On June 7, 1946, the Pittsburgh Pirates voted on whether or not to play their game against the Giants that night.
The United States was working its way back into peacetime shape in the spring of 1946. The front pages were full of stories about strikes and threatened strikes as labor tried to get its piece of the postwar economy.
In baseball, the Pirates trained in San Bernardino, Cal. With about a month left before the season started, they and the White Sox hopped on trains and made their way east, playing 27 exhibition games along the way. Most of the coverage was about baseball and traveling. There were occasional stories about the brothers who were running the Mexican League and making large offers to some major league players.
The Bucs opened on April 16 with a 6-4 win in St. Louis.
On April 18, a United Press story appeared in The Pittsburgh Press:
The American Baseball Guild, an independent labor union, aimed today for recognition as a collective bargaining agent in negotiations with major league club owners to improve the lot of the nation's diamond stars.
Headed by scholarly Robert Murphy, a Harvard law graduate and former (track) athlete himself, the union already has "substantial membership" in 10 major league clubs and is out to organize all professional players in the United States.
"The guild's purpose is to right the injustices of professional baseball and to give a square deal to the players, the men who make possible big dividends and high salaries for stockholders and club executives," (Murphy said.)
In Washington, Owner Clark Griffith of the Senators belittled the reported progress of the guild and said that a labor union for baseball wouldn't work.
"It just can't be done," he said. "Dickering between owners and players has to be carried out individually. There are big differences in players' abilities, and I can't see a $40,000-a-year man refusing to play ball simply because another fellow wants $10,000. The men are being paid very well now and I, for one, prefer to keep contract negotiations on an every-man-for-himself basis."
(Murphy) said that several "big name" baseball players were guild organizers, but that names of all players in the guild were held in strictest confidence so relations with club owners would not be jeopardized.
The following specific aims were outlined by Murphy:
1 -- Freedom of contract so that a player would not be forced to accept sale or trade to another club against his will.
2 -- Players to receive a percentage of the purchase price when sold to another club.
3 -- Disputes between players and management on salary and other conditions of employment to be settled by collective bargaining.
4 -- Provisions to be made for security of employment, insurance, bonuses and other conditions of work.
There was a parenthetical note that Pirate president Bill Benswanger said he was unaware of any contact with the Pirates.
On May 15, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Al Abrams noted that "Most of the Pirate players received letters from Director Robert Murphy of the American Baseball Guild."
The next day, the story broke that Murphy claimed to represent the Pirate players and wanted to meet with Benswanger. He sent this telegram:
"This is to advise you that an overwhelming majority of the players on the baseball team of Pittsburgh Athletic Club, Inc., known as the Pittsburgh Pirates, have authorized the American Baseball Guild to represent them for the purpose of collective bargaining, and accordingly the American Baseball Guild hereby requests that you recognize the American Baseball Guild as the exclusive representative of the players on the aforementioned club for the purposes of collective bargaining regarding wages and other conditions of employment, and further, requests that you arrange an early meeting with the undersigned representatives of the American Baseball Guild to discuss conditions of employment.
"It is our hope that this is the beginning of a long enduring and equitable relationship.
"Very truly yours,
"AMERICAN BASEBALL GUILD,
JOSEPH F.X. DOHERTY, Attorney,
ROBERT MURPHY, Labor Relations Director."
Benswanger was in New York with the ballclub and said, "We seem to be a test case as far as the guild is concerned, just as Brooklyn was with regard to the Mexican League."
He said he'd consider the union request "in a perfectly friendly way."
"I'd rather not make any more definite comment until we have received the formal request and have had time to study it."
Murphy didn't name any players, but said that with 90 per cent representation, there were "only two or three" who weren't members. The players were in no hurry to discuss this with the writers, though.
Murphy said there was nothing to prevent him from calling the union players out on strike without an appeal to the NLRB, but that he hoped such action would not be necessary. "The Guild is quite willing to accept a no-strike clause in any contract it signs with major league clubs."
On May 16, Benswanger announced that he would "consider" the guild's request for negotiations.
