Curt Flood: Baseball players’ union will bestow annual award in honor of Oakland native.
Curt Floyd’s name will be on a new award given annually to those who have stood for players’ rights. The former AllStar center fielder, who died in 1997, was raised in Oakland and played a key role in the establishment of free agency.
The Curt Flood Award will go to “a former player, living or deceased, who in the image of Flood demonstrated a selfless, longtime devotion to the Players Association and advancement of Players’ rights,” the Major League Baseball Players Association, which will bestow the honor, said in a release.
The award, part of the union’s annual Players Choice Awards, will be presented for the first time Thursday. Four former players were nominated by a panel of former and current union executives and the winner was determined in voting by active players.
Flood challenged baseball’s reserve clause when he rejected a 1969 trade from the Cardinals to the Phillies and sued to overturn the reserve system. Flood lost the case but made others aware of a system that bound players to teams until they were traded, sold or retired. In 1975, a baseball arbitrator established free agency for players.
“Curt was one of the most influential athletes of the 20th century,” said Tony Clark, executive director of the
MLBPA, in a statement. “His principled stand helped fundamentally change the way business is done in all professional team sports — not just baseball.”
The formation of the award coincides with the 50year anniversary of Flood, then 31, filing suit in federal court in New York in 1970. The case was rejected, citing baseball’s antitrust exemption. In 1972, the Supreme Court upheld the original ruling by a 53 decision.
Flood, who attended McClymonds and Oakland Tech high schools, batted .300 or better in six seasons in the majors, made three AllStar teams and won seven Gold Gloves. He won two World Series with the Cardinals.
After his trade refusal, Flood did not play in 1970 and played just 13 more games in 1971 with the Washington Senators.
Flood died of throat cancer two days after his 59th birthday.