Okla-homey
1/16/2008, 07:49 AM
January 16, 1970: Curt Flood files historic lawsuit against Major League Baseball
http://aycu14.webshots.com/image/38933/2004498284187965468_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004498284187965468)
Curt Flood
Thirty-eight years ago on this day in 1970, the seven-time Golden Glove-winning center fielder Curt Flood of the St. Louis Cardinals refused to accept his trade and files suit in a New York federal court against Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, the presidents of the American and National Leagues and all 24 teams in the Major League Baseball (MLB) organization.
After the Cardinals traded Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies in October 1969, Flood wrote a letter to Kuhn in late December, protesting the league’s player reserve clause, which prevented players from moving to another team unless they were traded.
Kuhn denied Flood’s request to be made a free agent, and Flood decided to sue. In Flood v. Kuhn, 407 U.S. 258 (1972), the historic case that followed, Flood argued that the reserve clause violated antitrust laws and violated the 13th Amendment, which barred slavery and involuntary servitude.
http://aycu26.webshots.com/image/40345/2004493280274776005_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004493280274776005)
Commissioner Kuhn at the ballpark enjoying a delicious hot dog
Flood was not the first player to challenge the reserve clause, but he was certainly the most prominent, and stood to lose the most. In his 12 seasons with the Cardinals, he was defensive standout. Flood led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons from 1963-1969. He also batted over .300 six times, and led the NL in hits (211) in 1964. He retired with the third most games in center field (1683) in NL history, trailing only Willie Mays and Richie Ashburn.
http://aycu33.webshots.com/image/39592/2004466567077471069_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004466567077471069)
When he sarted the legal ruckus over his trade, was also only 31 years old, at the peak of his career.
After a U.S. district court judge rejected Flood’s claim in August 1970, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite the support of such great players as Jackie Robinson, Flood suffered when no active players agreed to testify on his behalf, and the court ruled against him in a 5-3 decision in 1972.
Interestly, the Court ruled, consistent with its own precedent, MLB was in fact the equivalent of a monopoly, but nevertheless carved out a special exception for MLB. In the case, the Court wrote reserve clauses in player contracts and MLB's monopolistic character were both necessary to the effective functioning and survival of America's Pastime.
IOW, MLB was "special" and therefore was above the law. Further, if that was going to change, Congress would have to pass a law to fix it:eek:
Holding in Flood v. Kuhn
"The longstanding exemption of professional baseball from the antitrust laws, Federal Baseball Club v. National League, 259 U. S. 200 (1922); Toolson v. New York Yankees, Inc., 346 U. S. 356 (1953), is an established aberration, in the light of the Court's holding that other interstate professional sports are not similarly exempt, but one in which Congress has acquiesced, and that is entitled to the benefit of stare decisis. Removal of the resultant inconsistency at this late date is a matter for legislative, not judicial, resolution. "
By that time, Flood’s career was over. His lost battle turned into an eventual win for the players, however.
Major League Baseball agreed to federal arbitration of players’ salary demands in 1973, and in 1975 an arbitrator effectively threw out the reserve clause, paving the way for free agency in baseball and all professional sports.
Shortly after his retirement, Flood owned a bar in the Spanish resort town of Palma de Mallorca; he eventually returned to baseball as part of the Oakland Athletics' broadcasting team in 1978. He was also the commissioner of the short-lived Senior Baseball League in 1988.
For years a heavy drinker and smoker, Flood stopped smoking in 1979, and drinking in 1985. Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1995, Flood was originally given a 90% chance of survival. But the chemotherapy proved too much for him, and Flood died in 1997 in Los Angeles, California at age 59.
The same year of his untimely death, Flood's legacy was remembered in Congress via a bill, the Baseball Fans and Communities Protection Act of 1997; numbered HR 21 (Flood's Cardinals uniform number) and introduced on the first day of the 105th Congress in 1997 by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Michigan), removing baseball's controversial antitrust exemption.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced similar legislation in the Senate that year, called the Curt Flood Act of 1997 (SB 53). Thus, reserve clauses in MLB player's contracts were assigned to the ashheap of American history.
http://aycu20.webshots.com/image/40539/2004410351293811598_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004410351293811598)
In case you wanna read more about it.
http://aycu38.webshots.com/image/38677/2004499515972153441_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004499515972153441)
http://aycu14.webshots.com/image/38933/2004498284187965468_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004498284187965468)
Curt Flood
Thirty-eight years ago on this day in 1970, the seven-time Golden Glove-winning center fielder Curt Flood of the St. Louis Cardinals refused to accept his trade and files suit in a New York federal court against Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, the presidents of the American and National Leagues and all 24 teams in the Major League Baseball (MLB) organization.
