September 19, 1970. 28-year-old Dave McNally of the first-place Baltimore Orioles pitched seven innings against the Cleveland Indians, allowing three runs and seven hits while striking out five and walking three. McNally absorbed the loss, one of nine he picked up during the 1970 season. He won 24 games.

September 19, 1980. 38-year-old Dave McNally, part-owner and manager of D&T Volkswagen, Billings, Montana, picked up a newspaper and discovered the Orioles had beaten Detroit, 9-3, the night before. An Oriole fan, he has not seen them play this year. "They don't come by here too often," he laughs.

Dave McNally is a happy man, but on December 4, 1974, he was not happy. On that day, McNally, Rich Coggins and Ed Kirkpatrick were traded from the Orioles to the Montreal Expos, for Mike Torrez and Ken Singleton. McNally did not want to play in Montreal. He decided to sue major league baseball.

"At the time, it was something that had to be done," he says. "Leaving Baltimore for Montreal would not have been pleasant. But, I don't think anyone could have anticipated what has followed."

McNally, along with fellow plaintiff Andy Messersmith and Curt Flood, who lost a similar case five years earlier, freed major leaguers from the shackles of the reserve clause. A federal court ruled that he did not have to report to the Montreal Expos if he did not want to.

McNally, owner of a 184-119 lifetime record, never pitched for the Expos. But he never pitched anywhere else after that.

"I had a good time playing baseball," he says. "I'm glad I got out of the game at a young age, though. That way I've been able to start a second career."

Returning to his hometown of Billings in 1975, he started that second career. Now, he and his brother own D&T Volkswagen, as well as a Porsche-Audi dealership down the road. Although he is younger than active pitchers Gaylord Perry, Jim Kaat and Grant Jackson, he has no regrets.

McNally lives well in Billings, but his salary is tiny in comparison to that of today's baseball player. As a man responsible for these salaries, one might expect him to be bitter, or jealous. On the contrary, he seems content.

"I enjoy it here. I'm enjoying the kids a lot more. It's relatively quiet but I like that.

"The salaries are unbelievable, but the only way they could get that way is if the owners pay them," he said. "Like I say, 'I'm happy for the players, and I feel very fortunate to have had the career I did. But now I'm happy doing this."