Curt Flood
Encyclopedia
Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball
player who spent most of his career as a center fielder
for the St. Louis Cardinals
. A defensive standout, he led the National League
in putout
s four times and in fielding percentage
twice, winning Gold Glove Award
s in his last seven full seasons from 1963–1969. He also batted
over .300 six times, and led the NL in hits
(211) in 1964
. He retired with the third most games in center field (1683) in NL history, trailing only Willie Mays
and Richie Ashburn
.
Flood became one of the pivotal figures in the sport's labor
history when he refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court
. Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause
and sought free agency
.
, Flood played in the same outfield in West Oakland's McClymonds High School
as Vada Pinson
and Frank Robinson
. Flood signed with the Cincinnati Redlegs
in 1956
, and made a handful of appearances for the team in 1956–57 before being traded to the Cardinals in December 1957. For the next twelve seasons he became a fixture in center field for St. Louis; although he struggled at the plate from 1958–1960, his defensive skill was apparent. He had his breakthrough year after Johnny Keane
took over as manager in 1961, batting .322, and followed by hitting .296 in 1962 with 12 home run
s. He continued to improve offensively in 1963
, hitting .302 and scoring a career-high 112 runs
, third most in the NL; he also had career bests in doubles
(34), triples
(9) and stolen base
s (17), and collected 200 hits in an NL-leading 662 at bat
s. In that year he received the first of his seven consecutive Gold Gloves.
He earned his first All-Star
selection in 1964 while leading the NL in hits and batting .311. His 679 at bats led the NL again and were the fifth highest total in league history to that point, setting a team record by surpassing Taylor Douthit
's 1930
total of 664; Lou Brock
broke the team record three years later with 689. He also had a league-leading 211 hits. Batting leadoff in the 1964 World Series
against the New York Yankees
, he hit only .200 but scored in three of the Cardinal victories as the team won in seven games for its first championship since 1946. In 1965 Flood had his greatest power output, with 11 home runs and 83 runs batted in
while hitting .310. He made the All-Star team again in 1966, a season in which he did not commit an error
in the outfield; his record errorless streaks of 226 games (NL record) and 568 total chances
(major league record) ran from September 3, 1965 to June 4, 1967.
In 1967
he had his highest batting mark with a .335 average, though his other batting totals fell off from previous years, in helping the Cardinals to another championship. In the 1967 World Series
against the Boston Red Sox
he hit a woeful .179, but made some crucial contributions. In Game 1, he advanced Brock to third base twice, putting him in position to score both runs in a 2–1 victory; in Game 3, he drove in Brock with the first run of a 5–2 win. As team co-captain
(with Tim McCarver
) in 1968
he had perhaps his best year, earning his third All-Star selection and finishing fourth in the MVP
balloting (won by teammate Bob Gibson
) on the strength of a .301 batting average and 186 base hits. Against the San Francisco Giants
that year, Flood was involved in the final outs of the first back-to-back no-hitter
s in Major League history. On September 17 he struck out for the final out of Gaylord Perry
's 1-0 gem. The next day, he caught Willie McCovey
's fly ball for the final out of Ray Washburn
's 2-0 no-hitter. Had he not notably misjudged a Jim Northrup fly ball (ruled a triple) with two out in the seventh inning of Game 7 of the 1968 World Series
against the Detroit Tigers
, the Cardinals might have won their third championship of the decade; Detroit scored twice on the play, with Northrup later coming in for a 3-0 lead, and won the game 4-1. Up to that point Flood had been enjoying the best Series of his career, despite dealing with personal problems at home, hitting .286 with three steals.
In 1969
, despite the lower pitching mound instituted that season which saw a general rise in batting average league wide, Flood's batting average slipped to .285. His brother was arrested during the season, and he participated in a couple of public confrontations with Cardinals' management. Early in the season his conflict with the Cardinals involved his desire for a $100,000 salary. Late in the season he publicly criticized the team for reorganizing the team before they were officially eliminated. He received his seventh Gold Glove this season, just as other events in his career began to affect the entire sport.
