includes notebooks of outgoing correspondence and letters of congratulation upon his election as commissioner. Series VIII: Hardball Materials This series contains research material, correspondence, manuscripts all relating to Kuhn’s book. Series IX: Photographs and a 1969 Scrapbook Photos include presentation albums documenting foreign tours, special occasions and an assortment of photographs. The scrapbook is from his 1969 election as commissioner. Series X: Audio and Video Recordings These are primarily interviews given by Kuhn. Series XI: Publications, Programs, Tributes, Stamps, Olympics The contents include annual reports, magazines, dinner programs, publications relating to the Olympics and a large stamp collection. See Also Bowie K Kuhn biographical file; National Baseball Hall of Fame Library, Cooperstown, NY Separations Audio and video recordings have been separated to the Audio/Video Department. Photographs and photo albums have been separated to the Photo Department. All 3-D artifacts have been separated to the Museum Collection Department. Controlled Access Terms These records are indexed under the following terms in the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Library catalog. Researchers wishing to find related materials may wish to search under these terms. Corporate Names ABC Sports American League of Professional Baseball Clubs Baltimore Orioles Baseball Writers Association of America Collegiate Student Athlete Protection Act Kansas City Royals Major League Baseball Major League Baseball Players Association National Association National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum National Labor Relations Board National League of Professional Baseball Clubs New York Yankees Oakland Athletics Office of the Commissioner Player Relations Committee Personal Names Blue, Vida 1949- Chandler, Happy 1898-1991 Finley, Charles 1918-1996 Flood, Curt 1938-1997 Jenkins, Ferguson 1943- Kuhn, Bowie K 1926-2007 Mays, Willie 1931- Miller, Marvin 1917- Steinbrenner, George 1930-2010 Turner, Ted 1938- Winfield, Dave 1951- Subject Headings Action and Defenses-Law and legislation Audiocassette Recordings Banquets Black-and-white photographs Cartoons, editorial Clippings Collectibles Collective Labor Agreements Color photographs Correspondence First Day Covers – Philately Labor disputes Legislative Hearings Manuscript Minutes and Proceedings Olympics Programs Radio and Baseball Scrapbook Spring Training Stamps Strikes and lockouts Television and Baseball Tours Videocassette Recordings Content List SERIES I COMMITTEES SUB-SERIES 1: EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Box 1 Folder 1 American League Executive Meeting June 1971 Folder 2 Executive Council Meetings Mar. 20, 1968-Oct. 19, 1970 Folder 3 Executive Council Meetings Dec. 1, 1970-Mar. 23, 1972 Folder 4 Executive Meetings 1971 Folder 5 Executive Council Meetings May 10, 1972-Nov. 28, 1972 Folder 6 Executive Council Meetings Mar. 20, 1973-Dec. 14, 1973 - Telephone conference Folder 7 Executive Council Meetings Jan. 30, 1974-Dec. 9, 1975 - Telephone conference Folder 8 Executive Council Meeting Minutes Aug. 9, 1976-Mar. 23, 1977 Box 2 Folder 1 Executive Council Meetings Aug. 16, 1977-Mar. 6, 1979 Folder 2 Executive Council Meeting Minutes June 28, 1979-Dec. 9, 1980 Folder 3 Executive Council Meetings 1980-1981 Folder 4 Executive Council – San Francisco Sept. 8-9, 1981 Folder 5 Executive Council Meeting Minutes Dec. 8, 1981-Dec. 7, 1982 Folder 6 Executive Council Meeting – Santa Barbara Feb. 15-17, 1982 Folder 7 Executive Council Meetings Oct. 12, 1982-Apr. 21, 1983 Folder 8 Executive Council Meeting – Hawaii Dec. 7, 1982 Folder 9 Executive Council Meeting –

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