Flood, Curtis Charles

Flood, Curtis Charles
▪ 1998

      American baseball player (b. Jan. 18, 1938, Houston, Texas—d. Jan. 20, 1997, Los Angeles, Calif.), challenged the major league player reserve system in court and, though he lost his suit, paved the way for players to become free agents in baseball and other professional sports. The reserve system that had existed in big league baseball since 1879 gave the clubs complete ownership of their players, who had no say over trades and no leverage in contract negotiations except the threat of retirement. Flood, traded by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies after the 1969 season, refused to report to his new team and, with the help of the players union, decided to fight the reserve system, asserting that he was "the rightful proprietor of my own person and my own talents." The ensuing court battle lasted more than two years and ended when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court decision in favour of major league baseball. Though Flood and the union lost, their arguments resulted in a legal decision that clearly perceived problems in the business operations of baseball. Flood was signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1956 and spent two years in the minor leagues before being traded in 1958 to the Cardinals. For the next 12 years, he played centre field for them, earning seven gold gloves for his defensive artistry and helping the team capture three National League pennants and two World Series championships. He sat out the 1970 season in order to pursue his lawsuit, returning to the game in 1971 with the Washington Senators. Advancing age, the year off, and the emotional drain of his legal battles had led to the deterioration of his skills, and he retired from baseball after appearing in only 13 games with the Senators. He achieved a career batting average of .293, accumulating 1,861 hits and 851 runs, and gained a reputation as one of the finest defensive players ever to patrol centre field. Flood, an accomplished painter, then moved to Majorca. In 1976 he returned to the U.S., where he became a broadcaster for the Oakland Athletics and later worked as commissioner of a youth baseball league.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Flood v. Kuhn — Infobox SCOTUS case Litigants=Flood v. Kuhn ArgueDate=March 20 ArgueYear=1972 DecideDate=June 19 DecideYear=1972 FullName=Curt Flood v Bowie Kuhn, et al. USVol=407 USPage=258 Citation= Prior=309 F. Supp. 793 (SDNY 1970), preliminary injunction… …   Wikipedia

  • Flood, Curt — ▪ American athlete byname of  Curtis Charles Flood   born Jan. 18, 1938, Houston, Texas, U.S. died Jan. 20, 1997, Los Angeles, Calif.       American professional baseball player whose antitrust (antitrust law) litigation challenging the major… …   Universalium

  • Charles Theriault — Personal details Political party Democrat Residence Madawaska, Aroostook County, Maine Occupation State Legislator Charles Kenneth Theriault is a Maine politician. Theriault represents part of Aroostook County and resides in the town of Madawaska …   Wikipedia

  • Charles Lyell — For other people named Charles Lyell, see Charles Lyell (disambiguation). Sir Charles Lyell, Bt Born …   Wikipedia

  • Curt Flood — Flood in 1971 Center fielder Born: January 18, 1938(1938 01 18) Houston, Texas Died: January 20, 1997 …   Wikipedia

  • Calvin Coolidge — This article is about the United States president. For the ship, see SS President Coolidge. Calvin Coolidge 30th President of the United States In office August 2, 19 …   Wikipedia

  • performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical.       The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains …   Universalium

  • Liste der Mitglieder des US-Repräsentantenhauses aus Pennsylvania — Bob Brady, derzeitiger Vertreter des ersten Kongresswahlbezirks von Pennsylvania …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Herbert Hoover — Infobox President | name=Herbert Clark Hoover nationality=American order=31st President of the United States term start=March 4, 1929 term end=March 4, 1933 predecessor=Calvin Coolidge successor=Franklin D. Roosevelt order2=3rd United States… …   Wikipedia

  • Maine House of Representatives — Maine State Legislature Type Type …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”