Marvin Miller, the legendary leader of the Major League Baseball Player’s Association, passed away yesterday at the age of 95.
Curt Flood's challenge of the reserve clause and the subsequent creation of free agency will forever be part of his legacy.In Curt Flood in the Media, the celebrated ballplayer reflects on his decision to sue the owners:
"It had been germinating in me for weeks. Sooner or later, someone would challenge baseball's right to treat human beings like used cars. 'I want to sue baseball on constitutional grouns,' I told [Marvin Miller]. His eyebrows rose. 'I want to give the courts a chance to outlaw the reserve system. I want to go out like a man instead of disappearing like a bottle cap.'"
Baseball, Race, and the Demise of the Activist Athlete
by Abraham Iqbal Khan
University Press of Mississippi, 2012
