Man is a Free Agent

Man is a Free Agent

For over a century, professional athletes in the United States were the exclusive property of the team that signed them first. In baseball, team owners called it the “reserve system” and they said it was essential for the good of the game. The players called it something else—they said it was “slavery.” In this episode of American Sport, we explore the battle between owners and players that culminated with the birth of free agency in the 1970s (someone, who shall remain anonymous, also urges LeBron James to leave the NBA and create his own pro basketball league).

Bibliography:

John Helyar, Lords of the Realm: The Real History of Baseball (New York: Ballantine Books, 1994).

Marvin Miller, A Whole Different Ball Game: The Inside Story of the Baseball Revolution (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1991).

Jon Pessah, The Game, Inside the Secret World of Major League Baseball’s Power Brokers (New York, Boston, and London: Back Bay Books, 2015).

Brad Snyder, A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood’s Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports (New York: Penguin, 2006).

What is American Sport?

Americans love sports. We are fanatics who dress in team colors, root, root, root for the home team, and live and die with the success and failure of our favorite athlete. But if we take the time to look beneath the surface and beyond the simple factual question of who won and who lost, we are also presented with some of the most fascinating stories from our nation’s past.

In this new podcast series Professor Matt Andrews goes beyond telling entertaining tales of races won, touchdowns scored, players rounding the bases, and highlights the historical significance of sports in the United States. He explains to us why sports have mattered so much in this country and he reveals how sports have actually changed the course of American history.

Sports are a highlight reel of history. Join us as we explore the stories that are more than just exciting tales of athletic competitions. ​American Sport ​is about some of the most compelling moments and significant turning points in American history.

American Sport is created by Professor Matt Andrews and is an original podcast by Trailblazer Studios, Executive Produced by Katye Rone, and Co-produced by Aurelia Belfield and Casey Helmick.