December 29
1970 The New York Times reports that Curt Flood will sue major league baseball and challenge the reserve clause. Flood would make his way back to the major leagues for 20 games as a Senator in 1971, his last stint in the major leagues.
Senators Birthdays
Thomas Herbert Upton B Dec. 29, 1926 D Mar. 24, 2008
Originally signed by the New York Yankees before the 1944 season, infielder Tom Upton would be drafted by the St. Louis Browns after the 1949 season and would debut in the majors in mid-April of 1950.
Appearing in 124 games his first season, Upton would hit .237. With the Browns in 1951, Upton only made it into 52 games as his batting average would drop to .167.
After the 1951 season, Upton would be part of a multi-player trade that would send him to the White Sox. He’d be traded again the same day to the Washington Senators for Sam Dente.
Upton would appear in 5 games in a Senators uniform, going 0-5 at bat with 1 walk and 1 run scored, his last appearance coming in late April.
A few days later Upton would be headed back to the New York Yankees along with Irv Noren in exchange for Jackie Jensen, Spec Shea, Jerry Snyder and Archie Wilson. However, Upton would never crack the Yankees lineup.
