A Well-Paid Slave (60 page)

25 “You're not telling”:
PEB
, 1/6/70, 49, in
TSN
, 1/24/70, 38.

25 Flood had not thought: Miller,
A Whole Different Ball Game
, 181.

25 Miller then pressed: Miller,
A Whole Different Ball Game
, 176-81;
PEB
, 1/6/70, 49, in
TSN
, 1/24/70, 38; Flood,
The Way It Is
, 190-91.

25 A stocky, muscular man:
NYT
, 1/21/64, 34; Smith, “Gardella Hales Baseball into Court,”
SI
, 3/49, 71. For more on Gardella, see
LAT
, 10/22/94, C1;
SGD
, 2/27/66, 4C;
NYT
, 6/21/50, 38;
WP
, 3/11/49, B4; Lowenfish,
The Imperfect Diamond
, 155-68.

25 Gardella showed up: Smith, “Gardella Hales Baseball into Court,”
SI
, 3/49, 71;
NYT
, 2/13/49, 33.

26 Chandler sent a telegram: Danny Gardella interview, Chandler Collection;
LAT
, 10/22/94, C1.

26 On appeal:
Gardella v. Chandler
, 172 F.2d 402 (2d Cir. 1949).

26 Hand wrote: Ibid., 408.

26 “impotent zombi”: Ibid., 409, 412 (Frank, J., concurring).

26 “avowed communist tendencies”:
NYT
, 4/14/49, 33.

26 Bob Feller:
NYT
, 2/15/49, 31.

27 received half: It may have been $31,000, or slightly more than half. Danny Gardella interview, Chandler Collection.

27 A few years later, Johnson represented:
NYT
, 10/14/53, 37.

27 $36 a week: Danny Gardella interview, Chandler Collection.

27 On April 25, the Cardinals sold:
NYT
, 4/26/50, 46.

27 Gardella struggled:
NYT
, 6/21/50, 38;
NYT
, 6/22/50, 35.

27 “feel like a Judas”: Danny Gardella interview, Chandler Collection.

27 Miller continued to grill: Miller,
A Whole Different Ball Game
, 175; TT, 181:12-13 (Miller).

27 During the course: Marvin Miller interview; TT, 180:23-182:18 (Miller); Miller,
A Whole Different Ball Game
, 181; Golenbock,
The Spirit of St. Louis
, 510; Flood,
The Way It Is
, 191;
PEB
, 1/8/70, 23, 26.

27 Miller had heard rumors: Marvin Miller interview.

27 Flood volunteered: Marvin Miller interview; Golenbock,
The Spirit of St. Louis
, 510. Miller said the owners had made Carl's drug conviction public, but the connection to Curt had been made long before Flood's decision to sue.
NYT
, 3/19/69, 32;
CT
, 3/19/69, 12;
SPD
, 4/8/69, 2C.

27 “Nothing you've said”:
PEB
, 1/6/70, 49, in
TSN
, 1/24/70, 38. For a slight variation on this quote, see Flood,
The Way It Is
, 191.

28 Miller tactfully: Marvin Miller interview; Allan Zerman interview; Miller,
A Whole Different Ball Game
, 175.

28 Sitting at Flood's side: Allan Zerman interview.

28 Flood expressed concern: Miller,
A Whole Different Ball Game
, 175.

28 At some point: Marvin Miller interview;
PEB
, 1/6/70, 49, in
TSN
, 1/24/70, 38.

28 Both Miller and Flood would repeat: Red Smith was the first to circulate this story in his syndicated column. See
PI
, 12/31/69, 27;
WP
, 1/2/70, D6. Sandy Grady, in his wonderful
Philadelphia Evening Bulletin
interview with Miller, also repeated it.
PEB
, 1/6/70, 49, in
TSN
, 1/24/70, 38. So did the
Philadelphia Daily News
's Bill Conlin.
PDN
, 1/23/70, 59. Flood gave it the widest circulation in his first-person account in the March 1970 edition of
Sport
magazine. Flood, “Why I Am Challenging Baseball,”
Sport
, 3/70, 10, in Thorn, ed.,
The Armchair Book of Baseball
, 126;
PI
, 3/1/70, sec. 3, 2;
AJ
, 3/8/70, 1-C, 6-C.

28 After four hours of interrogation: Miller,
A Whole Different Ball Game
, 181-82; Flood,
The Way It Is
, 191.

28 Flood did not immediately: TT, 59:13-60:17 (Flood); Flood,
The Way It Is
, 191-92;
PEB
, 1/8/70, 23;
NYP
, 12/30/69, 77.

