phone call from Jim Toomey, an executive for the Cardinals that he later referred to as "a middle-echelon coffee drinker in the front office". After hanging up the phone, Flood began to cry, and he spent the remainder of the day waiting for another call with more information. The next day, Flood, who had been preparing for a vacation in Copenhagen, received a one-sentence letter from Devine saying that he had been traded outright to the Phillies. Flood responded by announcing his retirement from baseball and embarking on his previously scheduled vacation. Devine did not immediately believe Flood, who had previously threatened to retire in order to improve his own salary. After returning from Copenhagen, Flood scheduled a meeting with Phillies general manager John Quinn, who attempted to convince him that the team was better than its reputation. At the time, the Phillies were known for their lackluster treatment of their players, sending them on red-eye commercial propeller flights where other teams would charter private jets for away games. Flood was particularly concerned about Philadelphia's reputation for mistreating its black players, as Allen had been vocal about the racism he experienced from management, fans, and the press during his time with the Phillies. Flood was not active in the Black Power movement, but he was sympathetic to the cause, and he remained sensitive to the racism and segregation that he had experienced earlier in his baseball career. Path to the Supreme Court Initial meetings After his meeting with Quinn, Flood contacted Allan H. Zerman, the attorney who had helped him set up his photography business in St. Louis, to ask for advice. Zerman suggested that Flood sue, and so he contacted Marvin Miller, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). In their first meeting, Miller explained to Flood and Zerman that Federal Baseball and Toolson had created a precedent that would make it difficult to eliminate the reserve clause, but that Gardella's case had given them an opening. While Miller warned Flood that he would inevitably lose the court decision and his baseball career, he also provided Flood with attorney Arthur Goldberg, a former U.S. Supreme Court justice. Miller and Goldberg had known each other from their time in the United Steelworkers labor union, and Goldberg had written the majority opinion on several Supreme Court cases relating to antitrust, which Miller believed would help Flood's case.