A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood's Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports

by Brad Snyder

A “captivating”* look at how center fielder Curt Flood's refusal to accept a trade changed Major League Baseball forever.

After the 1969 season, the St. Louis Cardinals traded their star center fielder, Curt Flood, to the Philadelphia Phillies, setting off a chain of events that would change professional sports forever. At the time there were no free agents, no no-trade clauses. When a player was traded, he had to report to his new team or retire.

Unwilling to leave St. Louis and influenced by the civil rights movement, Flood chose to sue Major League Baseball for his freedom. His case reached the Supreme Court, where Flood ultimately lost. But by challenging the system, he created an atmosphere in which, just three years later, free agency became a reality. Flood’s decision cost him his career, but as this dramatic chronicle makes clear, his influence on sports history puts him in a league with Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali.


* The Washington Post

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Biography Memoir, Law

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Brad Snyder is the author of the forthcoming book, You Can't Kill a Man Because of the Books He Reads: Angelo Herndon's Fight for Free Speech (W.W. Norton, Feb. 4, 2025). A Georgetown Law professor, Snyder teaches constitutional law, constitutional history, and sports law. He was a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow in constitutional studies and is a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Supreme Court History. He has written four previous books, including Democratic Justice: Felix Frankfurter, the Supreme Court, and the Making of the Liberal Establishment (W.W. Norton, 2022), The House of Truth: A Washington Political Salon and the Foundations of American Liberalism (Oxford University Press, 2017) and A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood’s Fight for Free Agency in Professional Sports (Viking/Penguin, 2006).

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curt Flood sacrificed his baseball career for a principal. His failed bid to overturn baseball’s Reserve Clause in the courts is legendary. He stood to gain nothing if he won and lose everything if he failed, but went all in anyhow for the benefit of other players and his sense of fair play. He gambled everything and lost. Yet his loss is celebrated as the opening salvo in the battle that won economic freedom for Major League baseball players.

I had always been curious to better understand just how Flood’s Supreme Court loss became the catalyst for the Player’s Union’s eventual victory. That’s why I read this book. It was a long, strange trip to find out.

Curt Flood’s story was a complex one. It’s about baseball. It’s about labor. It’s about law. Author Brad Snyder, a lawyer, wasn’t quite up to weaving these elements into a readable story. His book plods. He included way too much detail. Every person named in the book, from Flood’s relatives, teammates, and girlfriends, managers, Baseball and Union executives, lawyers, judges, sports writers, bat boys (okay, not bat boys) received mini biographies, from childhood onward. When writing about court proceedings, Snyder included such trivial minutiae as the order in which the justices were seated. A better writer would have included less detail for greater drama.

Still, this is an important story, and if you are willing to slog your way through you will be rewarded by what you can learn. Flood lost his case, but turned public opinion and the fortunes of the Player’s Union around, setting the stage for the player’s victory in achieving free agency. As Jesse Jackson said when speaking at Flood’s funeral:
“Don’t cry for long, Curt is the winner. The courts lost. Curt won. Baseball is better. And people are better. America is better.”

[Tim K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book sat on my shelf for a bit because I knew it was going to dip into the minutiae of the legal proceedings. I am glad I decided to dust it off…it is well written and I definitely didn’t feel like I was trudging through the court proceedings. There are several personalities and circumstances that ultimately lead to Flood losing the case in the Supreme Court. I find myself with a great deal of reverence for Flood who was ostracized from MLB, suffered financial hardship, and ultimately paid the physical price due to the stress endured. Was Flood flawed? You bet! Does he deserve respect for his sacrifice? 100%. The book delivers on both.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read. I actually liked this more on the second go-round; the legal discussions (the book is written by a lawyer) really dragged on me the first time but for whatever reason even though I still skimmed a bit of it I found it much more engaging this time around. Serves as a decent biography of Flood but a really thorough look at his lawsuit. Recommended for sports fans or anyone interested in labor law or workers rights.

[Sugarpuss O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always loved baseball, so much so, that I wrote my 1st research paper on MLB's strikes in '80, '81, & '85 when I was in HS. I don't know if that's when I became aware of Curt Flood, or from my grandpa, the Cards fan. Either way, I knew who Curt Flood was. At least I thought I did. Wow.

