Opening the Floodgates to free agency

Dick Allen during his final days with the Phillies in 1969

Only five days after playing his final game for the Phillies in a 3-2 loss at St. Louis, enigmatic and disgruntled first baseman Dick Allen is traded from Philadelphia to the Cardinals 54 years ago today in a star-studded deal that eventually — and forever — changes baseball.

In shipping Allen to St. Louis, along with popular infielder Cookie Rojas and pitcher Jerry Johnson, the Phillies receive All-Star center fielder Curt Flood, catcher Tim McCarver, relief pitcher Joe Hoerner and outfielder Bryon Browne.

Only one not-so-small glitch in the deal: Flood refuses to join the Phillies and sues Major League Baseball over its antiquated reserve clause that ties a player to one team until the team either trades the player or releases him.

Rather than join the Phillies, Flood sits out the 1970 season, ultimately sacrificing his career.

As compensation, the Cardinals give the Phillies a pair of minor leaguers – pitcher Jim Browning, who never reaches the majors, and outfielder first baseman Guillermo Montanez, who quickly becomes “Willie the Phillie” and is a fan favorite in Philadelphia for the next five-plus seasons.

Even though the United States Supreme Court ultimately rejects Flood case, Flood’s defiance of baseball’s reserve clause leads to the modern-day free agency that has made countless billions of dollars for players.

“The fact is the modern player has gotten fat from the efforts of Curt Flood and has returned to him no gratitude or any other form of appreciation,” Bob Gibson, the Hall of Fame pitcher who is Flood’s longtime teammate in St. Louis, writes in his 1994 autobiography and three years before Flood’s death at the age of 59.

“I’ve often thought of what an appropriate and decent thing it would be if every player in the major leagues turned over 1 percent of his paycheck just one time to Curt Flood,” Gibson says. “They certainly owe him that much and more.”