Toolson v. New York Yankees/Opinion of the Court

United States Supreme Court

346 U.S. 356

Toolson  v.  New York Yankees

 Argued: Oct. 13, 14, 1953. --- Decided: Nov 9, 1953

In Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, 1922, 259 U.S. 200, 42 S.Ct. 465, 66 L.Ed. 898, this Court held that the business of providing public baseball games for profit between clubs of professional baseball players was not within the scope of the federal antitrust laws. Congress has had the ruling under consideration but has not seen fit to bring such business under these laws by legislation having prospective effect. The business has thus been left for thirty years to develop, on the understanding that it was not subject to existing antitrust legislation. The present cases ask us to overrule the prior decision and, with retrospective effect, hold the legislation applicable. We think that if there are evils in this field which now warrant application to it of the antitrust laws it should be by legislation. Without re-examination of the underlying issues, the judgments below are affirmed on the authority of Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, supra, so far as that decision determines that Congress had no intention of including the business of baseball within the scope of the federal antitrust laws.

Affirmed.

Mr. Justice BURTON, with whom Mr. Justice REED concurs, dissenting.

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