Flood collected the first hit in a Major League regular season game in Canada
. He doubled off Montreal Expos
pitcher Larry Jaster
in the first inning of the Expos' inaugural home game, on April 14, 1969 at Jarry Park
. (Jaster, a Cardinal teammate of Flood's just the year before, had been selected by the Expos in the expansion draft
.)
was unfair in that it kept players beholden for life to the team with whom they originally signed, even when they had satisfied the terms and conditions of those contracts.
On October 7, 1969, the Cardinals traded Flood, Tim McCarver
, Byron Browne
, and Joe Hoerner
to the Philadelphia Phillies
for Dick Allen
, Cookie Rojas
, and Jerry Johnson
. Flood refused to report to the moribund Phillies, citing the team's poor record and dilapidated Connie Mack Stadium
, and its belligerent – and, he felt, racist
– fans. Some reports say he was also irritated that he had learned of the trade from a reporter; but Flood wrote in his autobiography that he was told by mid-level Cardinals management, and was angry that the call did not come from the general manager. He met with Phillies general manager John Quinn
, who left the meeting believing that he had convinced Flood to report to the team. Flood stood to forfeit a lucrative $100,000 ($ as of ) contract if he did not report; but after a meeting with players' union
head Marvin Miller
, who informed him that the union was prepared to fund a lawsuit, he decided to pursue his legal options.
In a letter to Baseball Commissioner
Bowie Kuhn
, Flood demanded that the commissioner declare him a free agent
:
Flood was influenced by the events of the 1960s that took place in the United States. According to Marvin Miller, Flood told the executive board of the players' union, "I think the change in black consciousness in recent years has made me more sensitive to injustice in every area of my life." However, he added that what he was doing in challenging the reserve clause was primarily as a major league ballplayer.
laws. Even though Flood was making $90,000 at the time, he likened the reserve clause to slavery
; it was a controversial analogy, even among those who opposed the reserve clause. Among those testifying on his behalf were former players Jackie Robinson
and Hank Greenberg
, and former owner Bill Veeck
; no active players testified, nor did any attend the trial. Although players' union representatives had voted unanimously to support Flood, rank-and-file players were strongly divided, with many fervently supporting the management position.
Flood v. Kuhn
(407 U.S. 258), eventually went before the Supreme Court
. Flood's attorney, former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg
, asserted that the reserve clause depressed wages and limited players to one team for life. Major League Baseball's counsel countered that Commissioner Kuhn had acted "for the good of the game."
Ultimately the Supreme Court, invoking the principle of stare decisis
("to stand by things decided"), ruled 5–3 in favor of Major League Baseball, citing as precedent a 1922 ruling in Federal Baseball Club v. National League
(259 U.S. 200). Justice Lewis Powell
recused himself due to ownership of stock in Anheuser-Busch
, which owned the Cardinals.
In 1970 the owners and the MLBPA agreed to the "10/5 Rule" (sometimes called the "Curt Flood Rule"), which allows players with ten years of Major League service, the last five with the same team, to veto any trade.
season. The Cardinals sent two minor leaguers to the Phillies in compensation for Flood's refusal to report. One of them—centerfielder Willie Montañez
—went on to a 14-year major league career. In November 1970 the Phillies traded Flood and four other players to the Washington Senators
. He signed a $110,000 contract with Washington but played only 13 games of the 1971
season, with a .200 batting average and lackluster play in center field. Former teammate Gibson later wrote that Flood once returned to his locker to find a funeral wreath on it. Despite manager Ted Williams
' vote of confidence, Flood retired. He had a lifetime batting average of .293 with 1861 hits, 85 home runs, 851 runs and 636 RBI.
