September 26, 1914: The Federal Trade Commission Is Established

September 26, 1914: The Federal Trade Commission is established, as President Woodrow Wilson signs the Federal Trade Commission Act into law. It is an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice.

The inspiration and motivation for this act started in 1890, when the Sherman Antitrust Act was passed. There was a strong antitrust movement to prevent manufacturers from joining price-fixing cartels. After Northern Securities Co. v. United States, a 1904 case that dismantled a J.P. Morgan company, antitrust enforcement became institutionalized.

Soon, President Theodore Roosevelt created the Bureau of Corporations, an agency that reported on the economy and businesses in the industry. The agency was the predecessor to the FTC.

Over time, the FTC has been delegated with the enforcement of additional business regulation statutes and has promulgated a number of regulations. The broad statutory authority granted to the FTC provides it with more surveillance and monitoring abilities than it actually uses.

The Federal Trade Commission Building opened in 1938, as part of the Federal Triangle complex, at 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in downtown Washington.

*

September 26, 1914 was a Saturday. Fitness expert and gym tycoon Jack LaLanne was born.

The only major professional sport in North America at the time was baseball; and, this year and the next, there were 3 leagues playing.

In the American League:

* The New York Yankees split a doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers at Navin Field in Detroit (later to be renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium). The Tigers won the opener, 6-3. The Yankees won the nightcap, 4-3. Over the 2 games, Ty Cobb went an uncharacteristic 0-for-8 with a walk, dropping his batting average from .378 to .369. He finished the season at .368, and won the AL batting title, anyway.

* A doubleheader was split at League Park in Cleveland. The Cleveland Naps won the opener, 5-4. The Washington Senators won the nightcap, 6-0.

In the 1st game, the Senators scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th inning. But in the bottom of the 9th, with the ill-fated Ray Chapman at the plate, Jim Shaw, meant to start the 2nd game, came in to pitch relief, and catcher John Henry had a passed ball, allowing Bill Wambsganss to score the winning run. Shaw started the 2nd game, anyway, going 7 innings. He and David "Mutt" Williams (2 innings) combined on a 4-hit shutout.

Napoleon "Nap" Lajoie, the slugger, 2nd baseman and manager for whom the Cleveland team was then named, went 2-for-8 with an RBI. Left fielder "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was injured, and did not play in either game. The next day, Lajoie collected his 3,000th career hit. But they finished last, and so he asked to be traded, and was. The next season, the team was renamed the Cleveland Indians. And it traded Jackson to the White Sox.

* The Philadelphia Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox, 9-3 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Eddie Collins went 2-for-3 with a walk. John "Stuffy" McInnis went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs, and Frank "Home Run" Baker went 4-for-5 with 4 RBIs, including not a home run, but a triple. The next season, needing money, A's manager, treasurer and part-owner Connie Mack sold Collins to the White Sox for $50,000.

* And the St. Louis Browns swept a doubleheader from the Boston Red Sox, 4-1 and 6-4 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Tris Speaker went 2-for-6 for Boston. Rookie Babe Ruth had made 2 appearances for the Red Sox in July, and would make 2 appearances at the end of the regular season in October, but, at this point, was pitching for the Providence Grays, helping them win the International League Pennant.

In the National League:

* The New York Giants split a doubleheader with the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Polo Grounds, with each game ending 4-2. In the 2nd game, Babe Adams outpitched Christy Mathewson. Honus Wagner, who got his 3,000th career hit earlier in the year, went 3-for-7 with a walk and 2 RBIs for the Pirates.

* The Brooklyn Robins -- as the Dodgers were known under manager Wilbert Robinson from this season until 1931 -- split a doubleheader with the St. Louis Cardinals at Ebbets Field. Brooklyn won the 1st game, 6-3. St. Louis won the 2nd game, 3-0. William "Pol" Perritt pitched a 4-hit shutout. Over the 2 games, Zack Wheat went 2-for-7 with 2 RBIs.

* The Boston Braves swept a doubleheader from the Chicago Cubs, 6-2 and 12-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. The Braves had left the South End Grounds, but Braves Field wasn't ready yet, so the Red Sox let them groundshare in the interim. Dick Rudolph pitched a 7-hit shutout in the 1st game gaining his 25th win of the season. Four days later, the Braves clinched the Pennant, and went on to sweep the heavily favored Athletics in the World Series.

* And the Philadelphia Phillies swept a doubleheader from the Cincinnati Reds, 10-9 and 7-4 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

And in the Federal League:

* The Brooklyn Tip-Tops were swept in a doubleheader by the Chicago Whales, 7-6 and 5-3 at Washington Park, which had been home to the Dodgers from 1898 to 1912.

* The Buffalo Blues beat the Kansas City Packers, 3-2 at the International Fair Association Grounds in Buffalo.

* The Baltimore Terrapins beat the St. Louis Maroons, 5-4 in the 1st game of a doubleheader at Terrapin Park in Baltimore. The 2nd game was tied, 1-1, after 7 innings, when it was called due to darkness.

* And the Indianapolis Hoosiers beat the Pittsburgh Rebels, 8-4 at Exposition Park in Pittsburgh.

And n English soccer, Arsenal, the North London team I would one day support, went to East Yorkshire, and lost to Hull City, 1-0 at The Boulevard.