In 1963 Curt Flood won his first of 7 consecutive Gold Gloves. The other two Gold Glove winners in the outfield were Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. Pretty good company.
Despite his All Star performance on the field, Flood is most associated with his challenge of the Reserve Clause. He was part of a 7 player trade that brought Dick Allen to St. Louis. But Flood refused to be sent to Philadelphia. The Phillies played in the 60+ year old Connie Mack Stadium and had just come off a 99 loss season. The only teams with more losses in 1969 were the 2 N.L. expansion teams, the Expos and Padres. He was also wary of the fans in Philadelphia. Dick Allen was often the target of verbal (and often racist) attacks by his hometown fans. He was also the target of debris thrown by fans, famously including batteries. He eventually took to wearing a batting helmet while playing defense.
Although his battle against the reserve clause would go all the way to the US Supreme Court, it was struck down. In 1970 the MLB ushered in the 10/5 rule. Nicknamed the "Curt Flood Rule", it allowed for any player with 10 years in the MLB and 5 years on the same team to veto any trade.
Big fan of Curt Flood the man, not the Cardinal. Regardless, you've done good work with this card.
ReplyDeleteNice Fleer card! Only 532 more to go.
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