Curt Flood

Curt Flood
Flood in 1971
Center fielder
Born: January 18, 1938(1938-01-18) Houston, Texas
Died: January 20, 1997(1997-01-20) (aged 59) Los Angeles, California
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 9, 1956 for the Cincinnati Redlegs
Last MLB appearance
April 25, 1971 for the Washington Senators
Career statistics
Batting average	.293
Hits	1,861
Runs batted in	636
Teams
Cincinnati Redlegs (1956–1957) St. Louis Cardinals (1958–1969) Washington Senators (1971)
Career highlights and awards
3× All-Star (1964, 1966, 1968) 2× World Series champion (1964, 1967) 7× Gold Glove Award winner (1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969)

Curtis Charles Flood (January 18, 1938 – January 20, 1997) 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 putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards 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.

Playing career

Born in Houston, Texas and raised in Oakland, California,^[1] Flood played in the same outfield in West Oakland's McClymonds High School as Vada Pinson and Frank Robinson.^[2] 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 runs. 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 bases (17), and collected 200 hits in an NL-leading 662 at bats. In that year he received the first of his seven consecutive Gold Gloves.^[3]

Flood in 1957.

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-hitters 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.^[4][5] 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,^[6] 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.^[6] 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.)

Challenge of the reserve clause

Cardinals general manager Bing Devine's letter to Flood, informing him that he had been traded to the Phillies.

Flood's letter to Bowie Kuhn in December 1969. Flood states, "I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes." He then states that the Phillies have offered him a contract, but "I believe I have the right to consider offers from other clubs before making any decisions."

Despite his outstanding playing career, Flood's principal legacy developed off the field. He believed that Major League Baseball's decades-old reserve clause 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;^[7] 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.^[8] He met with Phillies general manager John Quinn, who left the meeting believing that he had convinced Flood to report to the team.^[8] Flood stood to forfeit a lucrative $100,000 ($565,606 as of 2011)^[9] contract if he did not report; but after a meeting with players' union head Marvin Miller,^[10] who informed him that the union was prepared to fund a lawsuit, he decided to pursue his legal options.^[3]

In a letter to Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, Flood demanded that the commissioner declare him a free agent:

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.^[3][8]

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.^[11]

Flood v. Kuhn

Main article: 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 antitrust laws.^{[citation needed]} Even though Flood was making $90,000 at the time,^[1] he likened the reserve clause to slavery; it was a controversial analogy, even among those who opposed the reserve clause.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[3]

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."^{[citation needed]}

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.^[3]

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.^[12]

Aftermath and post-baseball life

Flood sat out the entire 1970 season.^[3] 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^[6] 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.^[6] 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.^[3] 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.^[13] In his spare time, he painted; his 1989 oil portrait of Joe DiMaggio sold at auction for $9,500 in 2006.^[14]

Death

Flood stopped smoking in 1979 and drinking in 1986, despite having been a heavy drinker and smoker for years. ^[15] Diagnosed with throat cancer 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.^[16]

On January 20, 1997, Flood died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California after developing pneumonia.^[1] He was survived by his five children, Debbie, Gary, Shelly, Scott and Curt Flood Jr., a wife, actress Judy Pace and her two daughters.^[17] Flood was interred in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Inglewood California.^[18]

Legacy

Flood's legacy was acknowledged in Congress in 1997 via the Baseball Fans and Communities Protection Act of 1997.^[19] 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.^[20]

