Happy Birthday, Curt Flood! (One Day Late)

Yesterday was Curt Flood's birthday. I never met him, and became a baseball fan three years too late to see him play against my Mets or even to watch him on TV.

I don't know if he ever visited New England. It is entirely possible that his path crossed with Rhode Island's Davey Lopes. One of his paintings might be part of the RISD collection. Curt Flood was an artist and entrepreneur and was loved by many.

Baseball statistics for Mr. Flood can be found on this page from Baseball-Reference.com

The sponsor of that page, Eric Erickson, makes a strong, clear statement:

Real class act. About 6:23 p.m. in his career, he put his livelihood in jeopardy to challenge the "Feudal Baron" system of MLB. Of course, they ran him around; then 'out of town'. Seeing the case through the courts, he prevailed.! Integrity !

People have likened Curt Flood to Jackie Robinson. I once watched a clip of him talking in a documentary, and it brought me to tears. He sacrificed his athletic career and spoke about topics that were taboo.

There is a movement to Put Curt Flood in the Hall of Fame.

There is an online petition To The Hall of Fame Veterans' Committee. It was started yesterday and has now 187 signatures. Perhaps by the time you read this, it will have 500...If you want to read more about Curt Flood, please let me know. I am truly fortunate now to be connected on facebook with his daughter, Shelly.