Curt Flood is one of the most heroic & tragic figures I have ever read about. He put everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, on the line, and not only did his fellow players not show up for him when he started his trial---there were 2 teams playing in NY, which meant there was ALWAYS a steady stream of ballplayers passing through town--when he died, not one current player even bothered to show up at his funeral. Shame on them! He ended up so broke, he couldn't afford to get home, yet MLB players were benefiting from his sacrifice. I'll never understand why the Union didn't take better care of him. And don't get me started on Arthur Goldberg.....

This book not only opened up my eyes to the sacrifices Curt Flood made, it also serves as a behind the scenes look at the Supreme Court. All in all, this is just a fascinating book, and I am glad Mr Snyder quit his day job to tell this story. Now, if they could just make a movie about Curt's battle like they did about the Maris-Mantle home run battle (*61).... It's a story that needs to be told, and never forgotten.

[Stan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highest rating. Not only covers the baseball stuff you would expect, but handles the black-white divide for players of his era, as well as all of the free agency/Supreme Court litigation details. An interesting, but sadly flawed, and ultimately tragic figure. Players today should really remember to give Curt Flood his due, because he - with help from Marvin Miller - really paved the way for today's players.

[Lance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book for both the legal research and from the perspective of sports history - each modern baseball player today should thank Curt Flood for his fight against baseball's reserve clause that was eventually struck down. Full review can be found here:

http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/201...

[Nana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read on a very worthy topic in professional sports and the law: the case of Curt Flood, who sued MLB in order to become a free agent. Brad Snyder (whose excellent earlier book on the Homestead Grays made me pick up this one) does a good job balancing the explanation of Flood’s legal case and the often self destructive story of Flood’s life, and how he was screwed over by basically everyone constantly (up to the Supreme Court itself). He also rightly emphasizes the struggles of Flood and his contemporary Black ball players in the midst of the civil rights movement and the rabid racism they often faced. Snyder is a lawyer so he does spend a lot of time on the legal stuff here, which can be challenging if you’re not really a legal mind like myself. I kind of wish he would have condensed some of it for the sake of not getting too mired in legal issues - especially in the last third where it really does. But he quit his law firm job to write this book according to the acknowledgements and I respect the hell out of that. This story is so important in the history of baseball/pro sports, and indeed in labor relations history as a whole, that the book overall is worth it. You’ll learn a lot about the Supreme Court too, which is useful on its own. Curt Flood may not be so well known today but he changed baseball more than any player who hit a bunch of homers, and I’m glad this book exists and gives the magnitude of Flood’s sacrifice for the control of his own destiny it’s due.

[Spiros · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following the 1969 season, Cardinals' GM Bing Devine packaged aging centerfielder Curt Flood with several other spare parts in a trade to acquire the prodigiously talented, and chronically troubled, Dick Allen from the Philadelphia Phillies; despite Flood's great popularity with Cards' fans, despite his lifetime .300 bating average and seven Gold Gloves, despite having been an integral part of three pennant winning teams, Devine divined a waning in Flood's skills, and was willing to gamble that Allen, freed from the racist pressure cooker that was Phillie baseball at the end of the '60's, would shed some of his baggage and become the superstar that he was projected to be. Although Flood had been with the Cardinals for twelve seasons, he would have no say on this transaction; Major League teams, through the Reserve Clause written into all player contracts, controlled the destinies of all the players on their 40 man rosters, in perpetuity.
Instead of accepting a trade to Philadelphia, Curt Flood threatened to retire, effectively ending his servitude. Spurred by his involvement in in the Civil Rights struggle, and inspired by his childhood hero, Jackie Robinson, Flood decided to challenge the Reserve Clause in the Courts; with the approval and financial support of the nascent Baseball Players' Union, he carried his fight to the United States Supreme Court.
Snyder does a great job describing the series of legal battles, and the horrific toll they took on Curt Flood, who fought alone, since no active players, and pitifully few retired players, would dare to actively support him, lest they risk banishment from the Game.
A book I recently read characterized Commissioner Bowie Kuhn as "one of the most effective and evenhanded stewards baseball has ever known". He is herein revealed as a fawning stooge of the ownership of baseball, which is much more the way I remembered him at the time; to be blunt, he was a cocksucker.
As is fitting, the best tribute to Flood was paid by Bill "Spaceman" Lee, a man who was (and remains) a fierce competitor on the field. In an old-timers game at Fenway, 'Lee showed his appreciation by serving up a fat pitch. "I thought, 'Here was the one guy who did as much for baseball as anyone else', so I just said, 'Here, hit it'" Lee said. Flood hit a home run.'

[Zach Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic story - one of my favorites. Snyder compiles a deep history of so many different areas and how they overlap in baseball and Curt Flood's life. The realms of sports, federal law, business, racism, politics, and labor all convene in this book; and detailed backgrounds of individuals in each sector reveal predilections and thought-processes that explain why history went as it did.
Other reviews are accurate in that it's written by a lawyer and can be very dry at times focusing on court system details (I learned a lot about the judicial system!), but the historical content and detail throughout makes up for it and drives the 5 star rating.

Fun fact - Marvin Miller, the director of the MLB Players Association during Flood's battle and a key figure in the book, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020 due to the significant impact he had on the game, beginning with his support for Flood

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The lawyer in Brad Snyder sort of takes over in the second half of this nice account of Curt Flood's legal test of baseball's reserve clause. That probably couldn't be helped, but as interesting -- and occasionally, downright funny -- as the supreme court's final handling of Flood v. Kuhn is, the story loses a little momentum when Flood disappears.

Still, Snyder writes clearly (there are a couple exceptions late, when lawyers might have a better idea of what exactly happened than I would) and knowledgably, and his handling of Flood's early history and the plight of blacks in baseball is expert. Snyder ably shows us all sides of this heroic but quite flawed man and what his selfless battle for free agency cost him.

[Rob Pruden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a big St. Louis Cardinal fan in the 1960's and Curt Flood was right up there with Gibson and Brock in my highest esteem. This book covers his life full of ups and downs very well and gives great insight into the court process along the way. I am so glad that Flood was able to live his final decade sober and happy being able to embrace the appreciation from the professional athletes how benefited from his sacrifices. I highly recommend this book

[Billy Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, what an education on so many levels. This was a good read, that opened my eyes to the impact and sacrifices of many. Everyone that loves sports should learn and understand the impact Curt Flood has on not only baseball, but all professional sports.

[Greg Stoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting if a bit too long-winded look at the life of Curt Flood. I had heard his lawsuit was key in getting baseball's "reserve clause" removed and establishing free agency, but that was literally all I knew; I didn't even know what the "reserve clause" was!

The reserve clause said that after a team's contract with a player expired, the team could renew that contract for another year with 20% less salary. The player had no recourse other than to retire or threaten to sit out the season!

The short version is: Curt Flood was traded from St. Louis to Philadelphia, but he didn't want to play in Philadelphia. Under the reserve clause, he didn't have a choice, so he decided to sue Major League Baseball to get rid of baseball's antitrust exemption. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, and Flood lost, but the resulting publicity, public pressure, and growing consciousness of the players led to the MLB Players Union having enough leverage to negotiate the end of the reserve clause in ensuing labor agreements with Major League Baseball. Today, after six years of service time in the major leagues, players have the right to free agency, and also after ten years of service time and five years with the same time, a player has the right to reject a trade. (known as the Curt Flood rule)

Marvin Miller (the head of the MLB Players Union) warned Flood that filing a lawsuit would mean the end of his baseball career, and he was right. It also almost ruined Flood's life; many players also thought that getting rid of the reserve clause would mean the end of baseball. Luckily more players started to recognize what Flood had done for them while Flood was alive.

The book is interesting but just too long. I didn't realize the author was a lawyer but now it makes sense; the part about the Supreme Court introduces every single justice and talks about their upbringing and motivations and whatnot, and it's just a bit much.

