How baseball changed forever in 1972: A timeline of MLB’s most memorable events, 50 years later

April 1
After player reps vote 47-0 with one abstention (Wes Parker of the Dodgers) in favor, the Major League Baseball Players Association goes on strike. Thus begins the first work stoppage in MLB history. Under the leadership of pioneering union leader Marvin Miller, the players strike over the issue of pension payments. The players want a 17 percent increase to reflect inflation over the prior three years and for owners to honor their commitment to cover medical costs. Owners refuse on both counts. Miller announces that players are willing to end the strike with a new pension accord or an agreement to take the dispute to arbitration. Since the union is still a relatively nascent entity—Miller became the first head of the Major League Baseball Players Association in July 1966, and it wasn’t until 1968 that the MLBPA negotiated its first collective bargaining agreement with the league—owners underestimate the players’ power and solidarity. As John Gaherin, the owners’ lead negotiator, would later say, “The perception on our side was that the union was still weak. This was the time to take it on.”...

April 11
Following federal mediation at the behest of President Nixon, the two sides agree on a new pension format. However, players and owners remain at odds over whether the canceled games will be made up for a full 162-game schedule and whether players will receive back pay for canceled games.

April 13
The MLBPA and owners agree that games lost to the strike will not be made up and no back pay will be received. With that final hurdle cleared, the strike ends. In all, 86 regular-season games are lost to the work stoppage.