![]() His letter would lead to a Supreme Court case and prove to be a major milestone in the development of free agency in pro sports. That same day, Billie Jean King tweeted: “50 years ago yesterday, Curt Flood declared himself to be an #MLB free agent. His letter would lead to a Supreme Court case and prove to be a major milestone in the development of free agency in pro sports. Do the right thing #MLB,” she wrote.ĥ0 years ago yesterday, Curt Flood declared himself to be an #MLB free agent. “No doubt Curt Flood should be a Hall of Famer- I assumed he was there already. On Christmas Day, former tennis star Martina Navratilova tweeted her support. It meets in December 2020 to vote on inductees for the following year. The panel of HOF members, executives and veteran media members selects players or figures from 1950 to 1969 who are no longer eligible for regular induction. He can be inducted to the Hall of Fame only through its Golden Days era committee, which meets every five years. Flood is already in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the Cardinals Hall of Fame. “If Cooperstown is the place where the history is kept, then in the absence of Curt Flood … there’s a continuity issue,” his son said.įlood’s surviving children are behind a lobbying campaign to spread the word about his legacy to professional athletes and their unions, sports agents, entertainment figures, journalists and younger fans not familiar with his story. Now, nearly 23 years after his death in January 1997, Flood’s children and others are heralding what they call his heroic sacrifice in a push for his enshrinement in Cooperstown, New York. ‘No doubt Curt Flood should be a Hall of Famer’: former tennis star Martina Navratilova “He had been ostracized by the game he loved,” said daughter Shelly Flood, 58, a drug and alcohol youth counselor in Los Angeles. He was shunned by MLB, sports writers and even former teammates. He drifted apart from his five children and battled alcoholism and money problems. It also effectively ended Flood’s career, leaving him a broken man. His rejection of the reserve clause was the advent of free agency, which gave professional baseball players more control over their careers and allowed them to reap the massive contracts many players receive today. “After 12 years in the Major Leagues, I do not feel that I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes,” the letter read in part, with Flood not accepting his team’s right to trade him to the Philadelphia Phillies. Louis Cardinals wrote a brief but momentous letter to then Commissioner of Baseball Bowie Kuhn challenging the league’s stranglehold over its players. ![]() ![]() On Christmas Eve 1969, the former All-Star center fielder for the St. “It was a long road back and, just as he was coming full circle and being of service to his community and young ball players, he became ill with throat cancer and died at the same age I am today.” “My dad lost his health and his way,” said Curt Flood Jr., who’s 59. A half century after Curt Flood’s defiance paved the way for free agency in professional sports, his surviving children are lobbying for their once-estranged father’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |