| Curt Flood | |
|---|---|
 Flood with the Cardinals | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born:(1938-01-18)January 18, 1938 Houston, Texas, U.S. | |
| Died: January 20, 1997(1997-01-20) (aged 59) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 9, 1956, for the Cincinnati Redlegs | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 25, 1971, for the Washington Senators | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .293 |
| Home runs | 85 |
| Runs batted in | 636 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Curtis Charles Flood Sr. (January 18, 1938 – January 20, 1997) was an American professional baseball player and activist.[1][2][3] He was acenter fielder who played 15 seasons inMajor League Baseball for theCincinnati Redlegs,St. Louis Cardinals, andWashington Senators.
Flood was a three-time All-Star, aGold Glove winner for seven consecutive seasons, andbatted over .300 in six seasons.[4] He led theNational League (NL) inhits (211) in 1964 and insingles, 1963, 1964, and 1968. Flood also led the National League inputouts as center fielder four times and infielding percentage as center fielder three times. He retired with the third most games in center field (1683) in NL history, trailingWillie Mays andRichie Ashburn.
Flood became one of the pivotal figures in the sport'slabor history when he refused to accept a trade following the1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to theU.S. Supreme Court.[5] Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball'sreserve clause and soughtfree agency.
Born inHouston, Texas, and raised inOakland, California,[6] Flood played in the same outfield in West Oakland'sMcClymonds High School asVada Pinson andFrank Robinson. All three would eventually sign professional contracts with the Cincinnati Reds.[7] Flood transferred toOakland Technical High School, from which he graduated.
Flood signed with theCincinnati Redlegs in1956 and made a handful of appearances for the team in 1956–57. However, Flood was deemed expendable with future star centerfielderVada Pinson preparing to be promoted to the majors. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in December 1957.[8]
For the next 12 seasons, he became a fixture in center field for St. Louis; although he struggled at the plate from1958 to1960, his defensive skill was apparent. He had his breakthrough year at the plate afterJohnny Keane took over as manager in1961: he batted .322, followed by .296 in1962 with 11home runs. He continued to improve offensively in1963, hitting .302 and scoring a career-high 112runs, third-most in the NL; he also had career bests indoubles (34),triples (9) andstolen bases (17) and collected 200 hits in an NL-leading 662at bats. In that year he received the first of his seven consecutive Gold Gloves.[9]
He earned his firstAll-Star selection in1964. He batted .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 surpassingTaylor Douthit's 1930 total of 664;Lou Brock broke the team record three years later with 689. He tied for tops in hits with The Pittsburgh Pirates' Roberto Clemente with 211.[10] Batting leadoff in theWorld Series against theNew 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 since1946. In1965, Flood had his greatest power output with 11 home runs and 83runs batted in while he was hitting .310. He made the All-Star team again in1966, a season in which he did not commit a singleerror in the outfield; his record errorless streak of 226 games (NL record for an outfielder[11]) and 568total chances (major league record) ran from September 3, 1965, to June 4, 1967.
In1967, he had his highest batting mark with a .335 average (though his other batting totals fell off from previous years), helping the Cardinals to another championship. In theWorld Series against theBoston 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 Brock in with the first run of a 5–2 win. As team co-captain (withTim McCarver) in1968 he had perhaps his best year, earning histhird All-Star selection and finishing fourth in theMVP balloting (won by teammateBob Gibson) on the strength of a .301 batting average and 186 base hits. Against theSan Francisco Giants that year, Flood was involved in the final outs of the first back-to-backno-hitters in major league history. On September 17, he struck out for the final out ofGaylord Perry's 1–0 gem. The next day, he caughtWillie McCovey's fly ball for the final out ofRay Washburn's 2–0 no-hitter.[12][13]
Torrential rains the night before had soaked the Busch Stadium field, and had he not momentarily lost his footing chasing aJim Northrup fly ball (ruled a triple) with two out in the seventh inning of game 7 of theWorld Series against theDetroit 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,[14] hitting .286 with three steals.
