Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-03
CONTRACTS invalid
Ball Players Cannot Be Held
Under Civil Law. :.
RYAN CASE AN INSTANCE
Player Released With No "Release
Clause" in His Contract With
Club.

NEW YORK, December 2.-Base ball
men frequently have admitted that the
form of players contract in vogue in all
the major and minor leagues under the
protection of organized base ball. will
not stand the test in court of law for
the reason that it contains ten-day
notice of release clause, while the player,
under compulsion, must give an option
on his services for the following year. In
short, the player can be held for an in
definite period at a salary dictated by his
employer or he can be discharged in mid
season with no chance to collect salary
after the expiration of the stipulated ten
days, while also he can be sent to any
other club which may buy his release
without his consent
In the cases of players who threaten
court proceedings, and appear to have
money and influential friends to help
them. the magnates usually show a will
ingnesS to compromise rather than have
the contract torn to shredS in court. But
in many cases recalcitrant players have
been gradually forced into obscurity after
resorting to such methods, so that the
rank and file have become resigned to
existing conditions rather than get them
selves into peck of trouble.
But contracts signed by managers, as
rule, are different. Many of them are
fronclad personal contracts with club
owners, having no release clause Joe
Kelley, when manager Of the Boston Ma
tionals. was bound by such a contract.
and was sustained by the late President
III. c. Pulliam when the Boston club tried
to discard him before the term of the
contract expired. Kelley was paid in full,
though he was Slpplanted by another
manager. William ]. Murray, when man
aging the Philadelphia Nationals, had an
ironclad contract, but was released, with
two years left. He appealed to the Ma
tional League directors, but could get no
satisfaction, so was forced 20 compromise
the matter with his employers, who paid
him lump sum to quit.
The case of Jack Ryan, who has man.
aged the Jersey City team for three
years. has similar features and is attract
ing much attention. Ryan has been
identified with organized base ball for
twenty-five years and now finds himself
in a trying predicament He intends to
have the directors of the Eastern League
pass upon his case, and if they decide
against him he will appeal to the board
of arbitration of the National Association
of Minor Leagues. If overruled there he
will take the matter to the national base
ball commission, the national games
supreme court: and in the event of fall
ure, he says, he will begin an action in
the civil courts against the Jersey City
club.
Ryan says he signed a contract last
February to manage the Jersey City club
for three years. The contract, he says,
was drawn by J. B. Lillis, an attorney,
who since has secured control Of the
Jersey City club. Ryan says Lillis told
him that the contract was binding and
could not be broken by either the club
or the manager. 1t called for monthly
payments and did not contain a release
clause. Neither did 1t stipulate that
Ryan should have winning team. Ryan
AYERS that last October Lillis refused to
pay any more salary and notified him
that he had been released. Larry Schaf1y
was signed then to manage the Jersey
City team in his place, and since that
time Ryan has been unable to draw his
pay.
eff I had won the pennant with Jersey
City and a major league club had offer
ed me more money to leave, it would
have been impossible for me to secure
my release" said Ryan. THE Jersey
City club would have forced me to live
up to my contract. But Lillis argues
that as l didn't make good he can let
me go. I've got a clearly worded con-
tract which Lillis now says isn't worth
the paper it is written on, SO I'm going
to find out just where 1 stand even If
am compelled to go to New Jerseys high
est court Lillis admits that he has
released Ryan and says he has several
reasons. He claims that Ryan has
broken the contract in many ways.