Manufacturer: Topps
Set: 1958 Topps Baseball ➡️
Player Name: Curt Flood
Position/Team: Outfield for Cardinals
Card #: 464
Card Size: 2-1/2” x 3-1/2”
Card Values: See Pricing Table Below
Curt Flood played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1958 to 1969. While not a power hitter, his career was marked by consistent offensive production and exceptional defense.
He had a career batting average of .293 and batted over .300 in six different seasons. In 1963, he had a career-best 200 hits, and in 1964, he led the National League with 211 hits.
Flood was widely considered one of the best defensive outfielders of his era. He won seven consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 1963 to 1969. He set a major league record for outfielders with a 226-game errorless streak and 568 consecutive chances without an error. He was a key member of the Cardinals’ World Series championship teams in 1964 and 1967.
In 1969, following a standout season, he was traded from the Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies. Citing his desire to choose his own employer, he refused the trade and, with the support of the Major League Baseball Players Association, filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball and Commissioner Bowie Kuhn. His lawsuit, Flood v. Kuhn, challenged the league’s “reserve clause,” which effectively bound a player to their team indefinitely, preventing them from becoming a free agent. The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled against Flood in a 5-3 decision in 1972, upholding baseball’s antitrust exemption.
Just a few years later, in 1975, an arbitrator’s ruling in a separate case effectively dismantled the reserve clause, paving the way for the free agency system that exists today. Flood is credited with sacrificing his career for the good of future players, and his efforts led to the Curt Flood Act of 1998, which removed baseball’s antitrust exemption for player-owner relations.
Shop current listings for this card on ebay!
Clicking a link to eBay may result in a referral commission being paid if a purchase is made.
Pricing Data For This Rookie Card
➡️ See All 1958 Topps Rookie Card Prices
Pricing chart includes raw card price & some graded card value estimates.
These values are collated from a variety of resources including recently sold listings, sales averages and a variety of other sports card pricing data sources. Please see full disclaimer on “Terms Page” for more information.
(Rookiecardprices.com only shows values for regular base set cards. No prices are shown for errors, parallels, subsets, misprints or other cards unless noted.)
DISCLAIMER: This data is not intended as financial advice and should not be used as such. Please do your own research before making any investment or selling/buying decisions.
More Rookie Cards From 1958 Topps Baseball
