When I arrived a couple minutes early to the mural site, Gregory Michael Carter was picking up trash off the ground. That image was as touching as the mural itself 鈥 an artist鈥檚 pride in beautifying and dignifying both St. 不良研究所导航网址 and a St. 不良研究所导航网址 trailblazer.
鈥淚 want to make this like a place of reverence for him and for the community,鈥 Carter said Monday. 鈥淎nd I want to put a flower bed here.鈥
He pointed to a patch of earth in front of 鈥淔lowers for Curt Flood (Saga of the Newport Gundam),鈥 the enormous painted homage to the Cardinals outfielder Flood, who played in three All-Star Games and three World Series in the 1960s.
One side features Flood chasing down a fly ball (he won seven Gold Gloves for St. 不良研究所导航网址), while the other displays a close-up of Flood, in the famous red hat, holding a bat. And both images are surrounded by vibrant flowers, painted in shades of yellow, pink and purple. The detail on Flood鈥檚 face, especially in-person, is stunning.
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鈥淕iving him his flowers means to give someone their just due, their proper respect,鈥 said Carter, 45. 鈥淲e want to do it by ultimately honoring him and trying to place him in the Hall of Fame together. ... He鈥檚 somebody we can look directly at his sacrifice and can learn from it 鈥 and we can all grow from it, collectively.鈥
See, Flood should indeed be in Cooperstown. But not for what he accomplished on the field. Flood famously sacrificed his career to stand up for what was right. He was a lone soldier, the only player fighting the fight.
Traded by the Cards to the Phillies after 1969, Flood decided he didn鈥檛 want to play in Philadelphia. But because of the longstanding reserve clause, he didn鈥檛 have a say. Flood wrote a now-famous letter to Bowie Kuhn, the commissioner of Major League Baseball: 鈥淎fter 12 years in the major leagues, I do not feel I am a piece of property to be bought and sold irrespective of my wishes. I believe that any system which produces that result violates my basic rights as a citizen and is inconsistent with the laws of the United States.鈥
Flood, in essence, wanted to be a free agent. He was the first to ever challenge the reserve clause. He sat out the 1970 season. He sued Major League Baseball. He received death threats from baseball fans.
Ultimately, Flood鈥檚 case went to the U.S. Supreme Court. But he lost.
Still, his efforts and sacrifice accelerated justice. And by 1975, thanks to players union Executive Director Marvin Miller, the reserve clause was struck down.
Miller is in Cooperstown. Flood, I believe, should be inducted by the Hall of Fame Eras Committee as a contributor to the game (and business) of baseball.
鈥淚 want to remind people the importance of figures like this,鈥 Carter said. 鈥淗ow much did Shohei Ohtani get (in free agency), $700 million? If Curt Flood hadn鈥檛 held out, we wouldn鈥檛 have seen any of this. He basically changed the business of modern sports in that way. And it is a paradigm shift, right? And it鈥檚 a reminder that the little guy does have power sometimes.鈥
Carter鈥檚 mural was funded through ARPA for the Arts. It鈥檚 part of the exciting , which features 28 murals 鈥 two in each of the city鈥檚 wards.
The project, managed by the Regional Arts Commission of St. 不良研究所导航网址, was to help make the communities 鈥渟afe, fun and beautiful,鈥 explained RAC President Vanessa Cooksey. 鈥淭he city of St. 不良研究所导航网址 allocated $10.6 million. ... We carved out almost a million dollars to put up 28 new murals. ... It serves as a catalyst for increasing civic pride. And public art is known for bringing people together for increasing property values when done right.鈥
The artist credited his late uncle, Glenn Carter, for inspiring the Flood mural.
鈥淗e鈥檚 responsible for my indoctrination into the Cardinals,鈥 Carter said. 鈥淯ncle Glenn would take me to baseball games when I was a little boy. He鈥檇 take me to the Arch. He pointed down from the Arch at the courthouse, where the famous Dred Scott decision went down. And he鈥檇 tell me about things that were fringe things that were historically important but that I might not learn under normal circumstances.鈥
Just last year, the Pulitzer Prize-winning commentator George Will hosted a baseball-related podcast. Its title? 鈥.鈥
In front of the colorful mural, on an otherwise gloomy Monday, Carter spoke of Flood鈥檚 legacy, beyond the hitter鈥檚 .293 career average. He mentioned Flood鈥檚 battle for his rights 鈥 because Flood was Black, he was denied housing in the 1960s. And he spoke of Flood鈥檚 trip to Mississippi in 1962 to participate in nonviolent protests along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
And as Carter and I chatted, multiple people stopped to greet him and touch base.
鈥淭his community has been incredible,鈥 he said of the Seventh Ward. 鈥淎t least 200 people have stopped me while I鈥檓 working out here. And I work at night. A lot of times, it鈥檚 too hot during the day. But every demographic of person has come by here and stopped me 鈥 and it has been very refreshing. ... Baseball has the power to bring Americans together.鈥