10 game-changing sports strikes
With the NHL lockout now over, look back at the top strikes and lockouts in sports history.
With the NHL lockout now over, look back at the top strikes and lockouts in sports history as rated by Time magazine.
With the NHL lockout now over, look back at the top strikes and lockouts in sports history as rated by Time magazine.
1995 Basketball Lockout -- Unlike most labor disputes, which pit owners against the players, the 1995 lockout was more like "a civil war within the union," the New York Times described.
At issue were salary caps, free agency and revenue sharing. The lockout lasted until September 1995 and no games were affected because the league was between seasons.
1992 Hockey Strike -- The first leaguewide NHL strike occurred April 1, 1992, when the NHL Players' Association demanded a new collective-bargaining agreement.
After a 10-day "cold war," an agreement was reached, which included a lengthened NHL season and some player concessions on licensing issues and free agency.
1972 Baseball Strike -- Major League Baseball's first general strike began on April Fools' Day in 1972 and lasted just under two weeks, resulting in the loss of 86 games that were never rescheduled.
Ultimately, team owners increased the players' pension fund by $500,000, and players gained the right to salary arbitration.
1982 Football Strike -- The NFL's first-ever strike began in September 1982 and lasted 57 days.
The strike cost the average player $6,000 a week, and did not solve several issues, leading to another strike five years later.
1981 Baseball Strike -- Following an 18-month dispute, a judge ordered play to stop in June 1981 and negotiations to begin over owners' rights with regard to free agency.
Play stopped for 50 days, or 712 games, and an estimated $146 million was lost in players' salaries, ticket sales and broadcast and merchandise revenue.
1994 Hockey Lockout -- The NHL lockout of 1994 lasted for 104 days, bleeding almost two weeks into the new year before an agreement was reached.
The 1994 season didn't begin until Jan. 20, 1995, and was shortened from 84 games to 48. The All-Star game was also canceled.
1987 Football Strike -- This 24-day strike centered on the issue of free agency, which had remained unresolved since a previous strike in 1982.
Owners used little-known replacement players to get around the issue, and apparently the gamble paid off, since the 1987 season lost only one game.
2004-05 Hockey Lockout -- The National Hockey League missed an entire season due to the infamous 2004-05 lockout, which resulted from conflicts over a salary cap.
It marked the first time one of the big four sports leagues in the U.S. lost a season's worth of games to labor issues.
1999 NBA Lockout -- The NBA was at a standstill for 202 days during this lockout, which scrubbed the season’s first three months and resulted in the loss of 32 games.
The entire season could have been lost had the players and owners not reached a final deal one day before the deadline to do so.
1994 Baseball Strike -- The Major League Baseball strike of 1994 is considered the longest work stoppage in the history of North American professional sports leagues.
The dispute, as usual, centered around money and lasted 232, canceling part of two seasons and the 1994 World Series.
