CURT FLOOD - CONTRACT SIGNED 09/25/1989 CO-SIGNED BY: RON PRUITT - HFSID 295585
Sale Price $595.00
Reg. $700.00
CURT FLOOD CO-SIGNED BY: RON PRUITT
As Commissioner of the Senior Professional Baseball Association, he
signs off on a contract between the Fort Myers Sun Sox and player Ron
Pruitt.
Contract signed: "Curt Flood" and "Ronald R. Pruitt",
11 pages, 8½x11. Medina, Ohio, September
30, 1989. Contract between the Fort Myers Sun Soxand player Pruitt,
also signed by Flood as Senior Professional Baseball Association Commissioner.
The contract, signed by a club representative on September 30 and by Pruitt on
September 30, hired the latter as a player for the 1989-1990 season. 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. 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. The Senior Professional Baseball
Association, with Flood as commissioner, was a winter league based in
Florida. The minimum age was 35 (32 for catchers); its oldest layer (Ed
Rakow) was 44. The SPBA played a full 72-game schedule in 1989 but folded in
the middle of its second season. American baseball player RON PRUITT
was born on October 21, 1951 in Flint, Michigan. An outfielder and catcher, he
played the majority of his career for the Cleveland Indians (1976-1980,
1981). While playing for the Sun Sox, he batted for .306. Staple holes at
top left edge. Lightly toned and creased. Otherwise, fine
condition.
Following offer submission users will be contacted at their account email address within 48 hours. Our response will be to accept your offer, decline your offer or send you a final counteroffer. All offers can be viewed from within the "Offer Review" area of your HistoryForSale account. Please review the Make Offer Terms prior to making an offer.
If you have not received an offer acceptance or counter-offer email within 24-hours please check your spam/junk email folder.