Getting most of my information from this article: http://research.sabr.org/journals/federal-league-a-major-league
From 1913 to 1915, the upstart Federal League put up a strong fight against Organized Baseball. By 1914, 59 major leaguers had jumped ship to the Federal League, including Hal Chase, and attempted to land Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Christy Mathewson, though they chose to remain after having their salaries increased.
David Fultz, former outfielder with the A's and the Highlanders before becoming a lawyer, organized the Baseball Players' Fraternity in 1912. They soon became a formidable entity, and had enough clout to present the National Commission with a set of seventeen "demands" and seventeen "requests" relating to improving conditions for players in the major leagues. Ultimately, their efforts were successful in increasing player rights and improving salaries. It seems likely that, had Fultz's organization not done this, more players would have left for the Feds.
Federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis endeared himself to Organized Baseball when he delayed the FL's antitrust suit for months, until the league had already folded, before handing down his ruling exempting baseball from Federal antitrust laws.
Had Fultz not presented his demands to the National Commission, allowing the FL to snag more players (perhaps including players such as Cobb), or a different judge tried the antitrust suit, could the Federal League have been able to establish itself a major league?
From 1913 to 1915, the upstart Federal League put up a strong fight against Organized Baseball. By 1914, 59 major leaguers had jumped ship to the Federal League, including Hal Chase, and attempted to land Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, and Christy Mathewson, though they chose to remain after having their salaries increased.
David Fultz, former outfielder with the A's and the Highlanders before becoming a lawyer, organized the Baseball Players' Fraternity in 1912. They soon became a formidable entity, and had enough clout to present the National Commission with a set of seventeen "demands" and seventeen "requests" relating to improving conditions for players in the major leagues. Ultimately, their efforts were successful in increasing player rights and improving salaries. It seems likely that, had Fultz's organization not done this, more players would have left for the Feds.
Federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis endeared himself to Organized Baseball when he delayed the FL's antitrust suit for months, until the league had already folded, before handing down his ruling exempting baseball from Federal antitrust laws.
Had Fultz not presented his demands to the National Commission, allowing the FL to snag more players (perhaps including players such as Cobb), or a different judge tried the antitrust suit, could the Federal League have been able to establish itself a major league?