Later that year Flood published a memoir entitled The Way It Is, in which he spelled out in detail his argument against the reserve clause. Four years later, in what is now remembered as the Seitz decision
, arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled that since pitchers Andy Messersmith
and Dave McNally
played for one season without a contract, they were entitled to become free agents. The ruling essentially nullified the reserve clause and opened the door to widespread free agency.
After his retirement Flood purchased a bar in the resort town of Palma
, on the island of Majorca, where he had moved in the wake of bankruptcy of his Curt Flood Associates business, two lawsuits, and an IRS lien on a home he bought for his mother. He returned to baseball as a member of the Oakland Athletics
broadcasting team in 1978
. In 1988
he was named commissioner of the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association
. In the mid 1990s he joined the management group of the United Baseball League (UBL), which was envisioned as a smaller alternative to MLB. While the group negotiated a long-term TV contract with Liberty Media, the deal (and the UBL) failed when Liberty was absorbed by MLB contractor Fox Sports. In his spare time, he painted; his 1989 oil portrait of Joe DiMaggio
sold at auction for $9,500 in 2006.
in 1995, Flood was initially given a 90 to 95 percent chance of survival. He underwent radiation treatments, chemotherapy
, and throat surgery which left him unable to speak.
On January 20, 1997, Flood died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California
after developing pneumonia
. He was survived by his five children, Debbie, Gary, Shelly, Scott and Curt Flood Jr., a wife, actress Judy Pace
and her two daughters. Flood was interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood California.
in 1997 via the Baseball Fans and Communities Protection Act of 1997. Numbered HR 21 (Flood's Cardinals uniform number) and introduced in the House of Representatives on the first day of the 105th Congress by Rep.
John Conyers, Jr. (D
-Michigan
), the legislation established federal antitrust law protection for major league baseball players, to the same extent as provided for other
professional athletes. Similar legislation, titled the Curt Flood Act of 1998 (SB 53) and sponsored by Sen.
Orrin Hatch
(R
-Utah
), was introduced and passed in the Senate the following year.
Curt Flood is a non-participating but pivotal character in the book Our Gang
by Philip Roth
.
In July 2011, HBO Sports premiered The Curious Case of Curt Flood, an in-depth documentary account of Flood's personal life and career, which features dozens of interviewees, including Flood biographer Brad Snyder, author of 2007's A Well-Paid Slave.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player who spent most of his career as a center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
for the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
. A defensive standout, he led the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
in putout
Putout
In baseball statistics, a putout is given to a defensive player who records an out by one of the following methods:* Tagging a runner with the ball when he is not touching a base...
s four times and in fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
twice, winning Gold Glove Award
Gold Glove Award
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League and the American League , as voted by the...
s in his last seven full seasons from 1963–1969. He also batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
over .300 six times, and led the NL in hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
(211) in 1964
1964 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees ; Bob Gibson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 7 at Shea Stadium: National League, 7–4; Johnny Callison, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Minnesota...
. He retired with the third most games in center field (1683) in NL history, trailing only Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
and Richie Ashburn
Richie Ashburn
Don Richard "Richie" Ashburn , also known by the nicknames, "Putt-Putt", "The Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" due to his light-blond hair, was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball. He was born in Tilden, Nebraska...
.
Flood became one of the pivotal figures in the sport's labor
Labor relations
Industrial relations is a multidisciplinary field that studies the employment relationship. Industrial relations is increasingly being called employment relations because of the importance of non-industrial employment relationships. Many outsiders also equate industrial relations to labour relations...
history when he refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause
Reserve clause
The reserve clause is a term formerly employed in North American professional sports contracts. The reserve clause, contained in all standard player contracts, stated that, upon the contract's expiration the rights to the player were to be retained by the team to which he had been signed...
and sought free agency
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
.
