A Well Paid Slave.

• Jurisdiction: United States
• Author: Mandell, David
• Date: 01 October 2007

A Well Paid Slave By Brad Snyder

Reviewed by David Mandell

In 1969, Curt Flood had achieved the American dream. A star outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, he enjoyed the fame of a major league ballplayer and a $90,000 salary. Widely respected in St. Louis, Flood also ran a flourishing art business. Despite all this, one thing was lacking--his freedom. The Cardinals, like all major league clubs of the time, owned a player for his lifetime. Under baseball's reserve clause, a club could buy, trade, or sell a player as if he were a surplus box of bats. At the end of the 1969 season, the Cardinals traded Flood to Philadelphia. Flood refused to report to the Phillies and took his case all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Flood's struggle is the subject of Brad Snyder's illuminating new book, A Well Paid Slave.

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