

- #Curt flood made agency pro professional#
- #Curt flood made agency pro tv#
- #Curt flood made agency pro free#
In ‘63, he would win his first of seven consecutive Gold Gloves. Not only was he one of the most consistent hitters in baseball, Flood was becoming a slick fielding center fielder. He scored a career high 112 runs, which was also good for third in MLB that year. Louis won 93 games in 1963, Flood helped with a. 296 and crushed a career high 12 home runs.Īs St.
#Curt flood made agency pro tv#
415.Ĭurt Flood, Tim McCarver and Ken Boyer being interviewed for a local St Louis TV show at Sportsman's Park. 340 in the first 15 games.įrom 1958-1960, Flood fluctuated between a.

He began the ‘58 season in Triple A Omaha and batted. Just when it looked like Flood would be joining his former high school teammates, Robinson and Pinson, in Cincinnati, he was traded to the St. It was during this three game stand that Flood got his first big league hit. 299 and led the league in runs.įlood played well enough that season to get a three game call-up to the parent club near the end of the year. In 1957, Flood was sent to the Class A South Atlantic League where he was tried at third base. Instead, he waited for the team to return to the field while he sat in a sweat soaked uniform.įlood also sat in the team bus while the rest of the Thomasville organization celebrated their championship in a “whites-only” hotel. There were other examples of segregation that Flood endured while toiling away in the minors.įor instance, when his team had to play a double-header, Flood could not shower with his teammates between games. “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 later wife. However, he also experienced the ugly side of playing in the Deep South. In today's game he would have kept trying to hit homers for a few seasons an then been dropped #curtflood4cooperstown #STLCards /46Fz9nBKuf He came up to the majors and realized he needed to adjust his swing to hit singles. 340 batting average, 133 runs, 29 home runs and 128 RBIs.Ĭurt Flood hit 29 home runs his first season in the minors.
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It was in North Carolina that he began to see the depths of unmitigated racism.įlood helped the High Point-Thomasville squad to a Class B Carolina League pennant on the strength of a. Once he signed with the Reds, Flood made his way to Thomasville, North Carolina. While he helped his sister take care of her children while she worked, Flood made a name for himself on the diamond.Īfter his graduation from high school in 1956, Flood signed a $4,000 contract with the Cincinnati Reds and was sent to their farm system in the American South. He turned his attention back to baseball and would eventually find himself in the same McClymond High School outfield with future MLB stars Vada Pinson and Frank Robinson.įlood would later transfer to Oakland Technical High School after moving in with his divorced sister, Barbara. Not wanting to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, Carl (who struggled with heroin addiction and served jail time), Flood decided to stop the shenanigans after the truck incident. He also proved to be a bit cantankerous when, at age 10, he stole a truck and crashed it. Only a few years later, Flood parlayed his athletic ability and burgeoning talent into his role as catcher for a local youth league team. When he turned two, the Flood family relocated to the West Oakland area in California. #STLCards /bZ0kKvJnUOĬurtis Charles Flood was born on Januin Houston, Texas. The late, great Curt Flood was born on this date in 1938. However, he began the discourse which ultimately led MLB to shutter the clause. His desire to find employment with a different team was ultimately rebuffed.

#Curt flood made agency pro professional#
That began to change in 1969 when Curt Flood openly challenged professional baseball.
#Curt flood made agency pro free#
Louis Cardinals / MLB, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsĪs is the norm, the most recent start to the Major League Baseball free agency period signaled a wave of new signings and huge contracts.įor the past several decades, MLB players have benefitted from the free agent process and been free to sign with the team of their choice.įor decades, MLB’s reserve clause meant that baseball teams could essentially keep their players in perpetuity.