Playing career
Born in Houston, Texas and raised in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Flood played in the same outfield in West Oakland's McClymonds High School
McClymonds High School
McClymonds High School is a public high school in the West Oakland neighborhood of Oakland, California, USA.In addition to being the third oldest high school in Oakland, it is the larger of the two high schools in West Oakland , and the only high school in West Oakland operated by the Oakland...
as Vada Pinson
Vada Pinson
Vada Edward Pinson, Jr. was an American center fielder and coach in Major League Baseball. Pinson played in the major leagues for 18 years, from 1958 through 1975, and his greatest seasons were with the Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds, for whom he played from 1958–68.Pinson combined power, speed and...
and Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson , is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956–1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues...
. Flood signed with the Cincinnati Redlegs
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
in 1956
1956 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: New York Yankees over Brooklyn Dodgers ; Don Larsen, MVP*All-Star Game, July 10 at Griffith Stadium: National League, 7-3-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Cienfuegos *College World Series: Minnesota...
, and made a handful of appearances for the team in 1956–57 before being traded to the Cardinals in December 1957. For the next twelve seasons he became a fixture in center field for St. Louis; although he struggled at the plate from 1958–1960, his defensive skill was apparent. He had his breakthrough year after Johnny Keane
Johnny Keane
John Joseph Keane was an American manager in Major League Baseball. Born in St. Louis, Missouri and known as a patient manager of young players, Keane participated in one of the strangest turns of events in baseball history in , his final season at the helm of the St...
took over as manager in 1961, batting .322, and followed by hitting .296 in 1962 with 12 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s. He continued to improve offensively in 1963
1963 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers beat New York Yankees ; Sandy Koufax, MVP*All-Star Game, July 9 at Municipal Stadium: National League, 5–3; Willie Mays, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: USC...
, hitting .302 and scoring a career-high 112 runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
, third most in the NL; he also had career bests in doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
(34), triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
(9) and stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s (17), and collected 200 hits in an NL-leading 662 at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s. In that year he received the first of his seven consecutive Gold Gloves.
He earned his first All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
selection in 1964 while leading the NL in hits and batting .311. His 679 at bats led the NL again and were the fifth highest total in league history to that point, setting a team record by surpassing Taylor Douthit
Taylor Douthit
Taylor Lee Douthit , was a Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and Cincinnati Reds from 1923 to 1933.-Career:...
's 1930
1930 in baseball
-Champions:*World Series: Philadelphia Athletics over St. Louis Cardinals -Statistical leaders:1Single season record for RBIs-American League final standings:-National League final standings:-Negro National League final standings:...
total of 664; Lou Brock
Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league...
broke the team record three years later with 689. He also had a league-leading 211 hits. Batting leadoff in the 1964 World Series
1964 World Series
The 1964 World Series pitted the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals against the American League champion New York Yankees, with the Cardinals prevailing in seven games. St...
against the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
, he hit only .200 but scored in three of the Cardinal victories as the team won in seven games for its first championship since 1946. In 1965 Flood had his greatest power output, with 11 home runs and 83 runs batted in
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
while hitting .310. He made the All-Star team again in 1966, a season in which he did not commit an error
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
in the outfield; his record errorless streaks of 226 games (NL record) and 568 total chances
Total chances
In baseball statistics, total chances , also called chances offered, represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is calculated as follows: Total Chances = assists + putouts + errors. Chances accepted refers to the total of putouts and assists only. Fielding...
(major league record) ran from September 3, 1965 to June 4, 1967.
In 1967
1967 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over Boston Red Sox ; Bob Gibson, MVP*All-Star Game, July 11 at Anaheim Stadium: National League, 2-1 ; Tony Pérez, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...
he had his highest batting mark with a .335 average, though his other batting totals fell off from previous years, in helping the Cardinals to another championship. In the 1967 World Series
1967 World Series
The 1967 World Series matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Boston Red Sox in a rematch of the 1946 World Series, with the Cardinals winning in seven games for their second championship in four years and their eighth overall...
against the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
he hit a woeful .179, but made some crucial contributions. In Game 1, he advanced Brock to third base twice, putting him in position to score both runs in a 2–1 victory; in Game 3, he drove in Brock with the first run of a 5–2 win. As team co-captain
Captain (sports)
In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field...
