Curt Flood

One of the gospel songs they sang at Curt Flood's funeral Monday was "The Wind Beneath My Wings." The symbolism was obvious to the dozens of old major league ballplayers who gathered at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles to pay their respects not only to the man but to the principle he stood up for.

Television icon Dick Clark died Wednesday at age 82 because of a heart attack, leaving a New Year's Eve void that may never be filled. There are probably a lot of people out there who don't realize the amazing longevity he had, so to put it in a little perspective, consider this: Dick Clark started hosting "American Bandstand," the show that put him on the map nationally, in 1956. How long ago is that? The following baseball players made their major league debut that same year: Luis Aparicio, Gino Cimoli, Moe Drabowsky, Don Drysdale, Curt Flood, Tito Francona (father of former Red Sox manager Terry Francona)

The funeral for Curt Flood, the former St. Louis Cardinal center fielder who took a lawsuit against baseball for his free agency all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, will be Monday at 1 p.m. at First AME Church, 2270 S. Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles. Flood, who died Tuesday at 59 after a long illness, never realized his quest, but his suit paved the way for today's players to earn millions of dollars through the free-agent system.

With reports of free agents in the NBA and NHL this week, do any of these professional athletes who sign million-dollar contracts ever think of Curt Flood, or send him a prayer of thanks, or do they even know who he is? Curt Flood was a man who took a very successful and lucrative baseball career and threw it under the bus for principle so that those that followed didn't have to endure what he went through. Maybe a standard professional contract should include a clause that the signer should know who Flood is, and what he started for pro sports.

The fact that few, if any, present-day ballplayers chose to attend Curt Flood's funeral is emblematic of the state of baseball today. The far-reaching results of Flood's monumental decision that ultimately destroyed his career has been lost on today's overstuffed, pampered, egotistical player. Everything that is wrong with the game today was manifested in the current player's lack of history and compassion. All that is right with the game was buried with Curt Flood and his insurmountable fight, one that few, if any of us, would choose to wage.

Curt Flood died Monday. His funeral should be attended by every professional baseball player. It is from his unyielding stand on principle they now enjoy unparalleled income and freedom. How many of us would be willing to surrender both fame and fortune at the height of stardom for an honorable principle? A principle for which you will be vilified by your enemies and little appreciated by your friends. Curt Flood chose to fight the injustice of baseball's reserve system knowing that even if by some miracle he won, his career would be over.

With reports of free agents in the NBA and NHL this week, do any of these professional athletes who sign million-dollar contracts ever think of Curt Flood, or send him a prayer of thanks, or do they even know who he is? Curt Flood was a man who took a very successful and lucrative baseball career and threw it under the bus for principle so that those that followed didn't have to endure what he went through. Maybe a standard professional contract should include a clause that the signer should know who Flood is, and what he started for pro sports.

This is in response to the Dec. 1 letter of Gary Durrett (an obvious Yankee-hater). Does he realize that the Yankees are in the position to spend big bucks for free agents because they are the most successful franchise in baseball? And, also, that goes back to the days before Curt Flood and free agency. Winning franchises usually make money. Also, I have never bought into the canard that most of the ballclubs are drowning in red ink. And as to his quote of the inimitable Yogi Berra: While the "include me out" is a classic, it was never, to my knowledge, spoken by Yogi.

Curt Flood, a .293 hitter who made a lasting impact on major league baseball by opening the door to free agency with his unsuccessful challenge of the reserve system, died of throat cancer at the UCLA Medical Center on Monday. Friends said Flood had been ill for more than a year and had contracted pneumonia Friday. He was 59. "Baseball players have lost a true champion," Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Players Assn., said.

Television icon Dick Clark died Wednesday at age 82 because of a heart attack, leaving a New Year's Eve void that may never be filled. There are probably a lot of people out there who don't realize the amazing longevity he had, so to put it in a little perspective, consider this: Dick Clark started hosting "American Bandstand," the show that put him on the map nationally, in 1956. How long ago is that? The following baseball players made their major league debut that same year: Luis Aparicio, Gino Cimoli, Moe Drabowsky, Don Drysdale, Curt Flood, Tito Francona (father of former Red Sox manager Terry Francona)

WHENEVER Puerto Rico's baseball team was on display during the recent World Baseball Classic, the ESPN announcers made time to pay tribute to the island's greatest player, Roberto Clemente, showing clips of his titanic throws from right field and hitting feats for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team he twice helped lead to the World Series during an 18-year career that abruptly ended when he died in a 1972 plane crash.