28 Flood broached: Flood,
The Way It Is
, 192 (saying it was “above $100,000”). He initially testified that he was offered $90,000 plus $8,000 in spring training expenses. TT, 59:13-60:17 (Flood). However, on cross-examination, Flood was presented with a transcript from his January 20, 1970, appearance on
The Dick Cavett Show
, where he said he was offered in excess of $100,000. TT, 107:12-108:14 (Flood). Philadelphia papers reported that Flood was offered $106,000. Speers, “Why Curt Flood Won't Play for the Phillies,”
PI Magazine
, 5/17/70, 10.

28 Money, however, was not:
NYP
, 12/30/69, 77.

29 “I know you”; “No, I'm Curt”: Flood,
The Way It Is
, 191-92. For other accounts of this incident, see
WP
, 1/8/70, E5; Speers, “Why Curt Flood Won't Play for the Phillies,”
PI Magazine
, 5/17/70, 12;
PEB
, 1/8/70, 23.

29 He told several:
PI
, 12/5/69, 39 (describing it as “any day now”);
PT
, 12/30/69, 15.

29 Flood agreed to call: TT, 104:25-105:5 (Flood);
NYP
, 12/30/69, 80.

29 On November 25, the day after dining: Speers, “Why Curt Flood Won't Play for the Phillies,”
PI Magazine
, 5/17/70, 12. Flood had been contacted at least by November 18.
PDN
, 11/19/69, 61 (Flood discusses an offer from Gault Galleries).

29 He even took home: Karen Brecher interview.

29 During those seven hours: Speers, “Why Curt Flood Won't Play for the Phillies,”
PI Magazine
, 5/17/70, 12.

29 Flood returned to St. Louis: Flood,
The Way It Is
, 192.

29 He and Zerman huddled: Flood, “Why I Am Challenging Baseball,”
Sport
, 3/70, 10, in Thorn, ed.,
The Armchair Book of Baseball
, 131.

30 Miller and Moss had begun talking: Miller,
A Whole Different Ball Game
, 182-83; Marvin Miller interview.

30 Flood and a female companion: Marvin Miller interview; Terry Miller interview; Miller,
A Whole Different Ball Game
, 185.

30 He was still curious: Marvin Miller interview.

31
“To find a deeper reason”:
Lee, “The Curt Flood Story,”
Real Sports
, 3/10/97.

-32 Laura's first husband; “Laura”; “I don't know”; The woman slapped; With the mill workers; Laura and her children; During one of those: Rickie Riley interview.

32 Herman Flood left: 1928 Houston City Directory, 808; Rickie Riley interview. Herman's family was from a small southeast Texas town called Goliad. His father, Riley, was a professional musician who played the violin. 1900 Census, Goliad, Texas, Series T623, E.D. 47, roll 1638, p. 92, line 28; Herman Flood Jr. interview.

32 He found a job: Herman Flood Jr. interview; Judy Pace Flood interview; 1930 Census, Oakland, California, E.D. 1-11, roll 1729, p. 11-A, lines 43-44.

32 Herman and Laura Flood moved back: Rickie Riley interview.

32 Herman Sr. worked two jobs: 1936 Houston City Directory, 568.

32 never saw a dime: Rickie Riley interview.

32 They moved frequently: Ibid.; 1934 Houston City Directory, 579 (Calhoun St.); 1936 Houston City Directory, 568 (Webster Ave.); 1937-38 Houston City Directory, 538, 1929 (Elgin St.); 1939 Houston City Directory, 561, 1829 (Elgin St.); 1940 Houston City Directory, 357, 1433 (Stonewall Ave.); 1941 Houston City Directory, 369, 1487 (Stonewall Ave.).

32 “We have moved”: Rickie Riley interview.

33 Jefferson Davis Hospital; take to baseball: Rickie Riley interview.

33 two years old: Curt said his family left Houston for Oakland when he was “about two years old.” Flood,
The Way It Is
, 19. Curt's oldest brother, Herman Jr., remembered arriving in Oakland when he was nine years old. Herman Flood Jr. interview. Herman was born in 1931 and was seven years older than Curt. Their half sister Rickie Riley arrived in Oakland a few years ahead of her family and remembered their arrival as being before Pearl Harbor Day (December 7, 1941). Rickie Riley interview.

The Houston and Oakland city directories, however, paint a slightly different picture, indicating that the Floods left Houston somewhere in 1942 or 1943. 1942 Houston City Directory, 368 (Herman and Laura Flood not listed); 1943 Oakland City Directory, 339 (listed). But there may have been a lag as far as the city directories were concerned.

33 Helen Street: Flood,
The Way It Is
, 20; Rickie Riley interview; Herman Flood Jr. interview.

33 “Second Gold Rush”: Johnson,
The Second Gold Rush
, 30 (citing
San Francisco Chronicle
series on the “Second Gold Rush” from April 25 to May 20, 1943).

