'59 Topps set build: Post #3/572 Bob Friend

Sometimes you just never know what to expect.   I won an eBay auction last week that advertised 10 cards from the '59 set, I wound up receiving 13!  The card you're about to see is one of the "bonus" additions to the envelope.

Card #569:  Bob Friend all star card

 

Interesting that the card front lists Friend as a '59 All Star Selection, when in fact he played in the '58 All Star game.

Bob certainly earned the All Star nomination in 1958, he had 10 wins by mid July, and wound up leading the NL with 22 wins that year.

For you stat geeks (guys like me), the caption on the back held true for the rest of Friend's career.  Bob finished with 31 wins versus the Braves over his 16 year career.

It's not surprising that this card was added to the envelope.  It's about as beat up a card as you'll find in my collection.  Most of the other '59 cards that I own are still pretty "solid", however this one is very flimsy and creased in several spots.

This is one of those cards that you'd describe as "adding character" to the set.  You know how it is, going through all of the pages with the cards that are in nice shape, and then hitting the final page and seeing this beat up beauty.   A conversation between collectors as to how the card got this bad would certainly ensue.   Bike spokes?  Folded up in a kids pocket?  Flipped endlessly to the ground, landing on corners constantly?

We'll never know, but for now, it's found a home. 

Thanks for reading, Robert