Odds and ends:
- This is not news, but reading how Black players were treated in the 1940s and 1950s is still pretty shocking. In 1947 the Philadelphia *manager* led his players in yelling racial epithets across the field at Jackie Robinson, knowing that he wasn't allowed to say anything back. (pg 24)
- The White man who helped teach Flood baseball was named George Powles, and he also taught Frank Robinson baseball and Bill Russell basketball! (pg 44-45)
- Flood was treated so badly in the minor leagues in North Carolina he would cry every night back in his room (at a boardinghouse; the Black players had to stay at a different place than the White players) (pg 53)
- In another game in North Carolina, a Black outfielder kept dropping fly balls. It turns out there was a man behind the stands with a gun threatening to kill him if he caught a ball! (pg 56)
- In the late 1950s and early 1960s there was an unofficial quota for major league teams - no more than four Black players. (pg 61)
- The Black players on the St. Louis Cardinals (including Flood) eventually complained about having to stay in a separate place during spring training. At the time, the Anheuser-Busch company owned the team, and were worried about a Block boycott, so they found integrated housing for them! (pg 68)
- The trial judge for Flood's lawsuit was a bit of a character - according to the law there shouldn't have been a trial (he should have dismissed it because of the antitrust exemption and Flood could have appealed that), but he was a big baseball fan so he wanted to be involved. After Jackie Robinson testified on Flood's behalf, the judge called for a short recess and invited both sides to his chambers. People thought he was going to object to Robinson's testimony, but he actually just Robinson's autograph for his grandson! (pg 168)
- A clear sign that player salaries were being suppressed was that in 1970, salaries were just 21.5 percent of baseball team expenses! (these days for the big four leagues in North America this number is around 50 percent) (pg 182)
- When the case went to the Supreme Court, Justice Harry Blackmun wrote the opinion, and he was also a baseball fan. The first part of the opinion is just about baseball, and it includes a list of 79 players from baseball history. Everyone thought that was weird! (and supposedly every draft another player or two would get added...) In fact, Justice Potter Stewart said he would join the opinion if he added Eppa Rixey (who I guess was famous at the time) to the list, which Blackmun did! (pg 287-289)
- A former Supreme Court clerk wrote a parody of the opinion "Baskin v. Robbins" which started with "There are many great ice cream flavors" and listed a bunch of flavors! (pg 302)

[Shaxzod · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Well-Paid Slave by Brad Syden is a biographical, non-fiction novel focused on Curt Floods fight for free agency in a segregated National Baseball League. Although its main subject concerns baseball, the author reaches much deeper matters. It’s emphasis on civil liberty, the many unsung heroes of the civil-rights movement (a focus on athletes that were involved with the movement), and eventually its underlying theme: human nature and its lust for going against an unjust establishment. Furthermore, the novel goes on welcomed and supplementary tangents about various topics such as court proceedings, important figureheads during the racial climate of the 90’s America (regardless of their support, or rather their lack thereof) that indulge the reader and performs the necessary duty of a nonfiction novel: it informs. The novel begins with what Curt Flood goes through as an African-American in his beginning days as minor-leaguer in the southern states, and puts the spotlight on various other African-American athletes that suffered the same sickening racial discrimnation that was rampant during the time. Eventually getting to the lawsuit that sparked the fight for individual-freedom for athletes that led to free-agency, and the jaw-dropping salaries we see today that athletes garnar. The trials and tribulations that we see Curt Flood, and other athletes go through invoke sympathy, and give an unheard perspective on how bad racial tensions were not so long ago. We see the rise of Curt Flood as one of the best center-fielders of his time and his record-breaking salary of $90 000 when he was with the Cardinals to his fall when the pressures of his case proved too much, and the financial troubles that drove him into a sea of alcoholism and depression then again to his rise as a prominent and respected vetern to his fellow baseball players. A rollercoaster of emotions inflict the reader such as sympathy, disgust (at discrimnation African-Americans went through), and most importantly respect for Curt Flood as an athlete, and a human that fought selflessly against what seemed impossible to benefit his future colleagues. The writing is eloquent as every important person, situation, court-date, etc in Floods’ life and in the fight for civil liberty in baseball is introduced without confusing the reader, and with proper context so that the reader may understand the importance of said character, situation, court-date, etc. The novel doesn’t end when Curt Flood ends either (dying at the young age of 59), it goes further to describe how Floods’ fight, although a loss at the time, was monumental to future dealings and negotiations with the owners. We appreciate how hard the author, Brad Syden, worked to deliver this mute part of history; Going through the trouble of requesting multiple interviews from the people involved to going through multitudes of court documents to stopping his law practise/schooling to actually finish this book, Brad Syden delivers the immense amount of information with grace. Although I’m praising this novel it does have some shortcomings. Firstly, I felt it a slog to get through the various baseball player/club names, their skill level/their success, and the history of said player/club. This criticism however is completely subjective as this was merely a personal case of dislikeness towards baseball as a sport. Regardless this is MY review, so this criticism will factor into my rating of a 4/5 for the novel A Well-Paid Slave by Brad Syden

“Robinson started the revolution by putting on a uniform. Flood finished it by taking it off.”

