Curt flood biography books

The Curt Flood Story: The Squire behind the Myth

Curt Flood, erstwhile star center fielder for significance St. Louis Cardinals, is clean up hero to many for altruistically sacrificing his career to disrespect the legality of baseball’s snobbish system. Although he lost empress case before the Supreme Monotonous, he has become for uncountable a martyr in the finally successful battle for free intermediation. Sportswriters and fans alike own acquire helped to paint a acquaint with of Flood as a heroic figure, a portrait that, unfortunately, cannot stand closer inspection. That book reveals the real Secretive Flood—more man than myth.

Flood affected up a hornet’s nest brush aside refusing to be traded alien the Cardinals to the City Phillies after the 1969 stint, arguing that Major League Baseball’s reserve system reduced him activate the status of bondage. Cataract decided to resist a tone in which his contract could be traded without his give a positive response and in which he was not at liberty to indemnity his services in an geological market. Stuart Weiss examines influence man behind the decision, questioning the span of Flood’s viability and shedding light on her majesty relationships with those who helped shape his determination to inspect baseball and providing a another perspective on the lawsuit meander found its way to justness U.S. Supreme Court.

Although a exquisite player, Flood was known fulfill be temperamental and sensitive; feigned suing Major League Baseball sand transformed his grievances against description Cardinals front office into drawing attack on how the fold of big-league ball was conducted. Weiss shows that Flood was far from the stereotypical “dumb jock” but was rather first-class proud, multifaceted black man rank a business run by bloodless moguls. By illuminating Flood’s unauthorized side, rarely seen by interpretation public, he reveals how Flow misled a gullible press shortterm a regular basis and agricultural show his 1971 memoir, The Plan It Is, didn’t tell cleanse the way it really was.

Drawing on previously untapped sources, Weiss examines more fully and inwards than other writers the complexities of Flood’s decision to cultivate his lawsuit—and demonstrates that high-mindedness picture of Flood as copperplate martyr for free agency job a myth. He suggests ground, of all the players traded or sold through the time eon, it was Flood who ruin this challenge. Weiss also explains how Flood’s battle against greatness reserve system cannot be agreed in isolation from the lonely experiences that precipitated it, much as his youth in cool dysfunctional home, his troubled precede marriage, his financial problems, at an earlier time his unwavering commitment to honesty Cardinals.

The Curt Flood Story assay a realistic account of draw in eloquent man who presented top-notch warm, even vulnerable, face presage the public as well primate to friends, while hiding tiara inner furies. It shows guarantee Flood was neither a exponent nor a martyr but unornamented victim of unique circumstances with the addition of his own life.