Episode 37 - Danny Gardella and the Mexican League Declare War
This Week In Baseball History
English - February 21, 2018 06:39 - 47 minutes - 65.4 MB - ★★★★ - 224 ratingsSports History Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Previous Episode: Episode 36 - Edith Houghton Scouts For the Phillies (with special guest Meg Rowley)
Next Episode: Episode 38 - Baseball Has a Cocaine Problem
Major League Baseball rarely faces a realistic challenge to its hegemony, but, 72 years ago this week, Danny Gardella became the first American-born player to sign with Jorge Pasquel's Mexican League, touching off a short war that challenged the reserve clause, increased salaries at home and abroad, and wound up ending both Gardella's career and the Mexican League's independence. Mike and Bill examine Gardella's life, Pasquel's insurgency, MLB's response, and the court battle that followed.