After the season ended, Flood was upset when Cardinals' presidentGussie Busch, and CEO of team ownerAnheuser-Busch, offered him only a $5,000 raise, far short of the $90,000 salary he believed he deserved after his stellar regular season. He believed Busch, with whom he had previously enjoyed a close personal friendship, was expressing his displeasure over the error that had likely cost the team the Series. While Busch eventually relented, Flood took it personally when Busch publicly chewed the team out after most playersboycotted spring training before the 1969 season for a week, accusing players of forgetting that fans were what kept the sport going (although he did not mention any player by name).[15]
In1969, 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.[14] Late in the season, he publicly criticized the team for reorganizing before they were officially eliminated. He received his seventh Gold Glove that 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 offMontreal Expos pitcherLarry Jaster in the first inning of the Expos' inaugural home game on April 14 atJarry Park. (Jaster, a Cardinal teammate of Flood's the year before, had been selected by the Expos in theexpansion draft.)
Despite his outstanding playing career, Flood's principal legacy developed off the field. He believed that Major League Baseball's decades-oldreserve clause was unfair in that it kept players beholden for life to the team with which 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, andJoe Hoerner to thePhiladelphia Phillies forDick Allen,Cookie Rojas, andJerry Johnson. Flood refused to report to the moribund Phillies, citing the team's poor record and dilapidatedConnie Mack Stadium, and for what he alleged were belligerent—andracist—fans. Flood said, "That I didn't think that I was going to report to Philadelphia, mainly because I didn't want to pick up twelve years of my life and move to another city."[16] Some reports say he was also irritated that he had learned of the trade from a reporter;[17] but Flood wrote in his autobiography that he was told by midlevel Cardinals management and was angry that the call did not come from the general manager,[18] further alienating him from Busch.[15] He met with Phillies' general managerJohn Quinn, who left the meeting believing that he had persuaded Flood to report to the team.[18] Flood stood to forfeit a lucrative $100,000 (equivalent to $809,683 in 2024)[19] contract if he did not report; but after a meeting withplayers' union headMarvin Miller,[20] who informed him that the union was prepared to fund a lawsuit, he decided to pursue his legal options.[9]
In a letter toBaseball CommissionerBowie Kuhn, Flood demanded that the commissioner declare him afree agent:
Flood was influenced by the events of the 1960s that took place in the United States. According toMarvin 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 he was challenging thereserve clause primarily as a major league ballplayer.[21]
Commissioner Kuhn denied Flood's request for free agency, citing the propriety of the reserve clause and its inclusion in Flood's 1969 contract. On January 16, 1970, Flood filed a $1 million lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball, alleging violation of federalantitrust laws.[22] Flood likened the reserve clause toslavery.[23][6] Among those testifying on his behalf were former playersJackie Robinson andHank Greenberg, and former ownerBill Veeck. Although players' union representatives had voted unanimously to support Flood, rank-and-file players were divided, with many players believing that eliminating the reserve clause would hurt the game.[9] Notably,Carl Yastrzemski stated that: "Personally, I am against what Curt Flood is trying to do because it would ruin the game."[24]
Notable players who openly supported Flood includedDick Allen and former teammateLou Brock. Severalbench players supported Flood as well, including pitcherPete Richert who stated, "As far as I'm concerned, I think Curt Flood deserves a lot of praise. He has guts. I don't know if I could give up a good salary for a principle. I'm behind him." Additionally, former Dodgers star pitcherSandy Koufax, who staged a highly-publicizedjoint holdout with teammateDon Drysdale before the 1966 season, praised Flood: "I have to give Curt the greatest amount of credit for believing in what he's doing. At the salary he's making, that's the kind of money which he's never going to get back."[25]
Flood v. Kuhn (407 U.S. 258) was argued before theSupreme Court on March 20, 1972.[26][27][28] Flood's attorney, former Supreme Court JusticeArthur Goldberg, asserted that the reserve clause depressed wages and limited players to one team for life. Major League Baseball's counsel, Louis Hoynes, countered that if Flood won his case, "it would be a shambles."[29] On June 19, 1972, the Supreme Court, invoking the principle ofstare decisis ("to stand by things decided"), ruled 5–3 in favor of Major League Baseball,[30][31][32] citing as precedent a 1922 ruling inFederal Baseball Club v. National League (259 U.S. 200). JusticeLewis Powell recused himself owing to his ownership of stock inAnheuser-Busch, which owned the Cardinals.[9]
Despite the loss in the Supreme Court, the baseball players' union continued to push to eliminate the reserve clause. It was finallystruck down in December 1975 in a case involving playersDave McNally andAndy Messersmith. In July 1976, the union and the baseball team owners agreed to a contract that included free agency.[33]
In 1998, the federal government passed the Curt Flood Act of 1998.[34][35] The act, passed by the 105th Congress and signed into law by President Clinton, revokes baseball's antitrust status (save for expansion, minor leagues, and franchise relocation), a status that major league baseball had enjoyed for seventy-five years after the Supreme Court had ruled that baseball was eligible for the status under interstate commerce.[36] This act did exactly what Flood wanted; it stopped owners from controlling the players' contracts and careers.