Curt Flood is a non-participating but pivotal character in the book Our Gang by Philip Roth.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[15]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Durso, Joseph (January 21, 1997). "Curt Flood Is Dead at 59; Outfielder Defied Baseball". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/01/21/sports/curt-flood-is-dead-at-59-outfielder-defied-baseball.html. Retrieved 2008-02-28. 
2. ^ "Remembering Vada Pinson- MIsc. Baseball". Blog at WordPress.com. http://miscbaseball.wordpress.com/2010/01/09/remembering-vada-pinson/trackback/. Retrieved 1 October 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Pietrusza, David; Matthew Silverman; Gershman, Michael (2000). Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia. New York: Total Sports. pp. 364–366. ISBN 1-892129-34-5. 
4. ^ Pankin, Mark. "Retrosheet Boxscore: San Francisco Giants 1, St. Louis Cardinals 0". www.retrosheet.org. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1968/B09170SFN1968.htm. Retrieved June 6, 2009. 
5. ^ Pankin, Mark. "Retrosheet Boxscore: St. Louis Cardinals 2, San Francisco Giants 0". www.retrosheet.org. http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1968/B09180SFN1968.htm. Retrieved June 6, 2009. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Weiss, Stuart L. (2007). The Curt Flood Story: The Man Behind the Myth. University of Missouri Press. ISBN 9780826217400. 
7. ^ Snyder, Brad (2006). A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports. Viking Adult. pp. 472. ISBN 0-670-03794-X. 
8. ^ ^{a b c} Carter, Richard D.; Flood, Curt (1971). The way it is. New York: Trident Press. pp. 236. ISBN 0-671-27076-1. 
9. ^ Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–2008. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
10. ^ Lupien, Tony; Lowenfish, Lee (1980). The imperfect diamond: the story of baseball's reserve system and the men who fought to change it. New York: Stein and Day. pp. 207–221. ISBN 0-8128-2709-0. 
11. ^ Miller, Marvin; (1991). A Whole Different Ball Game: The Sport and Business of Baseball. New York, NY: Carol Publishing Group. pp. 185-186. ISBN 1-55972-067-0.
12. ^ "Curt Flood's Fight For Free Agency". September 3, 2009. http://www.scribd.com/doc/19378675/Curt-Floods-Fight-For-Free-Agency. Retrieved 2011-07-11. 
13. ^ Zimbalist, Andrew (2003). May The Best Team Win: Baseball Economics And Public Policy. Washington, DC. The Brookings Institution. pp.28 ISBN 0-8157-9728-1
14. ^ "Items For The Auction of May 19th & 20th, 2006". HuntAuctions.com.
15. ^ ^{a b} "HBO: The Curious Case of Curt Flood". Home Box Office, Inc.. http://www.hbo.com/sports/the-curious-case-of-curt-flood/index.html#/sports/the-curious-case-of-curt-flood/synopsis/about.html. Retrieved 1 October 2011. 
16. ^ Snyder, Brad (2007). A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports. Plume. p. 345. ISBN 0-452-28891-6. 
17. ^ Hodges, Jim (22 January 1997). "Flood Funeral Set for Monday in Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1997-01-22/sports/sp-21083_1_curt-flood. 
18. ^ Huber, John. "Curt Flood ( 1938-1997) -Find A Grave Memorial". http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3549. Retrieved 1 October 2011. 
19. ^ "Baseball Fans and Communities Protection Act of 1997". THOMAS. Library of Congress. January 7, 1997. http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.21.IH:. Retrieved July 6, 2009. 
20. ^ Curt Flood Act of 1998: Application of Federal Antitrust Laws to Major League Baseball Players. CongressionalResearch.com Retrieved September 15, 2011

• Flynn, Neil F. (2006). Baseball's Reserve System: The Case and Trial of Curt Flood v. Major League Baseball. Springfield, IL: Walnut Park Group. ISBN 0-9776578-0-9. 

External links

	Biography portal
	Baseball portal

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Curt Flood Photographs from the Western Historical Manuscript Collection at the University of Missouri–St. Louis
• "Curt Flood". Find a Grave. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3549. Retrieved August 28, 2010. 
• Curt Flood collected news and commentary at the Los Angeles Times

Persondata
Name	Flood, Curt
Alternative names
Short description	baseball player
Date of birth	January 18, 1938
Place of birth	Houston, Texas
Date of death	January 20, 1997
Place of death	Los Angeles, California