Who was the first professional athlete to challenge the reserve clause?

• A. Curt Flood
• B. Mickey Mantle
• C. Derek Jeter
• D. Larry Bird

Answer: (A)

This question hinges on the move toward free agency in baseball and who sparked the challenge to the reserve clause. Curt Flood, a star outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals, became the first professional athlete to challenge the clause when he refused a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1969 and filed a lawsuit against MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. This action, Flood v. Kuhn, marked the first major challenge to the long-standing rule that bound a player to one team, and it set in motion the legal and labor changes that eventually led to free agency in the mid-1970s. The other names listed were prominent players, but none of them initiated this challenge to the reserve clause.