Flood also helped bring about the10/5 Rule, also known as the Curt Flood Rule. The rule states that when a player has played for a team for five straight years and played in MLB for a total of ten years, he has to give the club his consent to be traded.[37]
After Flood's lawsuit failed, Flood was blackballed from baseball. There were questions similar to "Do you realize you won't be able to play in MLB ever again?" or "You realize you are going to lose your job?" Everyone Flood consulted was convinced he would be blackballed from baseball. Flood soon realized that his career was over as he later said,
It would be difficult to come back. And besides, I don't think I'll be getting the opportunity to play again. As big as it is, baseball is a closely-knit unit. I doubt even one of the 24 men controlling the gamewould touch me with a ten-foot pole. You can't buck theEstablishment.[38]
Flood sat out the entire 1970 season.[9] During this period he was bombarded with hate mail from fans, who accused him of trying to destroy baseball; his teammate Bob Gibson estimated "He got four or five death threats a day."[2] The Cardinals sent two minor leaguers to the Phillies as compensation for Flood's refusal to report. One of them—centerfielderWillie Montañez—went on to a 14-year major league career. In November 1970, the Phillies traded Flood and four other players to theWashington Senators. He signed a $110,000 contract with Washington but played only thirteen games of the1971 season, with a .200 batting average and lackluster play in center field. Despite managerTed Williams's vote of confidence, Flood left the team in late April and retired.[39][40][41] He had a lifetime batting average of .293 with 1,861 hits, 85 home runs, 851 runs, and 636 RBI. Defensively, Flood posted a .987 fielding percentage in his major-league career.[42] Later that year Flood published a memoir entitledThe Way It Is in which he spelled out in detail his argument against the reserve clause.[14]
After his retirement, Flood purchased a bar in the resort town ofPalma on the island ofMajorca, where he had moved in the wake of the bankruptcy of his Curt Flood Associates business, two lawsuits, and anIRS lien on a home he bought for his mother.[14] He returned to baseball as a member of theOakland Athletics broadcasting team in1978. In 1988 he was named commissioner of the short-livedSenior Professional Baseball Association.[9] In the mid-1990s, he joined the management group of theUnited Baseball League (UBL), which was envisioned as a smaller alternative to MLB. While the group negotiated a long-term TV contract withLiberty Media, the deal (and the UBL) failed when Liberty was absorbed by MLB contractorFox Sports.[43] In his spare time, he painted; his 1989 oil portrait ofJoe DiMaggio sold at auction for $9,500 in 2006.[44]
Flood was married twice. His first marriage was to Beverly Collins from 1959 until 1966, and together they had five children. Flood later married actressJudy Pace in 1986, whom he had met in the 1960s (Pace, recently divorced, had been married to actor Don Mitchell for the previous 13 years). They remained married until Flood's death (10 years).[45]
Diagnosed withthroat cancer in 1995, Flood was initially given a 90–95 percent chance of survival. He underwent radiation treatments,chemotherapy, and throat surgery, which left him unable to speak.[46]
On January 20, 1997, just two days after his 59th birthday, Flood died atUCLA Medical Center inLos Angeles, California, after developingpneumonia,[6][47][48][49] and was interred inInglewood Park Cemetery inInglewood.[50]
Just before his death, Flood's legacy was acknowledged inCongress in 1997 via theBaseball Fans and Communities Protection Act of 1997.[51] Numbered HR 21 (Flood's Cardinals uniform number) and introduced in the House of Representatives on the first day of the105th Congress byRep.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.
Curt Flood is a nonparticipating but pivotal character in the bookOur Gang byPhilip Roth.[52]
Flood's struggle for free agency was featured inKen Burns' documentary seriesBaseball in 1994. He was inducted into theBaseball Reliquary'sShrine of the Eternals in 1999.[53]
In 2020, 102 members of the U.S. Congress wrote a letter to theBaseball Hall of Fame, co-signed by Players' unions from the NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLS, asking the Hall of Fame to admit Flood.[33]
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
