![]() “Grammatically, that’s incorrect, but that’s the way he would say it to make an absolute point. “Freedom to him was, ‘No one else should own you. But at the time, the Major Leagues’ reserve clause essentially kept players under a franchise’s control in perpetuity. He wanted what Robinson and every other player had always been denied - a voice in where he worked and what he was paid. It was not enough for Flood merely to play in the big leagues. In a way, Flood’s determination exceeded even Robinson’s. “It takes an incredible amount of courage and determination, but that’s what they were going through.” “Imagine that you’re playing this game with your back to a hostile audience who were calling you names, telling you to get off the field, calling you the N-word,” said Judy Pace Flood, Flood’s widow. ![]() ![]() The insults did not end once he landed in the big leagues with the St. He endured indignities like sitting in his soaked jersey between doubleheaders because he could not shower with his teammates and waiting in the bus while his team celebrated winning a championship at a hotel. He stacked them up like others do birthdays, stitching together a 226-game errorless streak and claiming the award annually from 1963 to 1969.įlood was part of a pioneering wave of Black players who were introduced to segregated baseball in their adolescence, followed Jackie Robinson into the big leagues and emerged as stars at the height of the Civil Rights movement.Īlong the way, Flood navigated segregated Southern minor league cities like Thomasville, N.C. Throughout most of the 1960s, National League center fielders fought for runner-up to Flood for the position’s Gold Glove. Showing fleet feet and a slick glove, Curt Flood patrolled center field like few others to have ever played Major League Baseball.
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