Sunday, September 9, 2012

Lessons In Anti-Trust Law

This blog remains committed to expanding the horizons of its readership (see, for instance, Estate Planning For The Undead).  In furtherance of this mission we present to you this excerpt from the seminal 1958 lecture on anti-trust law by "The Old Perfessor", Casey Stengel.  In addition to his academic responsibilities Doctor Stengel also held the position of Manager, New York Yankees at the time.

Doctor Stengel's lecture was given at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Anti-Trust and Monopoly Subcommittee to which he was invited to testify in light of his recognized expertise* in the field.  It is believed, though it is not certain, that Doctor Stengel's statement was in support of maintaining baseball's anti-trust exemption.

At the end of this excerpt you can also hear some additional commentary from Assistant Perfessor Mickey Mantle.

Listen to an Excerpt from Doctor Stengel's lecture.

You can find the entire transcript of Doctor Stengel's talk by clicking here.




*At the time of his testimony Doctor Stengel had won six World Championships and hit .368 for the 1922 New York Giants as well as two game-winning home runs for the Giants against the Yankees in the 1923 World Series.

His home run in game one was the first World Series roundtripper hit in Yankee Stadium and was a dramatic inside-the-park job stroked with two out in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 5-4 victory.  At the time it was one of the most famous home runs in baseball history and provoked waves of overwriting by New York sportswriters topped by this from Damon Runyon:

This is the way old Casey Stengel ran . . . 
His mouth wide open
His warped old legs bending beneath him at every stride
His arms flying back and forth like those of a man swimming with a crawl stroke
His flanks heaving, his breath whistling, his head far back

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