Vintage Fridays: Curt Blefary, 1966 Topps #460

Wow, this is the second straight Vintage Friday that I've posted on a Saturday. I must really be slipping. In my defense, I didn't arrive home from the Capital Fringe Festival until nearly 1:00 AM this morning. I had load-in for my play at 2:30, followed by our performance at 6:00 (it went very well, thanks for asking), followed by a couple other friends' shows at 8:15 (Sisters of Ellery Hollow) and 10:15 (The Road to Nowhere). I heartily recommend both, if you're so inclined. But I'm rambling.

Today's tardy vintage card was helpfully improved upon by a previous owner. He or she realized that Topps was selling Curt Blefary's defensive prowess and versatility short by designating him as "just an outfielder". He wasn't any old outfielder, he was a left fielder, by god. His talents didn't end there, either. He could play first base in a pinch as well! Isn't that something?

Of course, that's not the half of it. Over the course of his career, Curt also logged time in right field, at catcher (however reluctantly), second base, and third base. But as our unknown editor has rightly noted, he got most of his playing time at first and in left. It's worth noting that there were two separate seasons in Blefary's career in which he played exclusively at those two positions: his sophomore year of 1966, and 1969 (his first year in Houston).

Vintage Fridays: Curt Blefary, 1968 Topps #312

There's always something that calls out to us, attracting us, pulling us back home again.

Curt Blefary signed his first professional contract with the Yankees when he was still a teenager, back in 1962. Three years later, he was an Oriole and also the American League Rookie of the Year, a 22-home-run slugger with a .381 on-base percentage. The following year he and his Baltimore teammates were World Champions, the greatest thrill that a player can experience in his career. I suppose it was only natural that his career would seem like a letdown after such a fantastic start. After he slumped to .200 with a .301 OBP in 1968, the Birds traded him to Houston. He never recaptured the momentum of his early career, and was out of the league before age thirty.

But some part of Curt apparently remained back in Charm City. After his career ended, he continued what would be a lifelong struggle with alcoholism and developed pancreatitis, which claimed his life at age 57 in early 2001. Though he died in Florida, the ex-outfielder's final resting place is in Baltimore, on 33rd Street. Carrying out his final wish, his widow Lana scattered his ashes on home plate (provided by the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum) on the site of Memorial Stadium, which had already been demolished by that time.

Curt Blefary is home.