Flood Should Make Hall of Fame
It's Time for Voters to Honor Curt Flood's Contributions to Baseball
Feb 26, 2007
Every so often a player deserves to make the Hall of Fame for contributions to the sport that do not end up on the score sheet. In 1939, the voters elected Candy Cummings because he invented the curveball. Six years later, the Hall welcomed Roger Bresnahan, not because he was a great player, but because he was the first catcher to don a mask and protective padding. Both of these innovations led to changes in the game that are still with us today.
But no player changed the game more than Curt Flood. Without Flood, there would be no salary arbitration, no free agency, and baseball players would still be tied to their teams in perpetuity.
In 1969, St. Louis Cardinals management told Flood that he was being traded to Philadelphia. Flood refused to go. He provided the reasons for his actions in a letter to then-commissioner Bowie Kuhn:
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.
It is my desire to play baseball in 1970, and I am capable of playing. I have received a contract offer from the Philadelphia club, but I believe I have the right to consider offers from other clubs before making any decision. I, therefore, request that you make known to all Major League clubs my feelings in this matter, and advise them of my availability for the 1970 season.
Kuhn refused to honor Flood’s request and ordered him to accept the trade. Flood countered by suing the Commissioner. He argued that baseball’s reserve clause, a provision in every major league contract that gave the team exclusive rights to retain a player and prevent him from offering his services on the open market, was a violation of federal antitrust laws. Flood was the first player to challenge the reserve clause since the Supreme Court ruled in 1922 that baseball was not a “business” and therefore was exempt from antitrust regulation. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld that ruling in Flood’s case.
However, Flood’s actions inspired other players to challenge the system. In 1972, the players went on strike for the first time in baseball history in a collective effort to force owners to add salary arbitration to all contracts. The owners caved. By 1975, in a dispute involving pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally, an arbitrator ruled that the reserve clause only bound a player to his team for the next season. Therefore, if a player provided his services without signing a new contract, he was no longer bound to the team once the season ended. Both pitchers played without contracts that season, and became free agents the following spring. Teams now had to bid against each other to sign players. The new open market caused salaries to increase dramatically. The average salary before Flood made his challenge was just under $25,000. By 2005, that had risen to almost $2.5 million.
In addition to his pioneering efforts in the courtroom, Flood was a very fine player. He hit .293 for his career, won seven Gold Gloves and starred on three World Series teams. He was also a four time all star who finished in the Top 20 in MVP voting six years in a row.
Unfortunately, when the Verans Committee voted on February 27, 2007, they decided to elect No New Hall of Famers.
