CURT FLOOD - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED BASEBALL CO-SIGNED BY: BO "ROBERT" BELINSKY, LOU "SLICK" JOHNSON - HFSID 321181

CURT FLOOD, BO "ROBERT" BELINSKY and SWEET LOU "SLICK" JOHNSON
Three former Major League Baseball players sign commemorative 1995 All-Star Game Fotoball baseball
Baseball signed: "Bo Belinsky", "Curt Flood" and "Sweet Lou Johnson" in blue ink. Commemorative Ball from 1995 All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas. CURT FLOOD (1938-1997) played Major League Baseball from 1956 to 1969, and made a brief reappearance in 1971. Flood was a reliable hitter who topped .300 three times in an era when pitching dominated the game. But Flood's greatest talent was in centerfield, which he roamed for the St Louis Cardinals, beginning in 1958. One of the finest defensive players of any era, Flood had 223 consecutive games without an error, and made no errors at all in 1966. A three-time All-Star, he won seven consecutive Gold Glove awards. He played in all seven games of three World Series for the Cardinals: victories over the Yankees and Red Sox in 1964 and 1967, and a loss to the Tigers in 1968. He was one of only four Cardinals to appear on all three teams. After the 1969 season, the Cardinals traded Flood to the Phillies. Flood refused to go, and challenged the "reserve clause" which had long denied players the right to negotiate with multiple teams for the best offer. He sat out the 1970 season, taking his suit against Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn all the way to the Supreme Court. The Major League Players Association endorsed his suit, but not one active player was willing to appear in court on his behalf. With former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg as his lawyer, Flood lost by a 5-3 vote in the Supreme Court. He made a brief return to baseball with the Washington Senators in 1971, but his skills were gone, and he soon retired. Flood fought law suits and the Internal Revenue Service for the rest of his life. He twice tried to organize a new baseball league, but was unsuccessful. In 1975, an arbiter voided the reserve clause in cases involving two other players, and the era of free agency began. Flood had been five years ahead of his time. One of the most colorful players of the 1960s, pool-hustling playboy BO BELINSKY (1936-2001)  was picked up from the Orioles organization by the Angels in the 1961 expansion draft. Undefeated in his first three major-league starts, Belinsky pitched the first big-league no-hitter on the West Coast against the Orioles. Acting appearances in several TV shows, dates with Hollywood starlets and a much-publicized romance with actress Mamie Van Doren helped keep Belinsky in the spotlight even after his pitching deteriorated.  "Sweet" and "Slick" LOU JOHNSON (1934-2020) is a former MLB outfielder best known for his time spent with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1965-1967; a great hitter, Johnson batted a .260 in his first 130 game season, and was the was the only run scored in Sandy Koufax's perfect game, and helped them make it to the 1965 World Series where he scored the game winning home run in the decisive seventh game. His 1966 season wasn't as victorious, although Johnson batted an impressive .272 and the Dodgers made it to the World Series again, they were eventually completely swept by the Orioles. His career wounded down after this, and after switching with a few different teams he retired in 1970. Ink slightly smeared. Fine condition.