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- ⚾Curt Flood vs MLB
⚾Curt Flood vs MLB
Flood gets ruling from the Supreme Court
June 19, 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court rules against former St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Curt Flood, who had sued Major League Baseball over the reserve clause after being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. The ruling upholds baseball’s antitrust exemption, which was originally granted in 1922.
Curt Flood’s Stand Against Baseball’s Reserve Clause
Curt Flood was a three-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner for the St. Louis Cardinals, but his most lasting contribution to the game of baseball happened off the field. In 1969, Flood challenged the league’s long-standing reserve clause—a rule that bound players to their teams indefinitely, even after their contracts expired.
On October 7, 1969, the Cardinals traded Flood and three other players to the Philadelphia Phillies. Flood, however, refused to report, citing the Phillies' poor playing conditions, dilapidated stadium, and what he called “racist” fans. He was also angered by how the trade was handled—learning the news not from a team executive, but through secondary sources. Believing he had the right to choose where he worked, Flood turned to the players’ union for support.
With encouragement from union chief Marvin Miller, Flood wrote to Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, declaring: “I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes.” When Kuhn rejected his appeal, Flood filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball in January 1970, seeking $1 million in damages and an end to the reserve clause.
The case, Flood v. Kuhn, reached the Supreme Court in 1972. Flood’s attorney, former Justice Arthur Goldberg, argued that the clause violated antitrust laws. Although legends like Jackie Robinson and Bill Veeck testified on Flood’s behalf, the Court ruled 5–3 against him, citing legal precedent.
Flood was effectively blackballed from baseball and never regained his playing career. He sat out the 1970 season, briefly joined the Washington Senators in 1971, then retired. Still, his sacrifice wasn’t in vain. His actions paved the way for future legal challenges that eventually ended the reserve clause. In 1975, players Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally successfully dismantled it, ushering in the era of free agency.
Though Curt Flood never benefited from the changes he helped ignite, the 1998 Curt Flood Act and the “10-and-5 Rule” (now nicknamed after him) honor his role in reshaping player rights. His stand remains one of the most courageous labor actions in sports history.
Did you know?
June 19, 1942, At Braves Field, Boston Braves outfielder and future hall of farmer Paul Waner reaches the 3,000-hit circle with a single against Truett “Rip” Sewell. The 39-year-old Waner, collects the milestone hit against his former team, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Waner’s Braves lose the game, 7-6, in 11 innings…Nicknamed ‘Big Poison’ he becomes the seventh major leaguer to accomplish this feat and he was the first for a National Leaguer since Honus Wagner, 28 years before.
TRIVIA:
Which former Chicago Cub had at least a hundred runs batted in per season in ten out of twelve consecutive seasons?
Hint: #1 No American League batter has hit more career three-home run games.
Hint: #2 He emphasized orange and black on his way out.
June 19, 1952 At Ebbets Field, Carl Erskine throws a no-hitter against the Cubs in the Dodgers' 5-0 victory. A third-inning walk to the opposing pitcher, William Ramsdell, which accounts for the only runner to reach base, may have been a result of skipper Chuck Dressen telling the 25 year-old right-hander to speed up his pitches due to an impending storm.
June 19, 1954, the Washington Senators sign a 17-year-old Idaho kid named Harmon Killebrew.
June 19, 1955 Ted Williams, held hitless for three straight games, blasts a pair of towering home runs as the Red Sox overpower Cleveland, 11 - 8. The Associated Press reports: "Williams leaned into a fastball by rookie fireballer Herb Score for a 450-foot drive into the dead centerfield bleachers in the 5th inning to end a hitless string at ten official times at bat. In the 8th inning, he connected again for a 430-foot drive into the right field stands off the veteran Bob Feller."
June 19, 1963 At Fenway Park, In his first major league at-bat, Gates Brown delivers a pinch-hit home run in the Tigers' 9-2 loss to Boston. He is the 11th player to homer in his first career atbat and the homer will be the first of 16 round-trippers the Tiger outfielder will hit coming off the bench during his 13-year career in Detroit.
June 19, 1973 At Dodger Stadium Los Angeles outffielder Willie Davis collects his 2,000th career hit. Known as 3-Dog, reaches the plateau in front of the home crowd with a two-run home run off future hall of Famer, Phil Niekro in the team's 3-0 victory over Atlanta. His shot chases Niekro from the game.
June 19, 1974 Steve Busby tosses his second no-hitter in 14 months, giving up just one walk, beating the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-0, in the first-ever no-no thrown by a Kansas City hurler at Royals Stadium. George Scott is the only man to reach base with his second inning walk. Last season, the 23 year-old right-hander as a rookie held Detroit hitless in a 3-0 complete-game victory at Tiger Stadium for the team’s first no-hitter in franchise history.
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June 19, 1977 - A brawl marred the Father’s Day 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers-Chicago Cubs baseball game. On an otherwise calm Father’s Day at Dodger Stadium, Reggie Smith became enraged after being hit on the right ankle by a pitch thrown by Chicago’s Rick Reuschel in the third inning, a bench clearing brawl flipped the fathers day mood quickly.
June 19, 1977. At Comiskey Park on Fathers Day, Before the first game of a double header, Lamar Johnson sang the National Anthem and then hit 2 home runs and a double (the only 3 hits in the game for the Sox) as the White Sox beat the Oakland A's, 2-1. Wilber Wood picks up the win for the White Sox. After the game, Johnson discussed both his singing and his slugging. “Bart Johnson (a White Sox pitcher) talked to Bill Veeck’s secretary about my singing the Anthem,” he said. “Hey, if singing means I hit like that, I’ll sing any time they want.”
June 19, 1989 Dwight Gooden, with the New York Mets' 5-3 victory over the Montreal Expos, wins his 100th career game. Gooden's 100-37 career total at the century mark is second only to Hall of Famer Whitey Ford's 100-36 start with the Yankees in 1958.
June 19, 1994 In a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Tiger Stadium, the Tigers tie the Yankees' major league record by homering in their 25th consecutive game. The 53 year-old record is matched in the second inning when Mickey Tettleton goes deep into the upper deck in right field off Juan Guzman in the 2nd inning. In a different game Tettleton hits the first homrun onto Eutaw Street
Quote of the day:
In a letter to Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, Flood demanded that the commissioner declare him a free agent:
December 24, 1969
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.
Milestones
Birthdays:Highlights: Jerry Reuss | Debuts:Notable: Dave Winfield |
Final Games:Highlights: Dick Allen | Passings:Notable: Gene Freese |
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