Ep. 104 - When Sport Defeated Law: The Curt Flood Case w/ Prof. Jeremi Duru

Professor Jeremi Duru, a nationally recognized sports law expert, joins us this week to talk about a baseball-related U.S. Supreme Court case, Flood v. Kuhn, decided 50 years ago this week (June 19, 1972, to be exact). The case sparked the movement that birthed the free agency era in baseball and sports.

Curt Flood was an All-Star and Gold Glove center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals during their 1960's heyday. The Cardinals won 2 World Series titles, in 1964 and 1967, and Flood played a big role for both teams. After the 1969 season though, the Cardinals traded Flood to the Philadelphia Phillies. Flood protested the trade and ultimately sued Major League Baseball -- a lawsuit that cost Flood his career.

Professor Duru leads us through the background, Flood's career, the lawsuit and the aftermath, ultimately reminding us that Curt Flood deserves to be remembered today as an excellent baseball player as well as a trailblazer for athlete's rights.

You can follow Professor Duru on Twitter and LinkedIn.

References:
Flood v. Kuhn on Wikipedia.
Professor Duru recommends: Brad Snyder, "A Well Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sport" (Plume, 2007) for further reading about Curt Flood.
Curt Flood's career statistics at Major League Baseball.

Check It Out:
Professor Duru recommends "Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber" (2022) on Showtime , a series he recently binged, and Matthew Walker's "Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams" ( Scribner 2018).
Craig recommends Wilco's new album "Cruel Country," a return to Wilco's alt-country roots. This is the title track.
Rex recommends the German thrash-metal band Kreator's new album "Hate Über Alles," released June 10th on Nuclear Blast Records. This is the title track.
Andrew recommends the new single by Joji, "Glimpse of Us."

Hooks & Runs - Website, Twitter, Buzzsprout
Craig Estlinbaum on Twitter
Andrew Eckhoff on Mixx  (dead link)
Rex von Pohl (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
Opening and closing music, "Caroline" by Craig Estlinbaum. All rights reserved.
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2022, all rights reserved.  

Chapters

• 0:00 Too Late the Mohawk
• 2:35 Introducing Professor Jeremi Duru
• 3:42 The Reserve Clause and Baseball's Antitrust Exemption Explained
• 8:06 Curt Flood Was a Very Good Player
• 11:10 Curt Flood's Case & the Aftermath
• 16:57 How Should We Properly Remember Curt Flood Today?
• 25:02 On the Washington Nationals
• 30:56 Check It Out!