Spring 1998: Long-Term Holdouts

The annual rosters published in The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball identify the cause of all career-ending injuries, and all career interruptions of 30 days or more. One of the codes used by this invaluable reference book is "HO," for "holdout." In the era before free agency, the following players held out for at least a month of the season; asterisks denote players who held out for the entire season.

1905: Jimmy Wiggs, Detroit

1906: Ed Abbaticchio*, Boston NL; Chick Fraser, Cincinnati; John Ganzel*, New York AL; Earl Moore, Cleveland

1907: Mike Donlin, New York NL; Jack Harper, Chicago NL

1909: Mike Donlin*, New York; Johnny Kling, Chicago NL; Bob Spade, Cincinnati

1910: Lew Brockett*, New York AL

1913: Elmer Knetzer*, Brooklyn

1915: Home Run Baker*, Philadelphia AL

1916: Joe Wood*, Boston AL

1918: Joe Jackson, Chicago AL; Dick Rudolph, Boston NL

1920" Chick Gandil*, Chicago AL (largely a pretext)

1921: Heinie Groh, Cincinnait

1922: Dickie Kerr, Chicago AL; Edd Roush, Cincinnati; Walter Schmidt, Pittsburgh; Fred Toney, New York NL

1924: Charlie Hollocher, Chicago NL

1927: Hughie Critz, Cincinnati

1928: Vic Aldrige, New York NL

1929: Ted Blankenship, Chicago AL

1930: Willie Kamm, Chicago AL; Chet Nichols, Philadelphia NL

1937: Red Ruffing, New York AL

1943: Lou Novikoff, Chicago NL

1945: Rufe Gentry*, Detroit

1950: Dick Wakefield, Chicago AL

1970: Curt Flood*, Philadelphia NL (held out to challenge reserve clause)

1971: Joe Azcue*, California

1972: Vida Blue, Oakland

Compiled by Doug Pappas. All rights reserved.
Originally published in the Spring 1998 issue of Outside the Lines, the SABR Business of Baseball Committee newsletter.