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| William O. Douglas Associate Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court 1939-1975 |
The longest-serving justice (36 years and 6+ months) ever, Douglas was a noted civil libertarian and a prolific writer of opinions and dissents. His was one of the three votes in favor of Curt Flood in his law suit against Major League Baseball. Here is an excerpt from his dissent:
"Baseball is today big business that is packaged with beer, with broadcasting, and with other industries. The beneficiaries of the Federal Baseball Club decision are not the Babe Ruths, Ty Cobbs, and Lou Gehrigs. The owners, whose records many say reveal a proclivity for predatory practices, do not come to us with equities. The equities are with the victims of the reserve clause. I use the word 'victims' in the Sherman Act sense, since a contract which forbids anyone to practice his calling is commonly called an unreasonable restraint of trade."
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