Monopsony Demand for any one product comes from one buyer. If you are the sole buyer of a good or service, you are operating as a monopsony Baseball is the biggest monopsony in the American business system

Monopoly A market with only one seller of a unique good or service. Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs Baseball is NOT a monopoly

Labor Market “Any place or situation in which employers are trying to hire workers and workers are trying to find jobs. The “labor market” refers to the available workers employed and unemployed. In the game of baseball, the players are laborers (Jackie Robinson) and the owners and managers are the market that purchases their labor (Branch Rickey)

Cartel Organization of producers or suppliers who make agreements with one another on how to run their business. Baseball organizations only compete against each other. Make the rules about the competition. The game of baseball is a government sanctioned Cartel.

Post WWII Race Relations Segregation of public places in the south, very common Jim Crow laws adopted in the south Baseball segregated – Owners don’t want to lose fans – Select players won’t play with African Americans This leaves an untapped Labor Market in the form of Professional African American Baseball Players.

Jackie Major League Debut: April 15, 1947 Ran track, played football, basketball, and baseball- varsity letters in all four Played for the Kansas City Monarchs Active member of the NAACP Minor Leagues 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers 1947 Becomes the “biggest attraction in Major League Baseball

Repercussions Having a winning team draws in fans Addition of African American players adds talent, which leads to more wins, which leads to more fans. By 1959, every team in MLB has at least one African American player