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Letters: Robinson and Flood - two of baseball's black trailblazers

ISSUE | BASEBALL Robinson not the only black trailblazer Once again, Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day on Friday ("Howard, Baker pay tribute to No. 42, Jackie Robinson," Saturday). We are aware of Robinson's tribulations as he fought courageously to become the first black player in

Commemorating the 69th anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier, Phillies Ryan Howard (left) and Emmanuel Burriss greet Tuskegee Airmen James Cotton (left), the Rev. Milton Holmes (seated), and Dr. Eugene Richardson before Friday's game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. All the players in every game wear Robinson's number, 42, on April 15 to honor the baseball pioneer.
Commemorating the 69th anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier, Phillies Ryan Howard (left) and Emmanuel Burriss greet Tuskegee Airmen James Cotton (left), the Rev. Milton Holmes (seated), and Dr. Eugene Richardson before Friday's game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. All the players in every game wear Robinson's number, 42, on April 15 to honor the baseball pioneer.Read moreELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer
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ISSUE | BASEBALL

Robinson not the only black trailblazer

Once again, Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day on Friday ("Howard, Baker pay tribute to No. 42, Jackie Robinson," Saturday). We are aware of Robinson's tribulations as he fought courageously to become the first black player in the major leagues. But how many people remember another black baseball player, Curt Flood? It was Flood who tested baseball's reserve clause in 1970 when he refused to play for the Phillies, who had obtained him in a trade with the Cardinals.

Flood argued that he was not a piece of property to be bought and sold. He stuck to his convictions, sitting out that season and forgoing his $100,000 salary.

His career over, Flood narrowly lost his case before the Supreme Court, but that ruling paved the way for free agency, allowing players to shop their skills on the open market and sign with the highest bidder.

Flood died of cancer in 1997, deeply in debt. I wonder how many millionaire players with .240 batting averages or 5.00 earned run averages know who Curt Flood was. Did they ever suggest having a Curt Flood Day?

|Charles Sacchetti, Cinnaminson, sacc1@verizon.net

Racism not just in South

What is especially important to remember when watching Ken Burns' documentary Jackie Robinson is that except for spring training, he didn't play baseball in the South, nor had he grown up there ("The real Jackie Robinson," April 10). He suffered from racism, segregation, and discrimination in the eight Northern cities in the National League.

During the 1950s and '60s phase of the civil rights movement, it was convenient for northern liberals to shine a spotlight on notorious abuses in the Alabama cities of Montgomery, Birmingham, and Selma, and in hundreds of other communities south of the Mason-Dixon line. But had those liberals picked up a mirror instead of a spotlight, they would have realized that racism, segregation, and discrimination were just as common in the North but were more covert and less violent.

|Paul L. Newman, Merion Station