33 dockworker: 1943 Oakland City Directory, 339.

33 60-hour shifts: Flood,
The Way It Is
, 19-20; Rickie Riley interview; Herman Flood Jr. interview.

33 Texas-style blues: Herman Flood Jr. interview; Johnson,
The Second Gold Rush
, 139-41 (discussing the unique brand of blues blacks brought to Oakland from Texas and Louisiana). 33 1430 Club: Herman Flood Jr. interview.

33 People too poor: Rickie Riley interview; “Curt Flood,”
ESPN SportsCentury
(Pace).

33 trumpet: Herman Flood Jr. interview;
PDN
, 6/25/62, 54.

33 play the piano by ear: Rickie Riley interview.

33 fruit; sketch pads: Flood,
The Way It Is
, 21.

34 “righteousness and fairness”:
OT
, 7/10/94, B-1.

34 Curt and Carl: Herman Flood Jr. interview; Flood,
The Way It Is
, 25-26.

34 Curt wanted so badly to join: Herman Flood Jr. interview; Flood,
The Way It Is
, 22-23.

34 George Powles: Noble, “The Coach Nobody Wanted,”
Saturday Evening Post
, 5/10/58, 118; Laurie Powles interview; Marge Brans interview.

34 Powles arranged: Flood,
The Way It Is
, 30.

34 Curt played catcher: Jethro McIntyre interview;
SFC
, 9/29/68, Oakland Public Library file.

35 He, his wife: Laurie Powles interview.

35 He provided the boys: J. W. Porter interview.

35 he often pitched: Noble, “The Coach Nobody Wanted,”
Saturday Evening Post
, 5/10/58, 116.

35 Winifred served: J. W. Porter interview; Jethro McIntyre interview; Flood,
The Way It Is
, 26-27.

35 George talked baseball: J. W. Porter interview; Marge Brans interview; Robinson,
My Life Is Baseball
, 33.

35 He taught them: J. W. Porter interview.

35 “Don't give somebody”:
OT
, 1/19/81, C-1.

35 Powles made them: Flood,
The Way It Is
, 26-27.

35 In 1943: Noble, “The Coach Nobody Wanted,”
Saturday Evening Post
, 5/10/58, 118.

35 Most whites: Russell and Branch,
Second Wind
, 53, 60-61.

35 he rescued: Ibid., 61; Russell,
Go Up for Glory
, 26-27; Noble, “The Coach Nobody Wanted,”
Saturday Evening Post
, 5/10/58, 118.

35 “By that one gesture”: Russell,
Go Up for Glory
, 27-28.

36 court-martial: Tygiel, “The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson,”
American Heritage
, August-September 1984, 34-39, in Tygiel,
The Jackie Robinson Reader
, 39-51; Rampersad,
Jackie Robinson
, 102-9.

36 “There was a feeling”: Burns,
Baseball
, vol. 6 (1940s); Burns/Flood interview, 2.

36 He sent 17 players:
OT
, 1/19/81, C-1.

36 The best: Robinson,
My Life Is Baseball
, 32-33; Robinson,
Extra Innings
, 25;
TSN
, 6/10/67, 25-26; Bobby Mattick interview.

36 “He was terrific”: Robinson,
My Life Is Baseball
, 41; see also Robinson with Anderson,
Frank
, 43. He described Powles as “the man who really got me into playing baseball. Not only playing baseball—but
thinking
it.”

36 .429 to Robinson's .424: Robinson,
My Life Is Baseball
, 40.

36 “the trumpet or the bat”: Marge Brans interview.

36 In 1949 and 1950, he served: J. W. Porter interview; Flood,
The Way It Is
, 30.

37 “We'd put on a little show”: Leggett, “Not Just a Flood, but a Deluge,”
SI
, 8/19/68, 21.

37 “George was the coach”: Jesse Gonder interview.

37 Curt made extra money: Flood,
The Way It Is
, 30;
OT
, 12/26/54, 5C; Sam Bercovich interview.

37 “Where is”; “We don't”: Sam Bercovich interview.

37 “To Sam”: Sam Bercovich interview.

37 The Oakland high schools:
TSN
, 6/6/51, 5 ( Junior baseball edition).

37 Curt joined:
OT
, 7/27/55, 51.

37 Powles and Bercovich hatched: Rickie Riley interview; Jesse Gonder interview; Jethro McIntyre interview; Joe Gaines interview.

37 Bercovich bought: Sam Bercovich interview.

37 Barbara and Curt: Rickie Riley interview.

38 Curt moved into: Compare Flood,
The Way It Is
, 30 (Flood offers the babysitting explanation) with 31 (Flood says of Oakland Tech, “to which I had been required to transfer when I moved to Barbara's”).