View source for 1972 Major League Baseball strike

{{Short description|First players' strike in Major League Baseball history}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2013}}
{{MLB Labor Relations}}
The '''1972 Major League Baseball strike''' was the first players' [[Strike action|strike]] in [[Major League Baseball]] history. The strike occurred from April 1 to 13, 1972.

Baseball resumed when the owners and players agreed on a $500,000 increase in [[pension fund]] payments. Owners agreed to add salary [[arbitration]] to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.<ref>{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202195220/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2002/05/25/work_stopppages/|archivedate=2014-02-02|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2002/05/25/work_stopppages/|work=CNNSI.com|title=Baseball – Baseball's Work Stoppages|date=August 8, 2002}}</ref> The 86 total games that were missed over the 13-day period were not rescheduled, because the league refused to pay the players for the time they were on strike. As a result, the [[Houston Astros]] and [[San Diego Padres]] each played only 153 games, nine fewer than normal, and no team played more than 156 games.<ref name=retro/>

One major effect of the uneven schedule was that the [[1972 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers]] played one more game than the [[1972 Boston Red Sox season|Boston Red Sox]], which enabled Detroit (with a record of 86–70) to win the [[American League East]] as Boston (with a record of 85–70) finished {{frac|1|2}} [[games behind|game behind]].<ref name=retro>{{cite web |url=https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/Y_1972.htm |title=The 1972 Season |website=[[Retrosheet]] |accessdate=December 2, 2021}}</ref> Detroit won the division on the next-to-last day of the season when they beat Boston, 3–1, at [[Tiger Stadium (Detroit)|Tiger Stadium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1972/B10030DET1972.htm|title=Detroit Tigers 3, Boston Red Sox 1|date=October 3, 1972|work=Retrosheet}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[1972 Major League Baseball season]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*Google Search (timeline)
**[http://www.google.com/search?q=Major+League+Baseball+strike&hl=en&sa=X&tbs=tl:1,tl_num:100,tll:1972/01,tlh:1972/06&ei=YIU9TINOjcKwA6nZpdoK&ved=0CL4DEMkBKAU&cts=1279100259342 Jan–Jun, 1972]

{{Portal bar|Baseball|Organized labour}}
{{1972 MLB season by team}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:1972 Major League Baseball Strike}}
[[Category:1970s strikes in the United States]]
[[Category:1972 labor disputes and strikes|Major League Baseball Strike, 1972]]
[[Category:1972 Major League Baseball season|Strike]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball labor disputes|strike 1972]]


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