In 1890, members of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players elected to secede from the National League and form their own organization, which they called the Players League. The players objected to several business practices of the National League, including aspects of the reserve clause in player contracts, the Brush Classification Plan to control their salaries, the buying and selling of players, and fines for various infractions. This dissertation explains how these events combined to produce the revolt by the players at the conclusion of the 1889 season. It also examines various other important aspects of 1880s baseball, including abuse of alcohol, treatments of umpires, physical training techniques, violence on the field, cheating, gambling, mascots, team finances, and racism in baseball. The dissertation illuminates various Social and economic aspects of life in Gilded Age America as well. Finally, it helps explain the importance of a little-understood era in the baseball’s history that lasted from 1885-1889 and contributed to confirming baseball’s status as America’s national sport.
","abstract_html":"<p>In 1890, members of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players elected to secede from the National League and form their own organization, which they called the Players League. The players objected to several business practices of the National League, including aspects of the reserve clause in player contracts, the Brush Classification Plan to control their salaries, the buying and selling of players, and fines for various infractions. This dissertation explains how these events combined to produce the revolt by the players at the conclusion of the 1889 season. It also examines various other important aspects of 1880s baseball, including abuse of alcohol, treatments of umpires, physical training techniques, violence on the field, cheating, gambling, mascots, team finances, and racism in baseball. The dissertation illuminates various Social and economic aspects of life in Gilded Age America as well. Finally, it helps explain the importance of a little-understood era in the baseball’s history that lasted from 1885-1889 and contributed to confirming baseball’s status as America’s national sport.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bauer, Robert Allan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Williams, Patrick G.","Whayne, Jeannie M."],"advisors":["West, Elliott"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-07-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-07-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:00:28Z","subjects":["Social sciences","Baseball","Brotherhood","Gilded age","Labor","Players league","Spalding","Sports Studies","United States History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1215","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Williams, Patrick G.","Whayne, Jeannie M."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["West, Elliott"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bauer, Robert Allan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2015"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Social sciences","Baseball","Brotherhood","Gilded age","Labor","Players league","Spalding","Sports Studies","United States History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1215"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In 1890, members of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players elected to secede from the National League and form their own organization, which they called the Players League. The players objected to several business practices of the National League, including aspects of the reserve clause in player contracts, the Brush Classification Plan to control their salaries, the buying and selling of players, and fines for various infractions. This dissertation explains how these events combined to produce the revolt by the players at the conclusion of the 1889 season. It also examines various other important aspects of 1880s baseball, including abuse of alcohol, treatments of umpires, physical training techniques, violence on the field, cheating, gambling, mascots, team finances, and racism in baseball. The dissertation illuminates various Social and economic aspects of life in Gilded Age America as well. Finally, it helps explain the importance of a little-understood era in the baseball’s history that lasted from 1885-1889 and contributed to confirming baseball’s status as America’s national sport.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Outside the Lines of Gilded Age Baseball: Profits, Beer, and the Origins of the Brotherhood War"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Williams, Patrick G.","Whayne, Jeannie M."],"dc:contributor.advisor":["West, Elliott"],"dc:creator":["Bauer, Robert Allan"],"dc:date":["2015"],"dc:date.available":["2017-09-29T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In 1890, members of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players elected to secede from the National League and form their own organization, which they called the Players League. The players objected to several business practices of the National League, including aspects of the reserve clause in player contracts, the Brush Classification Plan to control their salaries, the buying and selling of players, and fines for various infractions. This dissertation explains how these events combined to produce the revolt by the players at the conclusion of the 1889 season. It also examines various other important aspects of 1880s baseball, including abuse of alcohol, treatments of umpires, physical training techniques, violence on the field, cheating, gambling, mascots, team finances, and racism in baseball. The dissertation illuminates various Social and economic aspects of life in Gilded Age America as well. Finally, it helps explain the importance of a little-understood era in the baseball’s history that lasted from 1885-1889 and contributed to confirming baseball’s status as America’s national sport.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/1215"],"dc:subject":["Social sciences","Baseball","Brotherhood","Gilded age","Labor","Players league","Spalding","Sports Studies","United States History"],"dc:title":["Outside the Lines of Gilded Age Baseball: Profits, Beer, and the Origins of the Brotherhood War"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:00:28Z"}