When Donald Fehr took over as acting executive director of the MLBPA in 1983, he faced a two-pronged challenge: Trying to make gains for players amid unyielding resistance from baseball owners while fighting to preserve and expand upon the legacy of the union’s founding father, Marvin Miller. Over the next 26 years, through a combination of long-term vision, effective organizing and tactical legal brilliance, Fehr forged his own path and staked his claim as a seminal figure in MLBPA and sports labor history.

Fehr, a Kansas native, graduated from Indiana University with a political science degree in 1970 and received his J.D. degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law. He worked on the groundbreaking Andy Messersmith-Dave McNally arbitration case as a young lawyer in Kansas City before joining the PA as general counsel in 1977. In December 1985, players voted to remove the “acting’’ designation from Fehr’s title and named him MLBPA executive director.

Under the guidance of Fehr and longtime associate general counsel Gene Orza, Players stood firm through three work stoppages while fending off repeated attempts by ownership to roll back the gains achieved under Miller. Fehr was a master at keeping the membership engaged, informed and united through challenging and often contentious times.