CURT FLOOD - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED BASEBALL CO-SIGNED BY: HARMON KILLEBREW, ANDY "HANDY ANDY" PAFKO, JOE RUDI, BILLY SAMPLE, DOCK ELLIS, AL "MR. SCOOP" OLIVER, REX BARNEY, BERT CAMPANERIS, FRANK THOMAS, TERRY PUHL, RALPH "HAWK" BRANCA, DON LARSEN, GENE BENSON, STANLEY "DOC" GLENN, BILL "READY" CASH, JOSHUA JOHNSON, WILMER FIELDS, SHERWOOD BREWER, MAX MANNING - HFSID 291161

CURT FLOOD, HARMON KILLEBREW, DON LARSEN and MANY OTHERS
Fine assortment of baseball signatures on an American League (Budig) ball. Includes many Negro Leaguers!
Baseball signed: "Curt Flood", "Rex Barney", "Gene Benson", "Ralph Branca", "Sherwood Brewer", "Bert Campaneris", "Bill Cash", "Dock Ellis", "Wilmer Fields", "Stanley Glenn", "Harmon Killebrew", "Josh Johnson", "Don Larsen", "Max Manning", "Al Oliver", "Andy Pafko", "Terry Puhl", "Joe Rudi", "Billy Sample", "Frank Thomas" and others. Rawlings Official American League (Budig) Baseball, signed by a great collection of Major League and Negro League stars. CURT FLOOD (1938-1997), who roamed the St Louis Cardinals outfield from 1956 to 1969, was one of the best defensive center fieldersof all time, once playing 223 consecutive games without an error. A 3-time All-Star and 7-time Gold Glove winner, he played in all seven games of three World Series for the Cardinals. His challenge to the "reserve clause" was unsuccessful, by a 5-4 vote in the US Supreme Court, but helped pave the way to free agency five years later. REX BARNEY (1924-1997) was a very fast but also very wild right-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943, 1946-1950). He pitched a no-hitter against the Giants in 1948. He was the public address announcer for the Baltimore Orioles from 1974 until his death. GENE BENSON (1913-1999), an outfielder in the Negro Leagues, mentored Jackie Robinson before Robinson broke baseball's color barrier. Benson, who debuted with the Philadelphia Stars in 1937, also played with Pittsburgh before returning to the Stars, batting .327, .370 and .345 from 1944-1946. RALPH BRANCA (1926-2016), a 3-time All-Star and the winner of 21 games for the Dodgers in 1947, is most remembered as the relief pitcher who gave up the pennant-winning home run to Bobby Thomson ("the shot heard round the world") in the 1951 NL playoff. SHERWOOD BREWER (1923-2003) was a high average, singles hitting infielder in the Negro Leagues, finishing his career as a player and then manager of the Kansas City Monarchs. In KC he formed a top notch double play team with future Hall of Fame shortstop Ernie Banks. Brewer served in the Pacific during World War II, playing baseball on Saipan after helping to conquer it. Shortstop BERT CAMPANERIS ( born in Cuba in 1942) earned three World Series rings with the Oakland A's (1972-1974). The speedster led the AL in stolen bases 6 times, including his first four seasons. A 6-time All-Star, Campy was the first player to play all nine positions in a single game, playing a different position each inning.  BILL "READY" CASH (1919-2011) was a catcher for the Philadelphia Stars of the Negro League (1943-1950), playing three more seasons in Mexican, Canadian, and US minor leagues. He was a Negro League All-star in 1948-1949, and a Mexican League All-Star in 1950. He sits on the Board of Directors of the Negro League Baseball Players Association. DOCK ELLIS (1945-2008) pitched in 12 Major League seasons, 9 of them with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His best season was 1971, when he won 19 games for the World Champion Pirates and started the All-Star Game. However, Ellis is even better known as one of baseball's great eccentrics. He pitched a no-hitter against the Padres in 1970 while high on LSD. In 1974, he tried to hit every Cincinnati Reds batter he faced, hitting the first three, missing the fourth 4 times for a walk, and throwing twice at the head of Johnny Bench before being pulled from the game by his manager.  