Remembering Baseball’s Curt Flood

By Bill Fletcher Jr.NNPA Columnist I am departing from the subjects of my usual commentaries because I went to my first Washington Nationals baseball game the other day (the Nationals won by the way.). I was struck by the number of White people all in one place in D.C. I have not seen something like that since I saw pictures of Bush’s inaugural banquet. Given how important baseball has traditionally been for African-Americans, it is very unsettling to see so few of us in attendance. Don’t get me wrong: I am not blaming us. Ticket prices have increased substantially and there is so little carried out in our communities to bring forward new generations of baseball players. Yet, we seem to forget that the fight to desegregate Major League baseball was a key front in the battle for Black freedom, actually for years prior to Jackie Robinson’s being called up by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. The other thing that struck me was the appearance of the ghost of Curt Flood. Many people today have either forgotten or know nothing about Curt Flood, but his importance to baseball will be understood for generations. In fact, it was Curt Flood’s courage that has kept him out of the Baseball Hall of Fame despite his having been such a talented athlete. As a result, his ghost haunts every baseball game. In 1969, Flood’s team, the St. Louis Cardinals, attempted to trade him to the Philadelphia Phillies. Flood did not want to go, but due to something called the “reserve clause,” Flood and other players were the equivalent of indentured servants. In effect, baseball players were bound to the team owning their contract. Flood objected to being treated like an indentured servant and decided to take action. Flood went to court to challenge the reserve clause. Although the challenge did not succeed, it ultimately led to the collapse of the system and the creation of what is now known as “free agency.” Nevertheless, by putting himself on the line for a cause, Flood was forced to pay a price. His career essentially ended and he was, for all intents and purposes, expunged from baseball. To add insult to injury, neither before his death in 1997 nor subsequently has he been drafted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, despite his excellent career in baseball. In fact, the owners and the baseball establishment wish to punish Flood ad infinitum for the courage of his convictions. A few years ago when I was working at the AFL-CIO, I approached a Black leader of the Federation of Professional Athletes. Although the Major League Players Association was not (and still is not as far as I know) affiliated with the Federation, I thought that a campaign led by the Federation of Professional Athletes to demand that Flood be inducted into the Hall of Fame was the sort of struggle that it would make sense to initiate. My suggestions were politely brushed off. Flood was the sort of hero that should not only not be forgotten, but should be admired and extolled for his courage and persistence. Yes, his actions took place in the context of the highpoint of the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, but the reality is that Flood did not have to say anything. He could have accepted his lot in life, the salary and celebrity, and kept his mouth shut. Instead, he personified resistance, and for that he should be honored. It is time for Black America to insist that Flood be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. While the owners may have hated Flood, his teammates and so many of us in Black America were pulling for him. Though his life ended after a brave struggle with cancer in 1997, we should not stop pulling for him. His example is precisely what needs to be emulated today. In the face of what at first glance appear to be overwhelming odds, resist.Bill Fletcher Jr. is president of TransAfrica Forum, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit educational and organizing center formed to raise awareness in the United States about issues facing the nations and peoples of Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. He also is co-chair of the anti-war coalition, United for Peace and Justice (www.unitedforpeace.org).