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Stepping Up: The Story of All-Star Curt Flood and His Fight for Baseball Players' Rights | 
 enlarge | Author: Alex Belth
Creator: Tim Mccarver
Publisher: Persea
Category: Book
List Price: $22.95
Buy New: $11.47
You Save: $11.48 (50%)
New (22) Used (10) from $10.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 650660
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9
ISBN: 0892553219
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.357092
EAN: 9780892553211
ASIN: 0892553219
Publication Date: March 20, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. 100% money back guarantee. All books shipped from Strand Bookstore, New York City, USA.
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Slim pickings January 9, 2007
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
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 Slave," and for a challenge to both books, see Stuart L. Weiss, "The Curt Flood Story: The Man Behind the Myth," due in April from the University of Missouri Press.
 An outstanding recommendation for civil rights and sports collections alike June 26, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
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, detailing his life, his sports achievements, and his battle against a vast system of built-in injustice. An outstanding recommendation for civil rights and sports collections alike.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
 Reads Like A Screenplay June 13, 2006
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
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 lines is Belth's over-reliance of play-by-play concerning Flood's baseball exploits. Instead of analysis of the man on the field of play, Belth goes to the stats book to reduce valuable pages in this thin text to nothing more than a baseball almanac.
The book reads as if it is a draft of a screenplay instead of a true exploration of a multi-dimensional figure that Flood was as a person and player. If nothing else, this was yet another case of a black man waging a battle against a white-dominated institution for the betterment of many.
But, Flood is as much a historical figure in the rising tide of black's demanding justice from the white power structure as he is an employee willing to risk his career in a labor dispute. Belth fails to juxtaposition both issues for that time in U.S. history.
For those seeking a better read on Curt Flood, you'll need to seek out the book he penned in the 1970s, which is as much an exploration/opinions of those times as it is autobiography.
And I hope that the future will bring a biography that is truly a holistic exploration of Curt Flood.
 A good story poorly edited May 23, 2006
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
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.
Include This Book in Your Baseball Library April 9, 2006
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
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 at a trade that sent him to the Philadelphia Phillies following the 1969 season. With the help of Marvin Miller and the Baseball Players' Association he decided to challenge baseball's right to trade him against his will. Although he ultimately lost the battle in the United States Supreme Court, this case provided the catalyst that ultimately gave free agency to players through the subsequent case involving Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally in which arbitrator Peter Seitz told baseball owners to come to an agreement with the players regarding the reserve clause. The game's owners refused to do this, Seitz made his ruling, and the reserve clause became a thing of the past. Although free agency came too late to help Curt Flood today's players owe a great debt of thanks to him for the role he played in making them the multi-millionaires they are today. This is a book that should be in any serious baseball fan's library.
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