Toolson v. New York Yankees, Incorporated
United States Supreme Court
346 U.S. 356 (1953)
- Written by Steven Pacht, JD
Facts
George Toolson and other professional baseball players (players) (plaintiffs) brought various antitrust actions against organized baseball, including the New York Yankees, Inc., affiliated professional major and minor leagues in the United States, and the Mexican professional league (defendants). Specifically, the players alleged that the standard reserve clause in their contracts violated the Sherman Act because organized baseball (1) was an illegal monopoly that engaged in unreasonable restraints of trade and (2) entailed a combination, conspiracy, or monopoly or an attempt to monopolize professional baseball in the United States. Relying on the Supreme Court’s decision in Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, the lower courts ruled that federal antitrust law did not apply to organized baseball. The players appealed to the United States Supreme Court, asking the Court to overrule Federal Baseball Club. The Supreme Court consolidated the appeals for decision.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (per curiam)
Dissent (Burton, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.