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. The significance of his contributions is not lost on today's players. 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. The following July, owners and the union agreed to a labor contract that included free agency. 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. 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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