Donald Fehr - Life and Career

Life and Career

Fehr was born of Irene Sylvia (née Gulko) and Louis Alvin Fehr. He was raised in Prairie Village, Kansas. He graduated from Indiana University and was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity. Fehr received his law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.

As a young lawyer Fehr assisted the MLBPA in the Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally arbitration case (later known as the Seitz decision). In 1977, Marvin Miller hired Fehr as the Players Association general counsel.

In December 1985, Fehr was voted executive director of the MLBPA after having served as acting director since December 9, 1983. Fehr successfully challenged the owners' collusion, leading to the owners paying $280 million in damages to the players.

Fehr led the players union through the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike and subsequent World Series cancellation. He was instrumental in implementing the rejection of future admissions into the MLBPA by replacement players who planned to fill in during the strike of 1995.

On June 22, 2009, Fehr announced his intention to step down as the MLBPA executive director position, recommending Michael Weiner as his successor. This was subject to the approval of the union's executive board and possible ratification by all players. He officially relinquished his job to Weiner in December 2009. Shortly after leaving his position as Executive Director of the MLBPA, Fehr took up a position as an advisor to the NHL Players' Association. On December 18, 2010, Fehr was voted in by the NHLPA as their executive director.

With the NHL locking out the players at midnight on September 15, 2012, Fehr became the only Executive Director to be directly involved in work stoppages in two sports. Six of the eight contract negotiations he has been involved in have resulted in work stoppages, including five consecutive negotiations between the MLBPA and Major League Baseball.