BHM Profile #2: Curt Flood

"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." - Curt Flood in a 1969 letter to MLB Commissioner Bowie Khan

Curt Flood (1938-1997)

(For an excellent summary of Curt Flood's battle for free agency click here)

After Jackie Robinson, Curt Flood is the most important figure in the history of professional sports in the United States. Whereas Jackie Robinson was the man who integrated baseball, Curt Flood was the man who made it possible for all baseball players (and eventually, by extension, all professional athletes) to become free agents and thus have greater control over their labor.

Prior to free agency, baseball had something called the "Reserve Clause" in place. The Reserve Clause effectively (1) gave ownership exclusive rights over a player for the duration of his career (2) kept salaries perpetually low because players could not negotiate with multiple teams and (3) forced players into retirement or other extenuating circumstances if he could not come to an agreement with his club. The Reserve Clause always gave ownership the advantage over players.

When Mr. Flood challenged the Reserve Clause (he did so because at the end of the 1969 season, he was traded to Philadelphia against his wishes) he was doing something very uncommon for black athletes and especially rare for black baseball players: activism against the institution. As much as I love Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Ernie Banks, and Hank Aaron, none of these men really did as much for baseball (and other professional athletes) as Curt Flood. In fact, when Mr. Flood against Major League Baseball to the Supreme Court, no other active baseball player neither offered testimony on his behalf nor attended the trial. Maybe it's appropriate that Jackie Robinson was one of two retired players whom offered testimony (the other being Hank Greenberg).

Here was the outcome of the Supreme Court case of Flood v. Khun (as summarized in The Atlantic):

"In effect, the court ruled that yes, Flood should have the right be a free agent, but that baseball's antitrust exemption could only be removed by an act of Congress and that free agency for players should be attained through collective bargaining."

In 1976, the Reserve Clause was eliminated when "when pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally agreed to play a season without a contract" and an independent arbitrator declared the players to be free agents. The direct results of this event were threefold: (1) baseball salaries sky-rocketed, (2) attendance and TV ratings also sky-rocketed because of increased fan interest due to free agency and teams' ability to acquire premium players, and (3) other professional sports followed-suit in terms of eliminating their versions of the Reserve Clause and instituting free agency; however, this story does not have a "happy ending" for its protagonist.

Unfortunately for Mr. Flood, he never had an opportunity to benefit from free agency. After sitting-out for the entirety of the 1970 season, Curt Flood made his final Major League appearance on April 25, 1971 for the Washington Senators. During this time, Mr. Flood was despised by baseball fans and his fellow players for trying to "destroy baseball." Moreover, he received multiple death threats on a daily basis. Read this:

"As Miller had predicted, Flood never benefited from the revolution he helped begin. High-strung and sensitive, Flood had been a heavy drinker practically since the time he became a professional ballplayer, and by the early 1970s he was an alcoholic. His first marriage fell apart in the mid-1960s from the combination of alcohol abuse, long stretches away from home, and the animosities his unwavering Civil Rights stance inspired. After the Supreme Court decision, he was bombarded with hate mail from fans who accused him of trying to destroy baseball; his teammate Bob Gibson estimated 'He got four or five death threats a day.'"

"Flood left the country and opened a bar in Majorca, Spain, frequented by American sailors. Plagued by increasingly debt, including unpaid child support, and guilt that he had been a bad father, Flood was finally admitted into a Barcelona psychiatric hospital. His sister sent him the money to return to the U.S. In one of the most moving scenes in the documentary, journalist Richard Reeves says, 'Being with him at that time was like poking your finger in an open wound. He was a broken man and bleeding.'"

It would be years after the emergence of free agency that Mr. Flood experienced the recognition that he rightfully deserved. Curt Flood sacrificed so much for his fellow professional athletes and he suffered alone. One of the special considerations about this story is the manner in which Mr. Flood really "put himself out there" when other baseball players (black and white) did not. The overwhelming majority of ball-players (and this is an especial consideration for black players who were only 20 or so removed from Jackie Robinson and were still experiencing discrimination in many ways) did not want to risk losing what they had, even in the face of blatantly unfair treatment. I respect Curt Flood so much for standing up and sacrificing a stellar career for what he believed in. Mr. Flood's actions have immensely benefited every American who enjoys any type of professional sport  from athletes to fans to (ironically) owners and corporations.

Yet how many of us know his name or are aware of his contributions?

Could you imagine professional American sports without Curt Flood's contributions? Could you imagine the NFL, NBA, MLB, or NHL without free agency? I can't.