Curt Flood Isn’t In the Hall of Fame, But His Widow Judy Pace Is Trying to Change That

He was a sensational player and an icon in the history of American labor. Now his widow leads a drive to get him enshrined with the immortals.

by Rich Watson

Curt Flood was valuable to more than the St. Louis Cardinals. As an outfielder, he was a three-time All-Star, won seven consecutive Gold Gloves, batted over .300 six times and played on two World Series-winning Cardinal teams.

More importantly, he was the first ballplayer to challenge in court Major League Baseball’s reserve clause, a provision in players’ contracts that prohibited their ability to decide their financial future for years. His legal battle helped pave the way for true free agency in professional baseball.

Over twenty years after his death, however, Flood hasn’t yet been inducted into the Hall of Fame, baseball’s highest honor. Campaigning on his behalf is someone who knows a little about being a trailblazer: Flood’s widow, actress Judy Pace.

Ronald Reagan Depicts Hall of Famer’s Comeback in ‘The Winning Team,’ with Doris Day

The troubled life of a baseball legend is depicted in this 1952 film.

by Rich Watson
 

Few major league pitchers were as dominant as Grover Cleveland Alexander. During the 1910s and 20s, when professional baseball was still new, he set records left and right that stand today: 373 wins, the all-time National League co-leader; 28 wins in his rookie season, a modern rookie record; 90 shutouts, a NL record; a three-time winner of the pitching Triple Crown (wins, ERA, strikeouts), and a World Series championship.

Alexander (AKA “Old Pete”) achieved all this despite suffering epileptic seizures stemming from a freak playing accident, which also led to bouts of alcoholism.

In 1952, his career was chronicled in a movie: The Winning Team, with Ronald Reagan and Doris Day.