5 Worst Labor Stoppages in the History of Pro Sports

With the NFL lockout earlier this year and the current NBA lockout, sports fans are once again getting a taste of what it is like when a sport goes through a labor dispute.

The NFL lockout lasted for 18 weeks and four days, and only canceled one game—the Hall of Fame game, because teams didn't have time to prepare.

The NBA lockout began on July 1 and could end up being much worse than its NFL counterpart, as the league has already cancelled training camp and the first week of preseason games.

With this in mind, lets take a look at the five worst labor stoppages in pro sports history. 

5. Major League Baseball 1981

The 1981 Major League Baseball lockout was caused by the issue of free agency.

By this time, player salaries had gone way up, forcing owners to hand out large contracts to their free agents, and they wanted to be compensated for free agents that they lost. 

After missing 713 scheduled games, the conflict was resolved when owners and players agreed that teams would be compensated for losing premium free agents by choosing from a pool of unprotected players, and that free agency would be limited to players with six or more years of service. 

4. National Football League 1982

The 1982 National Football League lockout was a dispute over revenue sharing and free agency. The players wanted free agency after three years in the league, and 55 percent of broadcast revenue. 

The players were led by Gene Upshaw and agreed to end the lockout after the owners agreed to increase the minimum salary by $2 billion, and increase veteran's pay and severance pay.

After all was said and done, the lockout lasted 57 games and knocked seven weeks off the regular season schedule. 

3. National Basketball Association 1998

If not for the players and owners reaching agreement on the final day, the entire NBA season would have been cancelled in 1998.

In the 1998 lockout, owners wanted to decrease the salary cap and lower players' salaries, while players wanted increases in pay. 

It was the third lockout in NBA history, and, by far, the worst, shortening the season to 50 games and causing a cancellation of the All-Star game.

If nothing else, it brought to light the greed of both the players and owners in professional sports and negatively affected the league. 

2. Major League Baseball 1994

The 1994 labor stoppage in Major League Baseball caused the cancellation of parts of two seasons, including the entire 1994 postseason and World Series.

The owners proposed a salary cap to the players, as well as getting rid of salary arbitration, and the players felt they had no choice but to strike.

It began mid-season on August 12, 1994 and lasted all the way until April 2, 1995. Major League Baseball became the first sport to miss its entire postseason due to a labor stoppage, which would be matched by the NHL in 2004.

1. National Hockey League 2004

The National Hockey League lockout of 2004 was the worst in professional sports history, and the only labor dispute that forced a league to cancel an entire season.

Commissioner Gary Bettman, no stranger to lockouts, proposed to the players that their salaries should be structured around league revenues, as they lost nearly $273 million in the 2002-03 season.

Players saw this as a salary cap, something they didn't want, but eventually accepted when the lockout resolved.

This marked the first time the Stanley Cup was not awarded since 1919, and put a damper over the NHL for years to come.