[Ian Minielly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than I ever expected to. I have to admit I usually side with ownership when it comes to labor/players in the different sports leagues. However, I agree with owners in light of what Flood did 50 years ago. Flood took MLB to court because they owned the players for life and suppressed salaries in the process. Do I think a team should "own" a player while also using that leverage to suppress his value and stockpile players because they do not have the ability to move?

No, I think the Reserve Clause, which Flood sued to end was a real problem and it put all the power in the hands of ownership and limited the players ability to move and be properly valued. So in that regard I agree with Flood and like how his lawsuit brought about the 10/5 rule. I also like free agency in respect that a player is not stuck on a team for life without any recourse.

What I do not like is the fact that once those initial contracts are over and players become FA available or even RFA the cost of these players has soared to insane levels. Do I think the players in baseball are worth 50, 000,000 per year, or more? Absolutely not. The game of baseball if you ask me is strangling itself on these salaries and only has itself to blame. The players and their agents are killing the golden goose and the owners are too weak to refuse to pay these insane salaries.

So some of what MLB argued has happened with the end of the Reserve Clause. Teams are buying players and a team like Seattle or Tampa Bay becomes little more than a MLB farm club for teams with deep pockets who are willing to spend. I have watched putnere every single player I really like in small markets get gobbled up by enormous contracts on only a handful of teams, who also happen to be the most represented in the post season and winners of the World Series.

I barely watch the game anymore because the players make insane money, are bigger prima donnas than ever, and there is almost none or very limited loyalty between teams and players anymore. This is a challenging topic and perhaps a salary cap plus profit sharing like the NFL does would even the playing field and spread the players out more evenly.

This book was great because these things happened when I was in the process of being made, so I have only experienced the game post Flood. I did not know it was as bad as the book describes for players, but it was. However the players are making more money now, but the game is serously compromised and way worse than it ever has been.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cost of sacrifice

Sometimes, events that occur in the sports world reverberate throughout the rest of the world. Jackie Robinson. Muhammad Ali. Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Jesse Owens. Billy Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs. Aly Raisman and the many other gymnasts who shared their horrible stories of institutional abuse. And, of course, Curt Flood.

Here’s the short version—in 1970, Curt Flood refused to report to the Philadelphia Phillies, to whom he’d been traded, and challenged the legality of baseball’s “reserve clause,” which—in effect—relegated professional baseball players to the status of property. The reasons for Flood’s challenge are complicated, and Snyder does a great job of detailing the various economic, social, political, and racial factors upon which Flood’s challenge was based. Snyder is also very skilled at describing the agonizing consequences Flood suffered for taking his stand against injustice. It cost him his career, it cost him a lot of money, and it strained his personal relationships. It also contributed to his alcoholism.

Snyder’s text grows less than compelling as he chronicles the minutiae of the legal procedures that propelled Flood’s challenge all the way to the Supreme Court. There is, however, lots of rich history here—of the Supreme Courts justices (who eventually ruled against Flood), of Marvin Miller and Bill Veeck and Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg and Joe Garagiola and Howard Cosell and Bob Gibson and many other major league baseball players, most of whom offered only tepid support—if any—for Flood.

Although Flood lost his case, its impact on professional sports is undeniable. Without Flood’s commitment to the injustice of the reserve clause, free agency would not have emerged to enable future players to reap the rewards of professional self-determination. Every professional athlete who becomes a millionaire owes a debt of gratitude to Curt Flood.

[Bruce McClure · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, events that occur in the sports world reverberate throughout the rest of the world. Jackie Robinson. Muhammad Ali. Tommie Smith and John Carlos. Jesse Owens. Billy Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs. Aly Raisman and the many other gymnasts who shared their horrible stories of institutional abuse. And, of course, Curt Flood.

