Marvin Miller, the legendary leader of the Major League Baseball
Player’s Association, passed away today at the age of 95. Mr.
Miller never played the game, but he may have had more influence
on baseball than anyone else in this half of the century. As
executive director of the Players Association from 1966-1982, he
brought a world of experience garnered in the tough
steelworkers’ union to bear on baseball labor relations, and his
knowledge, organizational ability, and resolve completely
overmatched the owners and their representatives. During his
tenure the average players salary increased from $19,000 to over
$240,000. Today the Baseball Players Union is acknowledged as
one of the strongest labor organizations in the United States.
Below is my 2004 interview with Mr. Miller and at 87, you will
see that he still had the fire. Dave Zirin: Who or what shaped
your thinking as a young man? Marvin Miller: Well, I guess a big
part of what shaped me was that I entered high school in
February of 1929. Several months