Orioles Card "O" the Day

An intersection of two of my passions: baseball cards and the Baltimore Orioles. Updated daily?

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Fred Valentine, 2014 Orioles Alumni Postcards

Here's another of the signed postcards that I picked up at Camden Yards on Monday night. I had noticed that Fred Valentine was wearing an MLB Players' Alumni Association polo shirt, but I didn't realize until I read his bio on the card back that the ex-outfielder was one of the founding members of that group back in 1982.

Here's a few more interesting tidbits about Fred Valentine, courtesy of the SABR Biography Project:

-His aunt nicknamed him "Squeaky" as a toddler, and the moniker stuck throughout his life.

-Fred is ambidextrous, which was an asset when he played quarterback in high school football.

-He graduated from Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial College (a historically black college, known today as Tennessee State University) in three and a half years.

I'm glad I got a chance to meet a former player who had a greater impact off the field than on it.

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