This is in response to the Dec. 1 letter of Gary Durrett (an obvious Yankee-hater). Does he realize that the Yankees are in the position to spend big bucks for free agents because they are the most successful franchise in baseball? And, also, that goes back to the days before Curt Flood and free agency. Winning franchises usually make money. Also, I have never bought into the canard that most of the ballclubs are drowning in red ink. And as to his quote of the inimitable Yogi Berra: While the "include me out" is a classic, it was never, to my knowledge, spoken by Yogi.

President Clinton signed a bill Tuesday overturning part of baseball's 70-year-old antitrust exemption, putting baseball on a par with other professional sports on labor matters. Clinton signed the Curt Flood Act of 1998 without fanfare in the Oval Office. Congress approved it unanimously earlier this month. The new law overrides part of a 1922 Supreme Court ruling that exempted baseball from antitrust laws on grounds that it was not interstate commerce.

The fact that few, if any, present-day ballplayers chose to attend Curt Flood's funeral is emblematic of the state of baseball today. The far-reaching results of Flood's monumental decision that ultimately destroyed his career has been lost on today's overstuffed, pampered, egotistical player. Everything that is wrong with the game today was manifested in the current player's lack of history and compassion. All that is right with the game was buried with Curt Flood and his insurmountable fight, one that few, if any of us, would choose to wage.

One of the gospel songs they sang at Curt Flood's funeral Monday was "The Wind Beneath My Wings." The symbolism was obvious to the dozens of old major league ballplayers who gathered at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles to pay their respects not only to the man but to the principle he stood up for.

Curt Flood died Monday. His funeral should be attended by every professional baseball player. It is from his unyielding stand on principle they now enjoy unparalleled income and freedom. How many of us would be willing to surrender both fame and fortune at the height of stardom for an honorable principle? A principle for which you will be vilified by your enemies and little appreciated by your friends. Curt Flood chose to fight the injustice of baseball's reserve system knowing that even if by some miracle he won, his career would be over.

After he retired from baseball, left- handed pitcher Bill (Spaceman) Lee was not really welcome to play in the oldtimers games in Boston and Montreal, where he used to play. Why? Well, in Boston, Lee had called Manager Don Zimmer "a gerbil" and in Montreal, he upset Manager Jim Fanning so much that years later, Fanning still considered Lee "a traitor." But times have changed. Now Lee, the unsuccessful Rhinoceros Party candidate for president, has played in an oldtimers game in Montreal and just recently played in an oldtimers game in Fenway Park.

President Clinton signed a bill Tuesday overturning part of baseball's 70-year-old antitrust exemption, putting baseball on a par with other professional sports on labor matters. Clinton signed the Curt Flood Act of 1998 without fanfare in the Oval Office. Congress approved it unanimously earlier this month. The new law overrides part of a 1922 Supreme Court ruling that exempted baseball from antitrust laws on grounds that it was not interstate commerce.

The funeral for Curt Flood, the former St. Louis Cardinal center fielder who took a lawsuit against baseball for his free agency all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, will be Monday at 1 p.m. at First AME Church, 2270 S. Harvard Blvd., Los Angeles. Flood, who died Tuesday at 59 after a long illness, never realized his quest, but his suit paved the way for today's players to earn millions of dollars through the free-agent system.

Curt Flood, a .293 hitter who made a lasting impact on major league baseball by opening the door to free agency with his unsuccessful challenge of the reserve system, died of throat cancer at the UCLA Medical Center on Monday. Friends said Flood had been ill for more than a year and had contracted pneumonia Friday. He was 59. "Baseball players have lost a true champion," Donald Fehr, executive director of the Major League Players Assn., said.