Here’s the short version—in 1969, Curt Flood refused to report to the Philadelphia Phillies, to whom he’d been traded, and challenged the legality of baseball’s “reserve clause,” which—in effect—relegated professional baseball players to the status of property. The reasons for Flood’s challenge are complicated, and Snyder does a great job of detailing the various economic, social, political, and racial factors upon which Flood’s challenge was based. Snyder is also very skilled at describing the agonizing consequences Flood suffered for taking his stand against injustice. It cost him his career, it cost him a lot of money, and it strained his personal relationships. It also contributed to his alcoholism.

Snyder’s text grows less than compelling as he chronicles the minutiae of the legal procedures that propelled Flood’s challenge all the way to the Supreme Court. There is, however, lots of rich history here—of the Supreme Courts justices (who eventually ruled against Flood), of Marvin Miller and Bill Veeck and Jackie Robinson and Hank Greenberg and Joe Garagiola and Howard Cosell and Bob Gibson and many other major league baseball players, most of whom offered only tepid support—if any—for Flood.

Although Flood lost his case, its impact on professional sports is undeniable. Without Flood’s commitment to the injustice of the reserve clause, free agency would not have emerged to enable future players to reap the rewards of professional self-determination. Every professional athlete who becomes a millionaire owes a debt of gratitude to Curt Flood.

[Anup Sinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is expertly written by Brad Snyder whose unique background as a lawyer and a (clearly) huge baseball fan makes him the right guy to take on this endeavor. But what really made this work was his excellent writing ability. Sometimes passion and research jumbles together to make a book unreadable but that was not the case here.

I am a legal illiterate and was much more interested in the baseball and personal side of Curt Flood. I feel I got that and also a feel of what happened inside the courtroom and the long term consequences of Flood’s suit. Snyder left no stone unturned on the legal aspects and I admittedly skimmed through a lot of those details towards the end of the book just to get the gist. I imagine a legal person would love those details when trying to learn more about the case.

I also like Snyder’s narrative style; for the most part, he presents facts and evidence and lets you make the judgment. I walked away with actually less sympathy for then man Curt Flood in fact seeing a self-destructive man who defies his own expressions all the time. He suffered quite a downward spiral for a good 15 years or so and blames it on the suit, but I feel like it is largely self-inflicted and that he would have found a way to self-destruct regardless. He was clearly a horrible family man when he abandoned his kids to live in Europe when he could have had all the time in the world to spend with them.

I am pleased that he found some peace and happiness in the last years of his life which included giving up substances.

They have tried to explain his ordeal as a precursor to MLB free agency. There is no direct link to Andy Messersmith, but perhaps it did set the tone and get it in people’s minds to where one day it would be for real.

[Dave Berger · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptionally well-researched biography, Snyder’s work marries sports biography, legal thriller, and civil- rights history in relating one man’s struggle to overcome an unjust system’s restraints.

From Curt Flood’s upbringing, to his challenging baseball’s reserve clause to the U.S. Supreme Court, “A Well-Paid Slave” draws on a remarkable number of books, articles, letters and first-hand interviews to paint a picture of a complicated man, fighting to overcome injustice.

Beyond telling Flood’s story to the best of his abilities, Snyder also gives the reader remarkable insight into the challenges that African-American athletes faced in the 1960s. I had stupidly assumed, for example, that 15-20 years after the major leagues had integrated, black and white players had relatively similar experiences.

As “A Well-Paid Slave” reveals, African-American athletes - even all-stars like Curt Flood, Lou Brock & Bob Gibson - were often denied service in hotels and restaurants when below the Mason-Dixon line, and spent all of spring training (in Jim Crow Florida) at 3rd-rate boardinghouses while their white counterparts luxuriated at fine hotels. Their minor-league experiences were similarly miserable - and while northern cities provided some respite from the horrors of segregation, the athletes still faced regular indignities there, purely because of their race.

Several years after I first read it, “A Well-Paid Slave” still sticks with me as an exceptional work of biography, legal scholarship and civil-rights history.

[Mr. Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at my blog, Mr. Book's Book Reviews.

Mr. Book just finished A Well-Paid Slave: Curt Flood’s Fight For Free Agency In Professional Sports, by Brad Snyder.

