John K. Tener - Baseball Executive

Baseball Executive

Tener maintained his interest in baseball after retiring as a player. In 1912, Governor Tener spoke out against gambling in baseball, and informed district atttoneys around the state that he believed existing laws could be used against illegal wagering. He also offered the influence and assistance of the state government to support any district attorney who chose to act against wagering.

In 1913, Philadelphia Phillies owner William Baker proposed offering the position of National League president to Tener after the owners declined to extend the contract of president Thomas Lynch. Tener accepted the offer at a contract of $25,000 ($587,879 today) per year, but was not paid until April 1915 when his term as Governor expired.

Early in his administration, Tener had his hands full as league president, serving a double role as Governor of Pennsylvania. The Federal League declared itself a major league and began competing for players in 1914. A number of players began jumping to the new league including Joe Tinker.

At the same time, Tener had to mediate a dispute between Chicago Cubs owner Charles Murphy and Cub manager and star player, Johnny Evers. Evers claimed that he had been fired by Murphy after a salary dispute. Murphy claimed in turn that the future hall-of-famer had resigned with the intent of jumping to the new Federal League. Murphy later attempted to broker a trade to the Boston Braves in which the Cubs would receive Boston star Bill Sweeney. The League originally ruled that Murphy had broken the terms of Evers' contract by not giving him ten days notice before the dismissal and that the punishment would be that Boston did not have to give the players to Chicago. This led to a protest by Murphy.

At the time, Murphy was not a well-regarded owner by his peers and the League was afraid that Evers would go to the Federal League to join his former teammate, Joe Tinker. The dispute gave the owners the opportunity to rid themselves of Murphy. Tener arranged for newspaper publisher Charles P. Taft, who was a minority shareholder and had helped the league to force out Phillies owner Horace Fogel, to buy the team and force Murphy out.

Tener later faced the prospect of players' strikes in 1914 and 1917. In 1914, the Baseball Players Fraternity, led by Dave Fultz threatened to strike over the transfer of Clarence Kraft to the minor leagues from the Brooklyn Robins. Brooklyn had tried to send Kraft to their minor league club in Newark, New Jersey, but the Nashville Vols claimed that they had the rights to Kraft. Going to Nashville would have cost Kraft $150 ($3,480 today) in salary. When baseball's National Commission ruled that Kraft had to report to Nashville, he appealed to Fultz for help. Although American League President Ban Johnson sought a confrontation, Tener brokered a deal in which Brooklyn paid for Kraft's rights and sent him to Newark.

In 1917, Fultz, emboldened by his efforts in the Kraft cash presented a list of demands to the National Commission to improve the playing conditions in the minor leagues. Tener rejected three of the demands as they were unrelated to Major League Baseball and only applied to minor league players. Tener also noted that the fourth demand, that injured players be paid their full salaries, had already been met in the 1917 contract. Fultz went on to threaten to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor and lead the players on a walkout if his demands were not met.

Even though Tener himself had been a member of the Brotherhood of Professional Players in his playing days and, as part of the National Commission, initially certified the Player's Fraternity in 1914, he was not amused by the threats. On the labor side, AFL leader Samuel Gompers did not welcome the idea and many major leaguers were not interested in striking for the benefit of minor league players. The National Commission, immediately withdrew recognition from the Players' Fraternity. Afterwards, the Players' Fraternity membership declined and the organization ceased to exist.

In November 1917, Tener accepted a one-year contract extension, but was troubled by the infighting between the National League's owners. In 1918, the league became embroiled in a dispute with the American League over the rights to pitcher Scott Perry. Tener believed that Philadelphia Athletics owner Connie Mack had broken an agreement with both leagues by going to court in the matter. Tener demanded that the National League break off relations, which could have included cancelling the World Series. However, the owners did not support him and Tener resigned in August 1918.