Bob Feller - Dispute With Commissioner Chandler

Dispute With Commissioner Chandler

Throughout his career, Feller criss-crossed the country playing exhibition games in the off-season, playing in front of fans in towns not accustomed to seeing major league ballplayers perform live. His barnstorming tours often featured other big leaguers and Negro League players, like Satchel Paige, who was also a teammate of Feller's with the Indians. Other players included Stan Musial, Mickey Vernon, and Jeff Heath. During a barnstorming tour in 1945, Feller pitched against Jackie Robinson after he had been signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers. He told a reporter in Los Angeles he believed Robinson was too muscle-bound to succeed against pitching in the major leagues although Robinson recorded two hits off Feller. Players had to notify the Commissioner of Baseball, A.B. "Happy" Chandler, before participating in post-season exhibitions games and were not allowed to begin games until the conclusion of the major league season. Feller wrote to Chandler, challenging the league's 10-day limit on games that could be played and proposing an increase to 20 days. The Commissioner agreed to Feller's proposal. To minimize travel time, Feller employed the use of airplanes, such as two DC-3's in 1947, to transport players from town to town. Feller's involvement, as well as other major league players, was the subject of meetings between the Commissioner and AL and NL presidents.

In 1947, Feller announced that he would pitch in the Cuban winter league during the off-season, but Commissioner Chandler ruled no major leaguer could play in Cuba during the winter. Feller said he would donate his profits from playing in the Cuban winter league to the American Major League players' pension fund. "I want to prove I'm not going to Cuba for any selfish interest but because there is a principle involved and that is the right of any ball player to work at his chosen profession," Feller said in response to Chandler's ruling. Feller also believed it was "grossly unfair" major leaguers who were U.S. citizens could not play in winter leagues but Latin Americans were permitted. Indians owner and president Bill Veeck said, "I have no comment on Bob's outside activities. I don't know whether they've hurt him or not. But I do know this. The great majority of of the people of Cleveland think they've hurt him." Feller's barnstorming business savvy and endorsement details made him one of the wealthiest players of his time but according to Feller, his off-season exhibitions and barnstorming were necessary to pay for increased medical expenses for his family, namely his first wife. She had developed anemia after she was given the wrong blood type after giving birth in 1947 to their second child, to which she subsequently battled addiction problems with the prescription medications she was proscribed to take for her condition. It was estimated he missed out on over $200,000 in salary when he served in the Navy, where he missed more than three major league seasons. Said Feller biographer John Sickels in an interview,

"They were trying to make money, but part of it was also, he felt that the black players weren't necessarily getting a fair chance and that he wanted to sort of showcase it. And seeing those, I think, those exhibition games helped people realize that the Negro League players were just as good as the Major League players."