(with Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
) in 1968
1968 in baseball
-The Year of the Pitcher:In Major League Baseball, the trend throughout the 1960s was of increased pitching dominance, caused by enforcing a larger strike zone beginning in 1963...
he had perhaps his best year, earning his third All-Star selection and finishing fourth in the MVP
MLB Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...
balloting (won by teammate Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
) on the strength of a .301 batting average and 186 base hits. Against the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
that year, Flood was involved in the final outs of the first back-to-back no-hitter
No-hitter
A no-hitter is a baseball game in which one team has no hits. In Major League Baseball, the team must be without hits during the entire game, and the game must be at least nine innings. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter"...
s in Major League history. On September 17 he struck out for the final out of Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Jackson Perry is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1962-1983 for eight different teams in his career. During a 22-year baseball career, Perry compiled 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts, and a 3.11 earned run average...
's 1-0 gem. The next day, he caught Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...
's fly ball for the final out of Ray Washburn
Ray Washburn
Ray Clark Washburn is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Washburn, a right-hander, pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals from to and the Cincinnati Reds in ....
's 2-0 no-hitter. Had he not notably misjudged a Jim Northrup fly ball (ruled a triple) with two out in the seventh inning of Game 7 of the 1968 World Series
1968 World Series
The 1968 World Series featured the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers, with the Tigers winning in seven games for their first championship since 1945, and the third in their history...
against the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
, the Cardinals might have won their third championship of the decade; Detroit scored twice on the play, with Northrup later coming in for a 3-0 lead, and won the game 4-1. Up to that point Flood had been enjoying the best Series of his career, despite dealing with personal problems at home, hitting .286 with three steals.
In 1969
1969 in baseball
-Expansion:Four expansion teams joined Major League Baseball for this season: the San Diego Padres, the Kansas City Royals, the Seattle Pilots, and the first MLB team in Canada, the Montreal Expos. To accommodate the additional teams, the two leagues were split into two divisions of East and West...
, despite the lower pitching mound instituted that season which saw a general rise in batting average league wide, Flood's batting average slipped to .285. His brother was arrested during the season, and he participated in a couple of public confrontations with Cardinals' management. Early in the season his conflict with the Cardinals involved his desire for a $100,000 salary. Late in the season he publicly criticized the team for reorganizing the team before they were officially eliminated. He received his seventh Gold Glove this season, just as other events in his career began to affect the entire sport.
Flood collected the first hit in a Major League regular season game in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. He doubled off Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
pitcher Larry Jaster
Larry Jaster
Larry Edward Jaster is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Montreal Expos and Atlanta Braves between 1965 and 1972 with the exception of 1971....
in the first inning of the Expos' inaugural home game, on April 14, 1969 at Jarry Park
Jarry Park Stadium
Jarry Park Stadium is a former baseball stadium in Montreal which served as home to the Montreal Expos, Major League Baseball's first Canadian franchise, from 1969–1976. It served as a temporary home until the domed Olympic Stadium was finished and made available to the Expos...
. (Jaster, a Cardinal teammate of Flood's just the year before, had been selected by the Expos in the expansion draft
1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft
The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball which would begin play in the 1969 season....
.)
Challenge of the reserve clause
Despite his outstanding playing career, Flood's principal legacy developed off the field. He believed that Major League Baseball's decades-old reserve clauseReserve clause
The reserve clause is a term formerly employed in North American professional sports contracts. The reserve clause, contained in all standard player contracts, stated that, upon the contract's expiration the rights to the player were to be retained by the team to which he had been signed...
was unfair in that it kept players beholden for life to the team with whom they originally signed, even when they had satisfied the terms and conditions of those contracts.
On October 7, 1969, the Cardinals traded Flood, Tim McCarver
Tim McCarver
James Timothy "Tim" McCarver is an American former Major League Baseball catcher, and a current sportscaster in residence for Fox Sports.-Playing career:...
