The Commish

Bowie Kuhn was the commissioner of Major League Baseball for 15 years. He is one of the finalists of the veterans committee for the Hall of Fame. MLB.com has a story on Kuhn and why he is being considered for induction.

Kuhn, who passed away at 80 this past March 15, was the fifth Commissioner. His tenure spanned 1969-84, the most tumultuous period economically in Major League history.
...

During his years in office, Kuhn fought against overturning the reserve clause in the basic player contract, which was used by owners to bind players to their respective teams. Curt Flood took MLB to the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the legality of that clause, and although he lost the case, the high court put baseball on notice that the practice was a restraint of trade.

"He was Commissioner during a very turbulent time for the players association," said Joe Torre, the Dodgers manager now and a strong union voice as a player back then. "He certainly took his role on. He liked being Commissioner. But again, like anybody who's in any position during a turbulent time, I think you're going to have mixed reviews. One thing I did notice, though, is that he never seemed to compromise on what he felt like he needed to do."

Kuhn's stance not withstanding, by 1977 an arbiter had ruled in favor of the union and abolished the reserve clause to usher in the era of free agency. The average salary nearly tripled -- from $51,501 in 1976 to $143,756 in 1980. This past year, it was a record $2.8 million, and baseball's gross revenue were $6.075 billion, also a record.

"Oh, man. The fact that baseball is in the shape it is right now and there finally is some working relationship between the players association and MLB, I think, is the result of what the sport went through back then," said Mike Scioscia, the Angels manager. "And Bowie Kuhn was right in the middle of it."

During Kuhn's reign, baseball grew from a sport with 10 teams in each league to a multi-divisional format with a round of playoffs preceding the World Series. And as television network involvement and payouts grew, games in the Fall Classic ultimately began to be played in prime time at night to increase visibility and commercial appeal.

Still, despite the changes, including the adoption of the designated hitter in the American League in 1971, Kuhn longed for a consistency in the sport, once saying: "I believe in the Rip Van Winkle Theory: that a man from 1910 must be able to wake up after being asleep for 70 years, walk into a ballpark and understand baseball perfectly."

There is more in there on the suspension of George Steinbrenner, negating Charlie Finley's firesale, and the 1981 strike.

It is interesting that Marvin Miller, Kuhn's opponent during the labor battles of the times, is also a finalist this year. It's even more interesting that the link for Miller takes you to just a brief bio instead of a big profile. That profile might be coming later this week.