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This is Planet Money from NPR.
At 4 a.m.
On October 8, 1969, Kurt Flood got woken up by a phone call.
Flood was 31 years old at the time, and he 'd spent the last 12 years,
almost his entire adult life, playing center field for the St. Louis Cardinals.
He was an all-star.
He 'd led the Cardinals to the World Series three times,
Sports Illustrated called him the best center fielder in baseball, and he planned to finish out his career in St. Louis.
But when he rolled over and picked up the phone at 4 a.m.
A middle manager from the Cardinals front office told Kurt Flood he had just been traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Kurt Flood didn't want to go to Philadelphia.
They'd just finished second to last in their division.
And on top of that, Kurt Flood was black, and Phillies fans had a history of treating the team's black players badly.
One black Phillies player in the 60s actually wore a helmet in the outfield
because Phillies fans threw batteries at his head.