The 1960s The 1960s  Curt Flood in The 1960s  Curt Flood
(1938-1997) was an All-Star center fielder for the St. Louis
Cardinals and the first high-profile player to challenge Major
League Baseball’s reserve clause. Raised in Oakland, California,
Flood signed a contract with the Cincinnati Reds in 1956 and was
traded to the Cardinals the following year. A three-time All-
Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner, Flood captained St. Louis
teams that won three National League pennants and two World
Series titles. In 1969, he was traded to the Philadelphia
Phillies. He refused the trade and sued Major League Baseball,
arguing that the reserve clause that gave the Cardinals lifetime
control over Flood's labor violated antitrust laws and the
Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.  Flood’s case against
baseball (Flood v. Kuhn) was heard by the United States Supreme
Court in 1972. The Court held that, because of baseball’s unique
place in American culture, it was exempt from antitrust
regulation. After sitting out a y