There are two things involving the St. Louis Cardinals this season that I would never have dreamed – and neither is that the team is under investigation for allegedly snooping on the Houston Astros illegally through cyberspace.
Call me surprised that Curt Flood will be inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame on August 15 as a member of its second class. His on-field play should make him a shoo-in for the Cards’ highest honor (not to mention number retirement).
Playing centerfield, Flood helped the Cardinals advance to three World Series during the 1960s. The Cards topped the Yankees in seven games in 1964 and beat the Boston Red Sox in seven games in 1967.
Had Flood’s foot not got stuck in the mud in Game 7 of the 1968 World Series, turning a fly ball into an extra base hit, the Redbirds might not have lost that game to the Detroit Tigers.
Flood won seven consecutive Gold Gloves and made three All-Star Game appearances.
So why I am surprised he was elected by fans to the Cardinals Hall of Fame?
Flood refused to be traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in October 1969 and legally challenged Major League Baseball’s reserve clause. Neither America nor baseball would have stood for this from a white player in 1970, let alone a black one.
As Flood’s suit grinded its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, Flood was – no pun intended – blackballed during the 1970 season.
Here was the trade: Flood, Tim McCarver, Byron Browne and Joe Hoerner to the Philadelphia Phillies for Dick Allen, Cookie Rojas and Jerry Johnson.
All the players began the 1970 season with their respective new teams. Flood could either report or not play. Backed by Marvin Miller and the players union – which financed his suit – Flood stood his ground. He forfeited more than $100,000 in salary that season (the equivalent of $661,442 in 2015). He played briefly in 1971 for the Washington Senators, and he wrote in his biography that many teammates shunned him and he felt unwelcome. After a woeful start to the season, Flood retired.
There was no pity for Flood in St. Louis. As a youth, I remember fans calling him an ingrate and saying that no one was bigger than the game. I heard more than a few N-words attached to Flood’s name while at Busch Stadium.
Here’s what upset many white fans. In Flood’s letter to Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, he wrote, “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 sovereign states.”
Flood compared his situation to slavery – and that would mean team owners were masters.
This letter was sent to the same commissioner who refused to be in attendance when Henry Aaron hit his 715th home run to break Babe Ruth’s all-time career mark.
MLB ultimately prevailed at the U.S. Supreme Court level in 1972 by a 5-3 vote. Just four years later, a federal arbitrator ruled that playing a season without a contract entitled pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally to become free agents.
MLB as much as admitted Flood’s challenge was legitimate, because in 1970 – as the Flood case progressed – it adopted the “Curt Flood Rule,” which allowed a player with 10 years of experience (and five years with the same team) to veto any trade. That rule stands to this day.
Ironically, Dick Allen was literally chased out of Philadelphia by its fans, and race played a major role. Allen would be received with a thunderous standing ovation when the Cardinals played their first game at home in 1970. My father and I were there.
A lot has changed since 1970. Years after his death, the Cardinals honored Flood at the previous Busch Stadium. His former wife Jude Pace was here for the ceremony.
But there are still some old-school feelings among Cardinals fans. I thought it would be many years before Flood was elected to the team’s Hall of Fame.
I’m glad I was wrong.
Now, here is the second thing I never thought would happen.
George Clinton and Parliament are performing at Baseball Village on Sunday night, July 12. I’ll be “Knee Deep” in it. What has Cardinal Nation come to?