After the Cardinals traded Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies in October 1969, Flood wrote a letter to Kuhn in late December, protesting the league’s player reserve clause, which prevented players from moving to another team unless they were traded.
Kuhn denied Flood’s request to be made a free agent, and Flood decided to sue. In Flood v. Kuhn, 407 U.S. 258 (1972), the historic case that followed, Flood argued that the reserve clause violated antitrust laws and violated the 13th Amendment, which barred slavery and involuntary servitude.
http://aycu26.webshots.com/image/40345/2004493280274776005_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004493280274776005)
Commissioner Kuhn at the ballpark enjoying a delicious hot dog
Flood was not the first player to challenge the reserve clause, but he was certainly the most prominent, and stood to lose the most. In his 12 seasons with the Cardinals, he was defensive standout. Flood led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons from 1963-1969. He also batted over .300 six times, and led the NL in hits (211) in 1964. He retired with the third most games in center field (1683) in NL history, trailing only Willie Mays and Richie Ashburn.
http://aycu33.webshots.com/image/39592/2004466567077471069_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004466567077471069)
When he sarted the legal ruckus over his trade, was also only 31 years old, at the peak of his career.
After a U.S. district court judge rejected Flood’s claim in August 1970, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite the support of such great players as Jackie Robinson, Flood suffered when no active players agreed to testify on his behalf, and the court ruled against him in a 5-3 decision in 1972.
Interestly, the Court ruled, consistent with its own precedent, MLB was in fact the equivalent of a monopoly, but nevertheless carved out a special exception for MLB. In the case, the Court wrote reserve clauses in player contracts and MLB's monopolistic character were both necessary to the effective functioning and survival of America's Pastime.
IOW, MLB was "special" and therefore was above the law. Further, if that was going to change, Congress would have to pass a law to fix it:eek:
Holding in Flood v. Kuhn
"The longstanding exemption of professional baseball from the antitrust laws, Federal Baseball Club v. National League, 259 U. S. 200 (1922); Toolson v. New York Yankees, Inc., 346 U. S. 356 (1953), is an established aberration, in the light of the Court's holding that other interstate professional sports are not similarly exempt, but one in which Congress has acquiesced, and that is entitled to the benefit of stare decisis. Removal of the resultant inconsistency at this late date is a matter for legislative, not judicial, resolution. "
By that time, Flood’s career was over. His lost battle turned into an eventual win for the players, however.
Major League Baseball agreed to federal arbitration of players’ salary demands in 1973, and in 1975 an arbitrator effectively threw out the reserve clause, paving the way for free agency in baseball and all professional sports.
Shortly after his retirement, Flood owned a bar in the Spanish resort town of Palma de Mallorca; he eventually returned to baseball as part of the Oakland Athletics' broadcasting team in 1978. He was also the commissioner of the short-lived Senior Baseball League in 1988.
For years a heavy drinker and smoker, Flood stopped smoking in 1979, and drinking in 1985. Diagnosed with throat cancer in 1995, Flood was originally given a 90% chance of survival. But the chemotherapy proved too much for him, and Flood died in 1997 in Los Angeles, California at age 59.
The same year of his untimely death, Flood's legacy was remembered in Congress via a bill, the Baseball Fans and Communities Protection Act of 1997; numbered HR 21 (Flood's Cardinals uniform number) and introduced on the first day of the 105th Congress in 1997 by Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Michigan), removing baseball's controversial antitrust exemption.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced similar legislation in the Senate that year, called the Curt Flood Act of 1997 (SB 53). Thus, reserve clauses in MLB player's contracts were assigned to the ashheap of American history.
http://aycu20.webshots.com/image/40539/2004410351293811598_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004410351293811598)
In case you wanna read more about it.
http://aycu38.webshots.com/image/38677/2004499515972153441_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004499515972153441)