C.A.: 1960 Topps Curt Flood

(Greetings. I am lucky enough that no one in my family must be memorialized during this holiday weekend. But, my dad, who served in the Air Force, once parachuted out of a flaming KB-50 tanker plane just before it crashed and exploded in Louisiana. So that's how close I came to never being born. Thanks to all who served and didn't make it back alive. It's time for Cardboard Appreciation. This is the 303rd in a series):

Fifty years ago, Curt Flood walked away from his job with the Washington Senators and never came back.

He was done fighting, done with the abuse. Baseball had broken him and at age 33, he was, according to a former teammate in this article, "the saddest person he had ever met or seen."

There are so many Black men from the '40s, '50s, 60s and '70s that carried the weight of the world around with them, enduring every righteous accusation, every racist rationalization that their vast population of opponents could hurl at them, all in the attempt to play a kid's game.

I don't know how people like Jackie Robinson and Curt Flood played the sport with all that swirling around them. But it's obvious that it wore them down. Both of them died much younger than they should have.

I gravitate toward cards of these players because of what they went through. And I don't want a perfect card of them in most cases because they didn't live in a perfect world. In fact, it was ugly.

 

This 1960 Topps second-year third-year Curt Flood card wears the tape stains of a card that was stuck inside a book and then ripped out. Please note the paper loss on the side. It's probably why the other pieces of tape were left where they were. This card is not whole. Flood did not leave baseball whole.

 

I obtained this card in my second Diamond Jesters Time Traveler trade. I sent him three older cards and the 1960 Flood was one I got back. This is my 12th Curt Flood card. I still want that 1959 rookie card, which is absolutely fantastic. (Update: I've made a dreaded rookie card fact error. Flood's rookie card is from 1958).

 

 

I also received two 1970 Topps cards for my completion quest. This Tony Gonzalez card is in beautiful shape. It also reflects my condition double standards. I'm OK with tape stains and paper loss for a card of a historic baseball figure, but you'd better be tip-top if you're Tony Gonzalez (who actually had a very good career)!

 

The other card I received was an attempt to upgrade my Bobby Floyd specimen (again, Mr. Floyd, did you challenge the reserve clause?)

I didn't succeed as this one might be in rougher shape than the other Floyd.

But let's forget about that and find out what Bobby Floyd did when he wasn't playing baseball:

OK, hypnosis. I guess that was what passed for entertainment in the early '70s. Probably got a few teammates to quack like a duck. Harmless fun, I hope.

But four years later, Bobby was still at it:

Maybe the manager should have a talk with Bob.

Anyway, if you haven't participated in Matt's Time Traveling Trading, maybe give it a shot. He's got a whole inventory of cool cards available and I'm sure you have a few older cards just laying around the house.