A Well-Paid Slave Read Online Free Page A

number with the Cardinals.
    Copenhagen was Flood’s sanctuary. He could walk the streets unrecognized and unself-conscious about being black. Artistic, impeccably dressed, and handsome, he rarely lacked female companionship. In October 1969, he met a tall black Danish woman named Claire. They talked about her running the cocktail lounge in Copenhagen. Although she was married, Claire agreed to return to St. Louis with Flood to check out the American restaurant and bar scene.
    Even in Copenhagen, however, Flood could not escape Major League Baseball. John Quinn called on his first night overseas. Flood reiterated his retirement plans to Quinn but promised not to make a final decision until he met with Quinn in person.
    On November 7, after returning with Claire to St. Louis, Curt met with Quinn for 45 minutes to an hour at St. Louis’s Chase Hotel. Quinn, who had stopped in St. Louis after a baseball meeting in Arizona, spent most of his time with Flood selling his team and his city. It was a tough sell.
    The Phillies were one of baseball’s worst organizations. They had lost in their only World Series appearances, in 1915 and 1950. In 1964, they had blown the National League pennant in a late-season collapse for the ages. They treated their players like second-class citizens, sending them across the country on late-night commercial propeller flights in an era when most teams chartered jet planes.
    Flood described Philadelphia as America’s “northernmost southern city.” In 1947, Phillies general manager Herb Pennock reportedly urged Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey not to bring “the nigger here with the rest of your team.” Phillies owner Bob Carpenter threatened to pull his team from the field if Jackie Robinson played at Philadelphia’s Shibe Park. Rickey responded by inviting the Phillies to forfeit those games to the Dodgers. The Phillies played against Robinson and gave him a brutal reception. Philadelphia manager Ben Chapman, a Tennessee native who lived in Alabama during the offseason, led his players in yelling racial epithets across the field at Robinson, knowing that the black pioneer was not allowed to say anything back. The Ben Franklin Hotel in Philadelphia refused to allow Robinson to stay there, so the Dodgers moved to the Warwick. Ten years later, the Phillies became the last National League team to integrate. More recent charges of racism dogged the franchise, fans, and local media who vilified black slugger Dick (Richie) Allen. Allen tried to force a trade with unexcused absences and other rebellious behavior, leading the Phillies to send him to the Cardinals for Flood and McCarver. Allen’s ordeal was fresh in Flood’s mind.
    Quinn explained to Flood that the Phillies were turning things around and building a new ballpark. He told Flood about the city’s art museums and numerous galleries. He said that playing four or five more seasons would increase Flood’s name recognition as an artist. He related his own family’s experiences moving from Milwaukee, where he had been the Braves’ general manager, to Philadelphia.
    Flood insisted that his decision had nothing to do with Philadelphia. “It may be time for me to make my break from baseball,” he told Quinn. Quinn said he would not be in a St. Louis hotel room if Flood were 37 or 38 years old. Philadelphia’s scouts did not believe that Flood’s skills had faded. Quinn said Flood had promised to “keep an open mind.” Flood, however, said he had told Quinn: “I don’t think there was anything he could say to make me change my mind.” They never discussed salary but agreed to stay in contact.
    Most people believed that after the November 7 meeting Flood was coming to Philadelphia. “Curt Nearly a Phil,” the next day’s Philadelphia Daily News headline declared. Quinn said that if he had $1,000 at stake, he would place it on Flood wearing a