The Curt Flood trade, in 1969, completely changed the baseball landscape as it relates to player compensation - although, not at first. The St. Louis Cardinals decided to upgrade their power lineup by obtaining Richie Allen (aka Dick Allen, Rich Allen) from the Philadelphia Phillies. Flood and another incredibly popular Redbird, Tim McCarver, were among the players going to the Phils. Flood didn't want to leave ("irrespective of my wishes") his established home and business roots in the Gateway City, so he sued to block the trade. It didn't work, and his brilliant career eventually ended during the litigation process.
Rich Allen (the signature on this card, obtained by me in 1970 in blue ballpoint pen) played for four teams in four years. His teammates adored him (with the exception of the "original" Frank Thomas) but media members were not treated to the same guy, so his public persona was not correctly portrayed. He eventually landed with the Chicago White Sox, where manager Chuck Tanner also adored him, let him be himself, and he became the American League Most Valuable Player in 1972. His MVP numbers didn't surprise his teammates, who knew the talent he had.
Check out my other items which include many vintage Topps autographed baseball cards, including the Alex Johnson signed 1965 Topps.