"After the club returns to Pittsburgh next Friday, we will investigate the situation. Right now, I wouldn't know what to say. The whole thing comes as a complete surprise. But after we have looked into the matter thoroughly, we will make a reply to the people in Boston."
He claimed to have "no information from any of the players on whether they have a bargaining representative or even want one."
The Associated Press, though, while unable to find a player to go on record, heard that Murphy "was 'about right' when he said last night that 'more than 90 percent of the players' belong to the guild."
And one anonymous player told the AP that "This thing has been brewing for a long time. I don't know what will come out of it, but I think the players should get more money. That $7,500 minimum seems fair enough to me; I'm in complete sympathy with the movement."
When the Pirates did return on May 23, Benswanger said he had no intentions of meeting with the players about the guild. "That's the players' business and the club has nothing to do with that."
He acknowledged receipt of Murphy's telegram. "Our answer will be courteous and friendly."
Benswanger also denied rumors about a possible sale of the club to Bill Veeck.
Abrams noted that "Major league players are mainly interested in the minimum salary angle and believe no one should receive less than $5,000."
The May 26 Press had Benswanger's telegraphic response to Murphy's wire. "As we have no knowledge whether or not the American Baseball Guild is a duly organized bargaining agent for any of the Pittsburgh players, we are replying to the Guild in answer to their wire of May 15 and we will be glad to discuss with them what method they may have in mind for establishing the organization's right to bargain collectively or to represent the players it claims to represent."
Benswanger and Murphy agreed to meet in Pittsburgh on June 5, "to work out procedure for determining whether the Guild represents a majority of the Pirates," as Murphy told the AP.
In the May 28 Press, Chester Smith quoted one anonymous Pirate.
"I know almost every man on the Pirates feels he's working for one of the finest owners in the major leagues. He's always been fair with us.
"But the Guild does plan to do some good things for ball players. The minimum of $6000 is all right. A fellow who graduates to the big leagues deserves that much as a start. If they don't feel he's worth it, send him back to the minors.
"The Guild wants each player to get 10 per cent of any sale or waiver price. If say I'm waived to another team, that $750 will come in handy.
"The best feature of the Guild program is arbitration in case of a salary dispute. Now if a player doesn't like his salary and wants more he sits down with the boss and if he still objects, he either plays or else.
"Under the Guild plan, an arbitration board would be set up and both parties would have to agree with what the board decides. That sounds fair, doesn't it?"
On May 29, the Pittsburgh office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced that they had received the Guild's petition for certification as the Pirates' bargaining agent.
An article in The Press of June 5 said,
Murphy said the Guild had four definite aims:
1 -- Minimum salary of $7500 per year.
2 -- Fifty per cent of purchase price to go to player if he is sold.
3 -- Arbitration.
4 -- Freedom of contract and banishment of 10-day release clause, which is most unfair.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, June 5, Murphy and Benswanger had their meeting. It went so well that before that night's game with the Dodgers, the players voted to strike the game against the Giants on June 7 unless the club recognized the Guild as their bargaining agent.
The meeting became increasingly contentious as management made clear that it wasn't interested in dealing with the Guild.
Murphy went to the clubhouse and met with the players from 6:15-6:35. When that was over, Murphy announced that "We have decided to ask President Benswanger to come down and talk to the players. If he doesn't come or does not agree to recognize us now there will be no game tonight."
The players ended up making their way out to the field for batting practice. They came back to the clubhouse, and Benswanger came down to make his first clubhouse visit since 1934, with attorney Seward French alongside. French asked the players to delay their decision, and Murphy accused him of "dilatory tactics." The non-players left the room, and at 8:10, the Pirates took the field, having decided to delay their decision by 36 hours. Brooklyn won the game, 5-3.
The front page headline in the June 6 Press was "Pirate Players Threaten Strike." Smith's story covered some of the clubhouse reaction after the game on the 5th. One of the regular pitchers said, "I don't think I want to go that far." At least three other players insisted there were "at least 20 men on this team who are willing to go along with the Guild but won't stand for a strike."
And a couple of players said, "We signed here to play ball and that's what we're going to do."
The United Press quoted KQV Sports Director and former Pirate star Pie Traynor as endorsing the Guild. "It's here -- organization has had considerable success in other fields, and baseball also will be benefited."
And in the June 6 game, Brooklyn won, 13-8.
The front-page headline in The Press of June 7 was "PIRATES DEFY STRIKE THREAT / Showdown at Game Tonight." (In this case, "Pirates" refers to management.)
The club didn't want to deal with the Guild, and Murphy wanted to see a strike. The Steel City Industrial Council of the CIO endorsed the Guild.
Benswanger released a statement:
Today's newspapers reported the meetings our management had yesterday with Mr. Robert F. Murphy of the American Baseball Guild and with Mr. Doherty, his attorney. The papers imply that we have reached such a disagreement with Mr. Murphy that a strike of the members of the Club is in immediate prospect. I am convinced that this is not the case.
On May 28, 1946, Mr. Murphy filed his petition, in the name of the Guild, with the Pittsburgh office of the National Labor Relations Board, asking the Board to hold that the Guild is qualified under the National Labor Relations Act to demand recognition as representative of the active players on the Pirates' roster.
After studying the petition, our counsel have advised us that the petition raises several new and unusual legal questions, among them the question whether any union organization can qualify to represent professional baseball players under the Federal Act and -- even if that be conceded -- the question whether Mr. Murphy's present plan to represent our Club alone, in the otherwise unorganized National League, is or is not sanctioned by law.
Our counsel advise us also that, by filing his petition, Mr. Murphy simply has taken the proper means approved by law to settle such questions and that, if it appears necessary after the questions have been settled in the regular way, the Board has the power to hold an election among the players. We are told, finally, that were we to consent to an election now, without settling these questions first, we should waive all our other rights under the law.
Wednesday afternoon, June 5th, we had our first opportunity to meet Mr. Murphy, and to make his acquaintance, when he called at our office with his attorney to discuss the matter raised by his petition. We met him, and our counsel repeated to him and his counsel the views they had given us as they are set out above. They pointed out at the same time that there is no reason to short-circuit the Board, because, under the law, the Guild can have no legal right to change our players' contracts in mid-season.
At the close of our discussions with Mr. Murphy, it was our understanding that he intended to go ahead with his case before the National Labor Relation Board, in the usual way. We have had no word to the contrary from him. As far as we are concerned, the whole matter, including the timing of the election, is in the hands of the Board; and it seems incredible to us that a man of Mr. Murphy's reported experience in labor matters would abandon this orderly, legal way to settle this matter, or that any club of ball players would be willing to take any other than the means provided by law to settle it.
Accordingly, we expect that tonight's game with the Giants and our other games, will be played on schedule.
The statement was released to reporters late Thursday afternoon. They didn't bother to send a copy to Murphy, who called a club attorney and said, "There are a dozen reporters here listening to me. Each one has a copy of the statement but I don't even know what's in it." That conversation ended with Murphy saying, "there will be a strike."
Pie Traynor denied that he'd supported the Guild. On his radio show, he said, "I called E.T. Leech, editor of The Pittsburgh Press, and asked for a retraction. In a later conversation with Mr. Leech, I learned that the story had originated with the United Press.
"I not only did not support the Guild, but I turned down an offer made to me yesterday, by Robert F. Murphy, the Guild organizer, to assist him."
The UP reporter maintained that he'd quoted Traynor correctly.
Before the game on June 7, the Pirates had their meeting. It lasted two hours. 36 players were eligible to vote. One report had the vote 19-17 against striking. Another claimed that the players decided they'd need a two-thirds majority to strike, and they didn't get it. So, as Murphy put it, "We have lost the first round," and the game was played. The Pirates beat the Giants, 10-5.
There was a question about what would happen next, and different viewpoints in the clubhouse. One player said, "I'm through with the Guild. I was for it and I voted that way from beginning to end. But since those of us who were in favor of organizing were beaten, I'm resigning from Murphy's organization."
