![]() Flood presented his cause to a reticent audience that ultimately granted unanimous approval. In mid-December, he boarded a flight to Puerto Rico, where player representatives from each team would gather for their annual meeting. Now, he needed the approval of union members to pay for his legal fees. And that even if he had found success, the process would take so long that he would not personally benefit. Marvin Miller, the head of the fledgling union, warned Flood that a legal challenge of the reserve clause would almost certainly fail. He marshaled the help of a personal attorney and then the players’ association. Once his anger subsided, Flood decided to sue. ![]() Under the reserve clause, his only choices in the matter were to accept the new assignment or not play. It proved prescient.Īt season’s end, Flood got a phone call from an underling of the general manager, a man he described as a “mid-level front office coffee drinker.” The short conversation was notice of his trade to the Phillies. Louis, where he’d flourished after a trade early in his career. Flood told friends that he could see the end coming in St. Gussie Busch, the owner of the Cardinals, began the following spring with a condescending lecture to the players, who had just boycotted camp over a pension dispute. That treatment hastened his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.įlood’s relationship with the Cardinals slowly began souring after a misplay in Game 7 of the 1968 World Series led to a crushing loss to the Tigers. He was barred from lodging or even dressing with his white teammates. His first spring training in Florida was not only an introduction to pro ball it was also his first meeting with Jim Crow. That changed when he signed with the Reds. He grew up in Oakland, Calif., where he was shielded from the most jagged edges of racism. On the bottom left was a line drawing of paintbrushes and a palette.īy Christmas Eve, Flood’s resolve had been steeled by a career spent accumulating grievances. The name of the business was flanked one side by a stylized script version of his initials, and on the other by the address of a tidy colonial that housed the business. Teammates called him “Rembrandt,” hence his elaborate letterhead. ![]() In August of 1968, the cover of Sports Illustrated featured a photo of Flood suspended in the air, seemingly enmeshed in midsummer ivy at Wrigley Field the caption declared him “baseball’s best centerfielder.”įlood preferred stylish clothes, dated an actress, and basked in the attention that came from his oil paintings. “He looked like a dancer when he was playing,” Pace said last week. He was nearing the end of a 12-year run with the Cardinals that would include three National League pennants, two World Series championships, three all-star game selections and seven consecutive Gold Glove Awards. Louis, he became the front man for the newly-formed Curt Flood & Assoc., Inc., a commercial art and photography enterprise. In 1967, at the height of his prominence in St. The letterhead itself signaled what Curt Flood had achieved - and what he was about to give up - when he chose to upend the whole system. “The letter is brilliant,” said Flood’s widow, the actress Judy Pace. Five decades on, the document still offers hints of strength, vulnerability and courage. They stand as the opening skirmish of a battle that led to free agency and changed professional sports. They hold significance within the context of the nation’s civil rights movement. ![]() “After twelve years in the Major Leagues,” the opening line reads, “I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes.”įlood’s words have since been analyzed and anthologized by scholars. The first step had to be a public declaration of his freedom. Instead, he resolved to challenge the injustice in court, despite knowing that his odds of victory were slim and that the fight would cost him his career. ![]() But because baseball’s longstanding reserve clause gave teams total control of its players, Flood’s only recourse would have been to quit. Flood had been traded from the Cardinals to the Phillies. Curt Flood sent the letter 50 years ago today, on Christmas Eve, to baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn. ![]()
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