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 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.”įlood added: “It is my desire to play baseball in 1970, and I am capable of playing. He wrote: “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. A player could refuse to play, but then he was forbidden from playing for any other team.įlood, backed by the Major League Baseball Players Association, sued commissioner Bowie Kuhn and MLB, arguing that the reserve clause reduced competition and thus was an antitrust violation.įlood’s famous letter to Kuhn in December 1969 was the opening assault on baseball’s chokehold on the players. The reserve clause said that once a player was drafted, that player became the sole property of team ownership and therefore had no ability to negotiate a contract and was not entitled to any bargaining rights. Flood refused to accept a trade but the terms of baseball’s reserve clause required him to play for Philadelphia. Flood said he didn’t expect to play professional baseball again after the Supreme Court denied his request to be allowed to negotiate with any team he chose after the 1969 season.Īfter the 1969 season, Flood was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. Flood was a genius-level defensive player and at one point carried a 223-game errorless streak.īut Flood’s greatest contribution to the game was challenging MLB power structure and status quo.Ĭurt Flood (right) with his attorney Allan H. Louis, including the Cardinals’ World Series-winning teams of 19. ![]() In 1968, Sports Illustrated called Flood baseball’s best center fielder. ![]() After Willie Mays, Flood was my favorite center fielder. While Messersmith and McNally were hailed, the hero of free agency was Flood. In 1975, an arbitrator ruled that two white pitchers, Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally, could negotiate with any team as free agents. Baseball players eventually won their freedom. ![]() Under the reserve clause, players were tied to their teams until the clubs decided otherwise. Juneteenth is the celebration of an overdue freedom.įlood’s loss at the Supreme Court level in 1972 was a stinging rebuke to a courageous player who dared to attack a deeply entrenched system of sports bondage. On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived and announced to more than a quarter-million illegally enslaved Black people in places such as Galveston Bay, Texas, that they had been free - for the past two years. Juneteenth celebrates a long overdue end to exploitation. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court rejecting Curt Flood’s suit that sought to liberate MLB players from the reserve clause.īoth dates are troublesome in their own way. ![]() For me, June 19 also represents a significant event in sports history. On Sunday, the nation will celebrate Juneteenth, the date when slaves in Texas were told they were free.
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