Random Topps Card of the Day: 1960 Topps #310 Frank Malzone

It's Retro Sunday!!! Thanks to the Topps Card Randomizer, introducing the Random Topps Card of the Day for Sunday, April 11, 2010:

• Official Card Set Name and Card Number: 1960 Topps #310.
• Player Name, position, team: Frank Malzone, third baseman, Boston Red Sox.
• Major League Debut: September 17, 1955.
• Last Line of Statistics: 1959 stats (Red Sox): 154 G, 604 AB, 90 R, 169 H, 34 2B, 2 3B, 19 HR, 92 RBI, .280 AVG.
• Any special information about player: Signed by Red Sox as a Free Agent before the 1947 season. Bats: right, Throws: right.
• Any special information about this specific card: Malzone's fourth regular Topps card (total does not include any all-star cards). Malzone was already a three-time All-Star, three-time MVP candidate, three-time Gold Glover, and some argue that he could have won the AL Rookie of the Year award. The 1960 set saw the return of the horizontally-oriented fronts, something not seen since 1956. This is the only standard size (2½ x 3½ inch) cards designed horizontally (the 1955 and 1956 cards were 2 5/8 x 3 3/4). The fronts feature two pictures, the main one and a black and white "action pose" to the left of the main picture. The back features the stats (the past year's numbers and lifetime totals only), a large section with season highlights, and a cartoon. There are a number of season highlights, including April 19 (12th inning HR), May 23 (7th inning double), June 6 (2-run HR), July 14 (3 RBI's), July 30 (3 run HR), the 2nd All-Star Game (HR), and August 5 (4-5, 5 runs). The cartoon shows a baseball player (presumably Frank) sympathizing with a worn out home plate ("I'm too rough for you, home late?") Below the cartoon, it indicates that Frank "has averaged 94 RBI's for the past three years). The Beckett guide indicates that each series from the 1960 Topps set were printed colored backs. The Malzone, along with other cards in the fourth series, comes either in a gray, white, or cream colored card stock.
• Lo-Hi Beckett value: $3.00-$6.00.
• How many cards of this player do I own?: 0 cards.

In case you're actually wondering, I don't own this card, but was able to get a crystal clean copy of the image from the from the Baseball Card Cyber Museum. So thank you Joe McAnally and the folks at the BCCM.

Well, it's back to normal on Monday. Tomorrow's card will be: 1994 Topps #576. Post will arrive at 1:00 PM CST. Come on back then to see what the Topps Card Randomizer gets us to look at then.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama