Major League Baseball Player. For 15 seasons he played center field for the Cincinnati Reds (1956 to 1957), the St. Louis Cardinals (1958 to 1969) and the Washington Senators (1971). However, he is probably best remembered for his refusal to accept a trade by the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies following the 1969 season, ultimately appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Born Curtis Charles Flood in Houston, Texas, he was raised in Oakland, California where he attended McClymonds High School and was signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent after completing high school and saw limited playing time. In December 1957, he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals where he became a fixture as their center fielder. He struggled offensively for his first three years as a Cardinal but in 1961, he broke out by hitting .322 in 132 games. He then hit over .300 in five of his next eight seasons with the Cardinals, with a National League-leading 662 at bats in 1963, and 739 plate appearances, 679 at bats, and 211 hits in 1964. While with the Cardinals, he was a three-time All-Star (1964, 1966, and 1967), a seven-time Gold Glove Award winner (1963 through 1969), played on three National League (NL) championships (1964, 1967, and 1968), and two World Series championships (1964 and 1967). In 1969, he was involved in some public confrontations with Cardinals management, including his desire for a $100,000 salary. In October 1969, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies and he refused to report, citing the team's poor record, dilapidated stadium and belligerent fans. He requested Major League Baseball (MLB) Commissioner Bowie Kuhn to declare him a free agent which was denied, based on the reserve clause in his contract. In January 1970, he filed a lawsuit against Kuhn and Major League Baseball, alleging violation of antitrust laws. The following March, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court and was argued by former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, asserted that the reserve clause depressed wages and limited players to one team for life. In June 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court, invoking the principle of stare decisis ("to stand by things decided"), ruled 5 to 3 in favor of Major League Baseball, citing as precedent a 1922 ruling in Federal Baseball Club versus National League. However in 1970, the Major League Baseball team owners and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) agreed to the "10/5 Rule" (sometimes called the "Curt Flood Rule"), which allows players with ten years of Major League service, the last five with the same team, to veto any trade. After sitting out the 1970 season, he was traded by Philadelphia to the Washington Senators, but only played 13 games of the 1971 season before deciding to retire. Later in 1971, he published a memoir "The Way It Is," in which he addressed in detail his argument against the reserve clause. He ended his career with a .293 batting average with 851 runs scored, 1,861 hits, 85 home runs, and 636 runs batted in over 1,759 games. After his retirement, he purchased a bar in the resort town of Palma on the island of Majorca, of the Balearic Islands archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea where he had moved in the wake of the bankruptcy of his Curt Flood Associates business, two lawsuits, and a federal tax lien on a home he bought for his mother. In 1978, he returned to baseball as a member of the Oakland Athletics broadcasting team and in 1988, he was named commissioner of the short-lived Senior Professional Baseball Association. He was also an amateur artist and his 1989 oil portrait of Joe DiMaggio sold at auction for $9,500 in 2006.