Curt Flood Was Born and Grover Cleveland Alexander Entered the Hall

January 18 carries two of baseball's most consequential names, one for what he did on the field and one for what he did off it.

On this date in 1938, pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, the only player to receive the required 75 percent of BBWAA votes that year. Alexander earned 212 of 262 ballots, reflecting a 20-year career in which he won 373 games, a total matched only by Christy Mathewson in National League history. He won 30 or more games three times for the Phillies and delivered one of the most dramatic relief appearances in World Series history, striking out Tony Lazzeri with the bases loaded in Game 7 of the 1926 Series for the Cardinals.

Also on January 18, in 1938, Curtis Charles Flood was born in Houston, Texas. Flood spent 12 seasons as the Cardinals' center fielder, winning seven consecutive Gold Gloves and batting .293 over his career. But his largest contribution came after the 1969 season, when the Cardinals traded him to the Phillies and he refused to report. Flood challenged baseball's reserve clause in federal court, arguing that players should not be treated as property to be bought and sold without consent. The Supreme Court ruled against him in 1972, but his stand accelerated the movement toward free agency, which arrived three years later.

On this date in 1947, the Detroit Tigers sold first baseman Hank Greenberg to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Greenberg, a two-time AL MVP, had led the league in home runs and RBI the prior season. The Pirates offered him a record $100,000 salary and even shortened the left-field fence at Forbes Field to suit his pull-heavy swing.