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Stepping Up: The Story of All-Star Curt Flood and His Fight for Baseball Players' Rights
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357092
EAN: 9780892553211
ISBN: 0892553219
Label: Persea
Manufacturer: Persea
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: March 20, 2006
Publisher: Persea
Studio: Persea
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Editorial Review:
At last, a biography of the all-star baseball player who stood up to injustice.Curt Flood was a dazzling center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals when, in 1969, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. But instead of accepting his fate, Flood shocked baseball by suing the sport over its Reserve Clause, an age-old rule that bound players to their teams in perpetuity. His extraordinary case went all the way to the Supreme Court and helped pave the way for major advancements in the rights of professional athletes.Stepping Up is Flood's astonishing story. Accessible to teens but of interest to baseball fans of all ages, it begins with Flood as a an artistic black kid in Oakland, and continues with his eye-opening experience as a minor leaguer in the racist South. It describes Flood's years with the exciting Cardinals teams of the 1960s (with teammates like Stan Musial, Joe Torre, and Bob Gibson), and his increasing frustrations with baseball's mistreatment of players—especially blacks. The book culminates with his historic suit, which changed his life and the sports world forever.In lively, conversational prose, Alex Belth provides fascinating details and anecdotes about Flood's Cardinals, the Negro Leagues, and many of the dramatic differences in baseball—and America—between Flood's era and today. Including a foreword by acclaimed broadcaster Tim McCarver (who, as a player, was traded with Flood to the Phillies), Stepping Up is the compelling tale of a ballplayer's desire to make a difference.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Slim pickings
Alex Belth's "Stepping UP" is slim pickings. It is a sportswriter's cursory portrait of Flood sacrificing his career for the benefit of all players suffering from the restrictions of baseball's reserve system. It is a creampuff light example of what can be done without real research, and it is full of errors--major character's names misspelled, a reference to small claims court when the venue was federal district court, and much more. For a serious book about Flood, see Brad Snyder's "A Well-Paid ... Read More
Rating:  - An outstanding recommendation for civil rights and sports collections alike
Think 'civil rights in sports' and you automatically think of Jackie Robinson - but there's another black baseball player who also fought on behalf of all players to choose which team they played for, a story revealed in STEPPING UP: THE STORY OF CURT FLOOD AND HIS FIGHT FOR BASEBALL PLAYERS' RIGHTS. It's the first biography of the three-time all-star who sued Major League Baseball and brought his case all the way to the Supreme Court for justice. Surprisingly, this is the first biography of Curt Flood, ... Read More
Rating:  - Reads Like A Screenplay
I was excited last fall when I found out a new book on the life of Curt Flood was going to be published. How disappointed I was after reading the thin biography by Alex Belth.
Belth does little new research in the life and times of Flood. He relies upon material about his career in baseball, his fight players' rights and an oftentimes misunderstood/controversial life off the field that was already available to the public.
What especially demonstrates a lack of material outside the ... Read More
Rating:  - A good story poorly edited
Because the story of Curt Flood's fight to put an end to baseball's reserve clause is one of courage, the book is worth reading. It is, however, probably the worst edited book I have ever read. Let's hope that subsequent editions correct the myriad of mistakes.
Rating: - Include This Book in Your Baseball Library
The book is only 202 pages long, but author Alex Belth has written a very interesting account of Curt Flood's career as a baseball player with the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals in addition to the role he played in helping to grant players the free agency they enjoy today. Of course it was Flood's years with the Cardinals in the 1960's that distinguished him as one of the game's top flight players. After establishing himself with the Redbirds and having an art business in St. Louis Flood balked ... Read More
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