![]() “It was cut short because he said, ‘Thus far and no farther. Flood was a player for the Cincinnati Reds and St. Curt Flood’s legacy is that he gave his life for a whole lot of baseball players who don’t know who he is. Flood’s team lost again in Appeals court, but the case eventually made it to the U.S. “He had a clearly building Hall of Fame career cut short,” said Donald Fehr, the former MLBPA executive director who now leads the NHL players' union. In this video, Dawson tells the story of the legendary Curt Flood. The lawsuit lasted three weeks in Federal court before a ruling favored the owners. Flood's letter to Kuhn is on display in Cooperstown, too. Miller was elected to the Hall last year by the modern era committee, an encouraging development for Flood's advocates. Players' unions from the NFL, NHL, NBA and MLS had representatives at Thursday's news conference, and 102 members of Congress signed the letter to the Hall of Fame. "It's so important that players know the other sacrifices that players made in order to keep the integrity of the game where it is," Cole said. Pitcher Gerrit Cole mentioned Flood when he signed his $324 million contract with the New York Yankees in December. 'Curt Flood was Black, and him being Black made it harder for him. The significance of his contributions is not lost on today's players. 'When Curt Flood did it for me, I understood what was going on,' said Jackson, who signed with the Yankees for 3.5 million in 1976. The couple dated in the ’60s and married in 1986. 293 batting average and his defensive prowess, Flood could have retired with Hall of Fame-worthy numbers had he spent several more seasons as a regular player.įlood battled alcoholism before rebuilding his life with the help of Pace Flood, an actress ("Peyton Place," “Cotton Comes to Harlem”) who broke down barriers for black women in Hollywood. He only played in 13 more games in the majors after his letter to Kuhn. “I will tell people to this day: Curt did not lose that case,” Pace Flood said.įlood's efforts essentially ended his career. On the other hand, these themes worked parasitically as Flood struggled to make his. The following July, owners and the union agreed to a labor contract that included free agency. When the Cardinals traded Curt Flood to the Phillies in 1969. The union kept fighting, and the reserve clause was struck down in December 1975 by arbitrator Peter Seitz in a case involving pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally. They said they could not intervene because it was up to Congress to alter the antitrust exemption created in 1922 when the Supreme Court ruled baseball was not interstate commerce. Curt Flood fought for free agency, changed pro sports. Cole took the unusual move of thanking Marvin Miller, the first president of the MLB Players Association, and Curt Flood, who fought the league for the right to free agency. The Supreme Court ruled against him in a 5-3 decision in 1972, but the justices agreed Flood's arguments had merit. ![]() ![]() Flood refused the trade and, with the backing of players' union executive director Marvin Miller, filed a federal lawsuitin January 1970 challenging the reserve clause. ![]()
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