2007.1.31

• photography

Black and white photograph of baseball player Curt Flood. Flood is at right of photo standing next to a car and wearing dark slacks, a white collared shirt and a light colored long sleeved jacket. A crowd of at least fifteen people stand around him and include men women and two small boys. The image has been doctored for reproduction: Flood's light colored jacket has been outlined and there are pencil marks and white paint lines for cropping purposes. Tribune caption affixed to back reads, "St. Louis baseball star Curt Flood gets warm greetings from new neighbors in Alamo."

Curt FloodFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curt_Flood (5/3/2007)Curtis Charles Flood (January 18, 1938 _ January 20, 1997) was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons from 1963-1969. He also batted over .300 six times, and led the NL in hits (211) in 1964. He retired with the third most games in center field (1683) in NL history, trailing only Willie Mays and Richie Ashburn.His major claim to fame is becoming one of the pivotal figures in the sport's labor history when he refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause and sought free agency.

Used: Oakland Tribune