![]() ![]() ![]() “As a lifelong Cardinals fan, I have always admired the talent he brought to the game and his bravery off the field. ![]() “A copy of the letter Curt Flood wrote in 1969 is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and he should be there too,” said Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO). It’s about time we all come together to recognize these distinctly American actions and induct Curt Flood into the Hall of Fame.” “Flood sacrificed his own career so players after him could have free agency, leaving one of the biggest impacts on the game to this day. David Trone (D-MD), who organized the efforts behind the Congressional letter. “Curt Flood changed the game of baseball when he courageously spoke truth to power in the name of what was right,” said Rep. Amir Lowery, former MLS player and current member of Player Relations team (MLSPA).Johnny Andris, Staff Counsel, Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA).Clarence Nesbitt, General Counsel, National Basketball Players Association (NBPA).Dylan Mabin, Cornerback for the Raiders.Andre Collins, Former NFL player (Washington Redskins) and Executive Director, Professional Athletes Foundation, National Football League Players Association (NFLPA).Don Fehr, Former Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) Executive Director and current National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA) Executive Director.Chris Capuano, former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and Director of Operations, MLBPA.Xavier James, Chief Operating Officer, MLBPA.It has also been endorsed by UNITE HERE, a labor union that represents 300,000 working people across Canada and the United States in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, distribution, laundry, transportation, and airport industries. The effort has been endorsed by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), the National Hockey League Players’ Association (NHLPA), and the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA). The letter currently has more than 100 signatures. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Ann Wagner (R-MO), the Members announced that they will send a letter to the Chair of the Board of the National Baseball Hall of Fame urging the induction of Curt Flood. Led by Representative David Trone (D-MD), Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO), and Reps. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Flood’s courageous challenge to Major League Baseball’s (MLB) reserve system, which helped create free agency within the MLB and transformed professional sports. WASHINGTON, DC – Today, a bipartisan and bicameral coalition of Members of Congress called for All-Star baseball player Curt Flood’s induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. But those remembering Flood described a quiet, noble man, who undoubtedly had something better in mind.Hannah Muldavin (Trone), Boyd (Blunt), Engelhardt (Clay), Bryant (Wagner), Dahl (MLBPA), During Black History Month, Members of Congress and Professional Athletes Call for All-Star Baseball Player Curt Flood’s Induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame This year marks the 50th anniversary of Flood’s pioneering efforts for workers’ rights in professional sports Many of today's fans look at free-agency today and see sky-high salaries, labor strife, and disappearing team loyalty for many, Flood's legacy has turned sour. "With the odds overwhelmingly against him, he was willing to take a stand for what he knew was right." Flood's fight was not about greed but about rights, about raising the status of players above that of commodity. "Every major league baseball player owes Curt Flood a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid," pitchers David Cone and Tom Glavine, the current AL and NL player representatives, said in a statement. On the day of Flood's death, that legacy was not lost on today's players. But in 1975, an arbitrator granted free agency to Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally, in effect ending the reserve system and clearing the way for the free agent system. The legal battle cost Flood the 1970 season, and ultimately his career. Claiming that baseball had violated anti-trust laws, Flood filed a lawsuit that reached all the way to the Supreme Court, which finally ruled against him in 1972. Flood, traded to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1969 season, refused to report, instead applying to Bowie Kuhn to be declared a free agent. But it was Flood's defiance of baseball's reserve clause, which prohibited players from choosing the teams they played for, that brought free-agency to baseball and changed the game forever. 300 six times from 1956-71 and helped the Cardinals win the World Series in 19. Louis Cardinals center fielder who died Monday of throat cancer at 59, was a premier player, a seven-time Gold Glove winner who hit over. Follow ANGELES: Curt Flood, the former St. ![]()
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