Baseball Meets the Law: A Chronology of Decisions, Statutes and Other Legal Events.

• Author: Jarvis, Robert M.
• Position: Book review

Baseball Meets the Law: A Chronology of Decisions, Statutes and Other Legal Events

by Ed Edmonds and Frank G. Houdek

During the past 20 years, books exploring the connection between baseball and the law have become a cottage industry. The genre now has a fine new addition: Baseball Meets the Law: A Chronology of Decisions, Statutes and Other Legal Events (2017). As one might expect from two retired law library directors, the book is a detailed reference guide to the game's most notable legal developments.

Following a brief introduction, the book is divided into two parts. Part I consists of seven chapters, each focused on a discrete era. The first chapter, "Baseball Origins and Club Teams, 1791-1865," begins baseball's story by explaining that on September 5, 1791, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, passed an ordinance prohibiting anyone from playing baseball within 80 yards of the town's new meeting house (to protect the building's windows).

The authors do not linger over Pittsfield's regulation, disposing of it in a single paragraph. They remain just long enough to mention that it was discovered in 2004 by John Thorn, baseball's official historian; a copy was later found in Pittsfield's public library; and a plaque, donated by the Baseball Hall of Fame, now informs visitors of Pittsfield's contribution.

The authors' terseness keeps the book moving forward at a fast pace, with each subsequent event limited to a single paragraph. While some years--such as 1937 and 2011--are omitted, most have between one and three entries. A few have more, such as 1920 (pp. 63-66), which weighs in with nine, including two involving Babe Ruth and three concerning the Black Sox scandal.

The entries represent a mix of the well-known, such as June 19, 1972...