Dick Moss

When Richard M. “Dick” Moss joined the United Steelworkers as associate general counsel in 1963, he formed a close working relationship with Marvin Miller, the union’s chief economic advisor. Four years later, the two former colleagues began a partnership that helped the Major League Baseball Players Association evolve from a fledgling organization into the gold standard of professional sports unions.

Curt Flood’s courage in challenging the reserve clause and Miller’s long-term vision were essential to the establishment of free agency in baseball. But Moss played a pivotal role in crafting much of the strategy behind a series of landmark victories and forever changed the landscape for players.

In 1968, Moss negotiated baseball’s first collective bargaining agreement, which raised the minimum salary from $6,000 to $10,000. Six years later, he prevailed in a grievance on behalf of Oakland pitcher Jim “Catfish” Hunter that foreshadowed the seismic change to come. Neutral arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled that A’s owner Charley Finley had breached Hunter’s contract by failing to pay $50,000 – half of Hunter's salary – into a long-term annuity fund. Seitz granted free agency to the American League Cy Young winner, and Hunter took advantage of his new-found freedom by signing a five-year, $3.25 million contract with the New York Yankees.

The following year, under the guidance of Miller and Moss, players won the right to free agency when veteran pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally elected to test the reserve clause and refused to sign contracts during the season. Seitz heard their grievance and sided with the union’s interpretation that a contract could only be renewed for one season -- not in perpetuity. The arbitration victory helped realign the balance of power between owners and Players in all professional sports and resulted in a renegotiation of baseball’s reserve system that granted players free agency after six years of major-league service.

Moss left the PA in 1977 to become a player agent. He represented future Hall of Famers Nolan Ryan, Jack Morris and Gary Carter and more than 250 other players over the course of his career, continuing to score major advances for athletes. In 1987, Moss and client Andre Dawson conceived a way to expose collusion in the free agent market when Dawson publicly offered his services to the Chicago Cubs for a salary to be determined solely by the team. The strategy helped pave the way for a $280 million collusion settlement that owners paid to players in 1990.

Upon Moss’ passing in 2024, longtime big-league pitcher, union leader and Moss client David Cone referred to him as a “titan of the industry.’’ Moss’ contributions as a lawyer, agent and player advocate helped empower and advance the rights of players across generations.