This was an excellent book on Curt Flood’s lawsuit against major league baseball and other aspects of Flood’s life. The book went into both great detail about all aspects of the suit, including everything that led up to it. It also had a lot of good information on the racial hatred that Flood endured throughout his life.

The one weakness of the book was there wasn’t much about his playing career, prior to the trade. But, that was really not the focus of the book and did not detract from it in any way.

I give this book an A+ and inducted it into the Hall of Fame.

Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, an A+ equates to 5 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).

This review has been posted at my blog, Mr. Book’s Book Reviews, and Goodreads.

Mr. Book originally finished reading this on October 1, 2009. He finished rereading it on October 23, 2024.

[Luke Koran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following your viewing of Ken Burns’ “Baseball” documentary, the very next thing you should do is read up on Curt Flood - the oft-forgotten piece in the long-awaited era of free agency in baseball -in Brad Snyder’s biography “A Well-Paid Slave.” Though Flood’s story comes in the form of a complicated lawsuit, the legal language, lawyer’s strategies, and Supreme Court process are all presented here in quite a readable, enjoyable biography. The truth concerning the person behind the player who sacrificed everything to challenge the reserve clause is a bit disconcerting and makes it tougher to root for his success, but I still come to respect Flood’s decision and courage to see the case all the way through. The inside look at the entirety of the Flood v. Kuhn legal proceedings told in such a reader-friendly style was perhaps my favorite thing about this sporting biography. Whether it was Babe Ruth introducing the aura of the home run or Branch Rickey and Jackie Robinson introducing baseball to African-American ballplayers, individuals are capable of influencing great change in the national pastime, including in the case of Curt Flood.

[Tom Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Well-Paid Slave is a fascinating book on several levels. First, anyone who follows baseball or enjoys baseball history will want to read Flood's story. He is one of the unsung heroes in modern baseball. Flood was a successful player with the St. Louis Cardinals for over a decade. When he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, Flood refused to go since he was not asked about the trade and wished to remain in St. Louis. Unfortunately a part of his contract called the reserve clause gave the team complete "ownership" of Flood and had the right to choose his salary as well as whether he was traded or not. When Flood challenged the reserve clause, his successful career came to an end. Second, Flood's story is one that highlights the challenges faced by workers and unions when they try to bargain with ownership. Baseball owners were given special exemption by the Supreme Court in one of the worst decisions in the history. This decision gave permission for the owners to "own" the players and control their contracts, salary and playing time. Finally, the book is one that shows how Flood persevered in his legal battle and how he continued to persevere to find a place in baseball when it was apparent that his playing days were over. Curt Flood is truly a hero to anyone who has struggled with their boss for better pay and working conditions. I highly encourage everyone to read this fascinating book...even if you are not a baseball fan!

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for serious historic baseball fans. Immensely well researched book about the history of organized baseball and the legal challenges to MLB's anti-trust exemption. Brad Snyder goes deep on Curt Floods opposition to the controversial reserve clause. Snyder details Flood's meetings with the MLB Players' Association union president Marvin Miller, his suit in Federal court in NYC, and eventual appeal to the Supreme Court. Snyder provides a lot of legal details, so it helps if the reader has good understanding of legal terms and procedures. After setting up the legal case, Snyder then shows how irrationally the Supreme Court justices became because this case dealt with baseball. Curt Flood sacrificed his career because he objected to being treated like a piece of property. He was strongly influenced by Jackie Robinson and the Civil Rights movement. It would be difficult to measure the impact of his sacrifice, but all professional athletes who are paid big bucks owe a big thanks to Flood.

[Steve Schmitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for all baseball, and/or sports fans. Not a popular story in today's world, it is a fascinating look at the first player to really affect how baseball players are paid, traded and given contracts by teams in today's world. I decided to read this in light of the current labor struggles between players and owners today, but it is nothing like it used to be. Players basically got drafted by a team and were at that teams beck and call each season. If the team wanted to trade them, they were gone. If they wanted to pay them less, the player had to take less or retire. Curt Flood quit baseball, sued the league and tried to get things changed even though he knew it would never benefit him. It benefitted generations after him. This book describes that trial and the aftermath in amazing detail. I learned more about the Supreme Court in the 60s and 70s than I ever thought I would. I learned more about baseball and I didn't know that was possible. This was a fun book!