, Byron Browne
Byron Browne
Byron Ellis Browne is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Browne was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1963. In his first Major League at-bat, Browne lined out in the second inning of Sandy Koufax's 1965 perfect game. Browne had the dubious distinction of...
, and Joe Hoerner
Joe Hoerner
Joseph Walter Hoerner was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher. A native of Dubuque, Iowa, the left-hander was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1957 season. He played for the Houston Colt .45s , St...
to the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
for Dick Allen
Dick Allen
Richard Anthony Allen is a former Major League Baseball player and R&B singer. He played first and third base and outfield in Major League Baseball and ranked among his sport's top offensive producers of the 1960s and early 1970s...
, Cookie Rojas
Cookie Rojas
Octavio Victor Rojas Rivas , better known as Cookie Rojas, is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and outfielder who played for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Kansas City Royals. After retiring as a player he went on to both coach and manage in the...
, and Jerry Johnson
Jerry Johnson (baseball)
Jerry Michael Johnson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher from through . He batted and threw right-handed.-Third baseman:Johnson was signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent third baseman in...
. Flood refused to report to the moribund Phillies, citing the team's poor record and dilapidated Connie Mack Stadium
Connie Mack Stadium
Shibe Park, known later as Connie Mack Stadium, was a major league baseball park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When it opened April 12, 1909, it became baseball's first steel-and-concrete stadium. In different eras it was home to "The $100,000 Infield", "The Whiz Kids" and "The 1964 Phold"...
, and its belligerent – and, he felt, racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
– fans. Some reports say he was also irritated that he had learned of the trade from a reporter; but Flood wrote in his autobiography that he was told by mid-level Cardinals management, and was angry that the call did not come from the general manager. He met with Phillies general manager John Quinn
John Quinn (baseball executive)
John Jacob Quinn was an American executive in Major League Baseball and a member of one of the game's most celebrated multi-generational families....
, who left the meeting believing that he had convinced Flood to report to the team. Flood stood to forfeit a lucrative $100,000 ($ as of ) contract if he did not report; but after a meeting with players' union
Major League Baseball Players Association
The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...
head Marvin Miller
Marvin Miller
Marvin Julian Miller is a former executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association , from 1966 to 1982. Under Miller's direction, the players' union was transformed into one of the strongest unions in the United States...
, who informed him that the union was prepared to fund a lawsuit, he decided to pursue his legal options.
In a letter to Baseball Commissioner
Baseball Commissioner
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kuhn
Bowie Kent Kuhn was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, , to September 30,...
, Flood demanded that the commissioner declare him a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
:
- December 24, 1969
- After twelve years in the major leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States and of the several States.
- It is my desire to play baseball in 1970, and I am capable of playing. I have received a contract offer from the Philadelphia club, but I believe I have the right to consider offers from other clubs before making any decision. I, therefore, request that you make known to all Major League clubs my feelings in this matter, and advise them of my availability for the 1970 season.
Flood was influenced by the events of the 1960s that took place in the United States. According to Marvin Miller, Flood told the executive board of the players' union, "I think the change in black consciousness in recent years has made me more sensitive to injustice in every area of my life." However, he added that what he was doing in challenging the reserve clause was primarily as a major league ballplayer.
Flood v. Kuhn
Commissioner Kuhn denied Flood's request for free agency, citing the propriety of the reserve clause and its inclusion in Flood's 1969 contract. In January of 1970 Flood filed a $1 million lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball, alleging violation of federal antitrustAntitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
laws. Even though Flood was making $90,000 at the time, he likened the reserve clause to slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
; it was a controversial analogy, even among those who opposed the reserve clause. Among those testifying on his behalf were former players Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
and Hank Greenberg
Hank Greenberg
Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...
, and former owner Bill Veeck
Bill Veeck
William Louis Veeck, Jr. , also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and a franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his publicity stunts to raise attendance. Veeck was at various times the owner of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis...
