Danny Gardella - Later Years

Later Years

In 1950 Gardella signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, but was sent to the minors after one at bat and never again played major league baseball. After leaving the game, he worked in a warehouse, as a hospital orderly and as a gym trainer.

Many years after Gardella faded from the baseball scene, the Supreme Court rejected two challenges to the reserve clause, most notably the case brought by outfielder Curt Flood. But the players did win free agency in 1976 after a baseball arbitrator, ruling in a case brought by pitchers Dave McNally and Andy Messersmith, found that players could leave their teams after playing out their contracts.

Reflecting on his lawsuit and his possible consequences in an interview with the Los Angeles Times (c. 1990), Gardella took pride in having brought his court challenge. "I feel I let the whole world know that the reserve clause was unfair," he said. "It had the odor of peonage, even slavery."

Gardella died at age 85 from congestive heart failure in Yonkers, New York.