Pharoah, you better let them chillun go, honey.

1938-1997 (Age at death: 59 approx.)

Curtis Charles Flood (January 18, 1938-January 20, 1997) was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons from 1963-1969. He also batted over .300 six times, and led the NL in hits (211) in 1964. He retired with the third most games in center field (1683) in NL history, trailing only Willie Mays and Richie Ashburn.

Flood became one of the pivotal figures in the sport's labor history when he refused to accept a trade following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although his legal challenge was unsuccessful, it brought about additional solidarity among players as they fought against baseball's reserve clause and sought free agency.

Author Information from Wikipedia

Country: United States

Type: Prose
Context: Book
Context Details: The quotation precedes the Table of Contents page in Curt Flood's classic book about racial discrimination in major league baseball, The Way It Is. The book was published by Simon and Shuster, Inc., in 1971.