; no active players testified, nor did any attend the trial. Although players' union representatives had voted unanimously to support Flood, rank-and-file players were strongly divided, with many fervently supporting the management position.
Flood v. Kuhn
Flood v. Kuhn
Flood v. Kuhn was a 1972 United States Supreme Court decision upholding, by a 5–3 margin, the antitrust exemption first granted to Major League Baseball in Federal Baseball Club v. National League. It arose from a challenge by St. Louis Cardinals' outfielder Curt Flood when he refused to be...
(407 U.S. 258), eventually went before the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
. Flood's attorney, former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg was an American statesman and jurist who served as the U.S. Secretary of Labor, Supreme Court Justice and Ambassador to the United Nations.-Early life:...
, asserted that the reserve clause depressed wages and limited players to one team for life. Major League Baseball's counsel countered that Commissioner Kuhn had acted "for the good of the game."
Ultimately the Supreme Court, invoking the principle of stare decisis
Stare decisis
Stare decisis is a legal principle by which judges are obliged to respect the precedents established by prior decisions...
("to stand by things decided"), ruled 5–3 in favor of Major League Baseball, citing as precedent a 1922 ruling in Federal Baseball Club v. National League
Federal Baseball Club v. National League
Federal Baseball Club v. National League, , is a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Sherman Antitrust Act did not apply to Major League Baseball.-Background:...
(259 U.S. 200). Justice Lewis Powell
Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr.
Lewis Franklin Powell, Jr. was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He developed a reputation as a judicial moderate, and was known as a master of compromise and consensus-building. He was also widely well regarded by contemporaries due to his personal good manners and...
recused himself due to ownership of stock in Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. , is an American brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and 18 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the...
, which owned the Cardinals.
In 1970 the owners and the MLBPA agreed to the "10/5 Rule" (sometimes called the "Curt Flood Rule"), which allows players with ten years of Major League service, the last five with the same team, to veto any trade.
Aftermath and post-baseball life
Flood sat out the entire 19701970 in baseball
-Major Leagues:*World Series MVP: Brooks Robinson*All-Star Game, July 14 at Riverfront Stadium: National League, 5-4 ; Carl Yastrzemski, MVP-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Navegantes del Magallanes *College World Series: USC...
season. The Cardinals sent two minor leaguers to the Phillies in compensation for Flood's refusal to report. One of them—centerfielder Willie Montañez
Willie Montañez
Guillermo Montañez Naranjo is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Even though he was productive, Montañez often carried the label "hot dog" for the whimsical manner in which he approached the game. After hitting home runs, he would trot very slowly around the bases, shuffling his feet on...
—went on to a 14-year major league career. In November 1970 the Phillies traded Flood and four other players to the Washington Senators
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
. He signed a $110,000 contract with Washington but played only 13 games of the 1971
1971 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:National League: Pittsburgh PiratesAmerican League: Baltimore Orioles1971 World Series: Pittsburgh def. Baltimore , 4 games to 3.Inter-league playoff: Pittsburgh declined challenge by Tokyo Yomiuri Giants....
season, with a .200 batting average and lackluster play in center field. Former teammate Gibson later wrote that Flood once returned to his locker to find a funeral wreath on it. Despite manager Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
' vote of confidence, Flood retired. He had a lifetime batting average of .293 with 1861 hits, 85 home runs, 851 runs and 636 RBI.
Later that year Flood published a memoir entitled The Way It Is, in which he spelled out in detail his argument against the reserve clause. Four years later, in what is now remembered as the Seitz decision
Seitz decision
The Seitz decision was a ruling by arbitrator Peter Seitz on December 23, 1975 which declared that Major League Baseball players became free agents upon playing one year for their team without a contract, effectively nullifying baseball's reserve clause...
, arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled that since pitchers Andy Messersmith
Andy Messersmith
John Alexander "Andy" Messersmith is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was the 12th overall pick of the 1966 amateur draft by the California Angels...
and Dave McNally
Dave McNally
David Arthur "Dave" McNally was a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher from until . He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles and played with them every season except for his final season with the Montreal Expos.McNally has the unique distinction as the only pitcher in Major League...
played for one season without a contract, they were entitled to become free agents. The ruling essentially nullified the reserve clause and opened the door to widespread free agency.
After his retirement Flood purchased a bar in the resort town of Palma
Palma
Palma, La Palma, Palmas, or Las Palmas may refer to:- Africa :* Palma, Mozambique, city* La Palma, one of the Canary Islands, Spain* Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, city and capital of Canary Islands, Spain...
, on the island of Majorca, where he had moved in the wake of bankruptcy of his Curt Flood Associates business, two lawsuits, and an IRS lien on a home he bought for his mother. He returned to baseball as a member of the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
broadcasting team in 1978
1978 in baseball
-Other champions:*Caribbean World Series: Indios de Mayagüez *College World Series: USC*Japan Series: Yakult Swallows over Hankyu Braves *Little League World Series: Pin-Kuang, Pin-Tung, Taiwan-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player...
. In 1988
1988 in baseball
See also: 1988 Major League Baseball season-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Oakland Athletics ; Orel Hershiser, MVP*American League Championship Series MVP: Dennis Eckersley...
he was named commissioner of the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association
Senior Professional Baseball Association
The Senior Professional Baseball Association was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over . The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72 game schedule...
. In the mid 1990s he joined the management group of the United Baseball League (UBL), which was envisioned as a smaller alternative to MLB. While the group negotiated a long-term TV contract with Liberty Media, the deal (and the UBL) failed when Liberty was absorbed by MLB contractor Fox Sports. In his spare time, he painted; his 1989 oil portrait of Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
sold at auction for $9,500 in 2006.
Death
Flood stopped smoking in 1979 and drinking in 1986, despite having been a heavy drinker and smoker for years. Diagnosed with throat cancerEsophageal cancer
Esophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
in 1995, Flood was initially given a 90 to 95 percent chance of survival. He underwent radiation treatments, chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
, and throat surgery which left him unable to speak.
On January 20, 1997, Flood died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
after developing pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. He was survived by his five children, Debbie, Gary, Shelly, Scott and Curt Flood Jr., a wife, actress Judy Pace
Judy Pace
Judy Lenteen Pace is an American stage and screen actress.-Career Biography:Pace became a familiar face in the 1970s on both the big and small screen, appearing in popular blaxploitation movies and popular television shows. She played a character on the soap opera One Life to Live...
and her two daughters. Flood was interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood California.
Legacy
Flood's legacy was acknowledged in CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
in 1997 via the Baseball Fans and Communities Protection Act of 1997. Numbered HR 21 (Flood's Cardinals uniform number) and introduced in the House of Representatives on the first day of the 105th Congress by Rep.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
John Conyers, Jr. (D
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
), the legislation established federal antitrust law protection for major league baseball players, to the same extent as provided for other
professional athletes. Similar legislation, titled the Curt Flood Act of 1998 (SB 53) and sponsored by Sen.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Orrin Hatch
Orrin Hatch
Orrin Grant Hatch is the senior United States Senator for Utah and is a member of the Republican Party. Hatch served as the chairman or ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1993 to 2005...
(R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
), was introduced and passed in the Senate the following year.
Curt Flood is a non-participating but pivotal character in the book Our Gang
Our Gang (novel)
Our Gang is Philip Roth's fifth novel. A marked departure from his previous book, the popular Portnoy's Complaint, Our Gang is a political satire written in the form of a closet drama. Centered around the character of "Trick E...
by Philip Roth
Philip Roth
Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
.
In July 2011, HBO Sports premiered The Curious Case of Curt Flood, an in-depth documentary account of Flood's personal life and career, which features dozens of interviewees, including Flood biographer Brad Snyder, author of 2007's A Well-Paid Slave.
External links
- Curt Flood collected news and commentary at the Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....