[Aaron Sinner · Rating 4 out of 5]

2006 Dave Moore Award Winner
2006 CASEY Award Nominee
2007 Seymour Medal Finalist

Briefly: Both personal and grand

A Well-Paid Slave is an easy read, weaving a mix of personal, biographic history—for Curt Flood as well as those whose own stories intersected with his—with a grand examination of the machinations of the Supreme Court and the politics and legal battles surrounding the reserve clause. Snyder intertwines both lenses masterfully, without ever growing bogged down in either. Perhaps the book’s sole flaw is that it does, especially as the book moves toward its conclusion, become a tad preachy; for a well-researched book that so successfully tells Flood’s story through the perspectives of his contemporaries, it might have been a stronger ending to leave the preaching to those who knew him. Nevertheless, this is a minor quibble in what is no doubt the authoritative account of Curt Flood’s life and effect upon the game of baseball.

[Rodrigo Llamozas · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a hard, interesting read. Great to learn about Flood's suit, and of his life before, and after it.

Not much of actual baseball in it, understandably, but it did take some effort to complete most of the segments in/about court. Perhaps it's because Snyder is a lawyer himself, and took his time detailing the proceedings, and describing the protagonists.

Flood was a proud man, a stubborn man, and a damaged man. His fight gave so much to baseball, and not just to baseball players. He should be recognized in a more dignified way, better known.

Same as Buck O'Neil or Felipe Rojas Alou, he has a deserving spot in Cooperstown, but current voting procedures have no way of letting him in. He was so much more than a ballplayer, and you can't measure him as a ballplayer to try to elect him.

Miller is in, let Flood follow him there as well.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had been on my to-read list for a long time and when I finally read it this past weekend I was floored. I thought I had known the whole story of Curt Flood and his sacrifices for baseball's labor union but I had only just scratched the surface. Curt Flood is a hero to so many workers, not just baseball players, and he made huge sacrifices while wrestling with his own demons along the way. Flood made plenty of mistakes in his life, sure, but he should be remembered not just in baseball but in our American culture of helping to raise awareness of what employees are owed, why labor unions are so important, and why we all have a right to choose where we want to work. Thank you, Curtis Charles Flood, for sacrificing so much knowing you wouldn't see the benefits yourself, but knowing that so many others would. That is the sign of a great human being.

[Lee (Rocky) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really interesting book about Curt Flood's lawsuit against Major League Baseball to try to undo the reserve clause, which laid the groundwork for free agency in sports. There is a little baseball in the book but I think it would be a good read for anyone interested in labor issues or in legal histories. The writing occasionally gets in the way as the author is fond of a few techniques that get repeated (example: long description of some incident where someone is left unnamed for a while before dramatically revealing the name of some famous person) and of hyperbole (late in the book he makes the claim that most contemporary baseball players have no idea who Jackie Robinson is). Those small criticisms aside, I got what I wanted from reading it.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

snyder apparently quit his day job at a big law firm to write this book, so it's good that the effort succeeded on all fronts. you get a deep dive into the entire "flood process," covering everything from bowie kuhn's pomposity to curt flood's dissipation and occasional deceit (a phony portrait business) to arthur goldberg's mediocre late-career lawyer. what you don't get, alas, is a truly deep dive into MLB collective bargaining, the texts/legal analysis of the non-flood precedents (you get something, and snyder does a good job with the flood v. kuhn oral argument and decision, but you can sense he left yet more of the "lawyer stuff" on the cutting-room floor). of course, there are plenty of law review notes that provide this, so you can go there for answers. not quite an all-time classic, but highly recommended, and i can't imagine anyone will rework this narrative with more interviews and other primary source research than snyder brought to bear.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book wasn’t really what I expected when I first started it. But that’s not entirely a negative. There is a lot of detail on the legal processes and “inside baseball” of the Supreme Court that Snyder uses to tell Flood’s story.

While I tend to be bored by legalese I think Snyder strikes an effective balance between that side of the story and the baseball anecdotes that you’d expect.

Ultimately, this story played out nothing like I had assumed in all my years of being a baseball fan. It was anything but a clean, tidy hero’s journey of overcoming the odds to end in triumph.

I strongly recommend this to any professional sports fan. It will inform your outlook on the annual free agency coverage in the league of your choice.