A teammate said, "The aims of the guild are all right. We will continue to fight for what we think is right."
In the June 8 Press, Les Biederman mentioned that "Jim Russell, a strong Guild member, greeted Umpire Bill Stewart last night..."
In the June 9 Press, Smith reported that the vote was 20-16 in favor of striking, short of the agreed-upon two-thirds. He also said that the clubhouse was now closed to outsiders, be they union organizers or reporters.
While most of the players were quiet, veteran third baseman Lee Handley said, "I don't think we gave Murphy a square deal. We let him down and I was one of those who did it. We are not radicals. We don't want to be affiliated with any labor organization. But we do believe thoroughly in some plan of representation."
Biederman mentioned that "Jim Russell denies that he's a 'strong Guild member' ... 'I'm merely a member of the Guild and not what you'd call a strong Guild member.' he said yesterday."
Biederman also noted that "The Pirates revealed yesterday had they struck Friday night, they would have stayed out until their demands were met. ... It was not to be a one-night strike, as some people thought."
On the 9th, Murphy announced that he'd go to the NLRB and charge the Pirates with unfair labor practices for trying to keep them from using the Guild.
The June 10 Post-Gazette included this note: "In the Post-Gazette's account of the dressing-room action that led to calling off a threatened strike Friday night, it was stated that Robert Murphy, labor relations director, of the American Baseball Guild, was 'accompanied' to the clubroom by Nick Strincevich, Pirate pitcher. The use of the word 'accompanied' was incorrect, however, as Strincevich and Murphy had not been together but just happened to come down the runway at the same time."
On June 11, the NLRB refused to take Murphy's unfair labor practices case.
The topic disappeared from the papers for a while. Part of the reason might have been their concentration on the second Joe Louis-Billy Conn fight.
On June 22, the Pirates were in Boston, and Murphy stopped by their hotel to hold some informal discussions. He had nothing new to report, but expected to file his petition with the State Labor Relations Board (SLRB) shortly.
He pointed out that Ohio, Illinois and New York lacked state boards, so the seven teams in those states weren't really candidates for organization. He remained confident that the Guild would be recognized before long and planned to continue his efforts.
The hearing for Murphy's petition with the SLRB was scheduled for July 2. On the 2nd, the board announced a two-week postponement at management's request. On the 16th, there was a hearing, and the club was granted another ten days to file a brief.
On July 19, owners, led by Yankee president Larry MacPhail, announced that they would put together a steering committee with some player representation. Murphy was not impressed, seeing a company union rather than an independent entity. A meeting took place Aug. 5, and the players presented four major demands: establishment of a minimum salary, setting up a pension plan, payment of expenses during spring training and revision of the 10-day clause. (The 10-day clause allowed a club to terminate any contract with ten days' notice; the players particularly wanted to provide some protection for injured players.)
On August 7, the SLRB handed down their ruling. The players would hold a secret ballot on Aug. 20 to determine if the Guild would be their bargaining representative.
And on August 8, a group led by Indianapolis banker Frank McKinney bought the Pirates from Florence Dreyfuss and her family "for a sum not exceeding $2,225,000." The other members of the group were Pittsburgh attorney Thomas P. Johnson, who was a vice president of the Standard Steel Spring Company, Bing Crosby and Columbus realtor John W. Galbreath. Benswanger, Barney and Florence Dreyfuss' son-in-law, would remain with the club for the rest of the season.
By Aug. 20, the players seemed to have lost their appetite for unionization. This was borne out by a 15-3 vote against the Guild. Murphy had resigned himself to that result, and planned to continue the legal fight. But nothing came of it, and the Guild became a footnote to history.
The owners did meet the players' demands, creating a $5,000 minimum salary, a pension plan, eliminating the 10-day clause and providing spring training expense money. The spring payments became known as "Murphy money," and the name stuck long after Robert Murphy had been forgotten.
With four more votes on June 7, Murphy might be much better remembered.