WILMER FIELDS (1922-2004) joined the Negro League Homestead Grays in 1939. After service in Europe during World War II, he played in leagues throughout the Americas (from Canada to Venezuela) through 1958, being named his league's outstanding third baseman eight times. From the mid-1990s until his death, Fields was President of the Negro League Baseball Players Association. STANLEY "DOC" GLENN (1926-2011) caught for the Philadelphia Stars of the Negro League (1944-1950), interrupted by World War II. He wrote a book about Negro League baseball, Don't Let Anyone Take Your Joy Away (2006). A President of the Negro League Players Association, Glenn opined that Jackie Robinson's breaking of the Major League color barrier was more important to civil rights than Brown v Board of Education. JOSH JOHNSON (b. 1984) has pitched for the Florida Marlins since 2005, winning more than two-thirds of his decisions (48-23 through August 2011), leading the NL in earned run average in 2010, the year of his second straight All-Star appearance. HARMON KILLEBREW (1936-2011), who played 21 of his 22 seasons for the Minnesota Twins (1954-1974), was the American League's Most Valuable Player in 1969. He led the league in home runs six times, finishing with 573 for his career, and in RBI's 3 times. An 11-time All-Star, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984. DON LARSEN (b. 1929) was immortalized by his World Series perfect game of Oct. 8, 1956. He was the last active former St. Louis Brown, and a good hitting pitcher often used to pinch hit. MAX MANNING (1918-2003) pitched for the Negro League Newark Eagles for 10 years, beginning in 1938, interrupted by World War II. Nicknamed "Dr. Cyclops" for his thick glasses, Manning used a sidearm delivery. He considered his best game a 2-0 shutout against the Homestead Grays team lead by Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard. After the Major League color barrier was breached, Manning declined to negotiate with the New York Giants because his Negro League team owner wasn't included in the negotiations. Outfielder/first baseman AL OLIVER (b. 1946) played for 7 ML teams, but is best remembered for his decade with the Pirates (1968-1977) He batted over .300 nine straight times, and is among the Pirates' all-time leaders in doubles, home runs and extra-base hits. He won the NL batting crown with the Montreal Expos in 1982. Oliver was the first player to amass 200 hits and 100 RBI in a season in both the AL and the NL. ANDY PAFKO (1921-2013), a 5-time All-Star, played for three teams (Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves) in his 17-year NL career, and was on a pennant-winning team in each city. Pafko played on the last Cubs team to make it to the World Series (1945) and on the Milwaukee Braves' only World Championship team (1957). He made a famous blooper in 1949 with the Cubs, arguing with umpire Al Barlick with the ball in his glove without calling time out, allowing a Cardinal hitter an "inside the glove" home run! Canadian TERRY PUHL (b. 1956) played 15 Major League seasons (1977-1991), all but the last one with the Houston Astros. A fine defensive outfielder and steady hitter, he set a (since broken) record for the highest batting average in a playoff series: .526 in a losing effort against the Phillies in the NLCS (1980). He was an All-Star in 1978. JOE RUDI (b. 1946) played 16 Major League seasons (1967-1982), but is best remembered as left fielder on three consecutive World Champion Oakland A's teams (1972-1974). A 3-time All-Star and 3-time Gold Glove, he led the AL in hits and triples in 1972 and in doubles in 1974. BILLY SAMPLE (b. 1955) was a solid defensive left fielder for the Texas Rangers (1978-1984), followed by one season each with the Braves and Yankees. He committed not a single error in 1979. Sample moved from the field to the broadcast booth, most recently for MLB Radio (2001- ). While not as famous as Frank "the Big Hurt" Thomas of later years, FRANK THOMAS (b. 1929) played solid outfield (and shaky infield) for the Pirates, Reds, Cubs, Braves, Mets, Phillies and Astros between 1951 and 1965. A 3-time All-Star, Thomas led the original Mets in 1962 with 34 home runs and 94 RBI. He played on two of the worst teams of all time, the 1952 Pirates and the 1962 Mets, and on 7 teams which lost over 100 games. Baseball statistician Bill James rates Thomas the worst fielding third baseman of all time. A fine collection of baseball stars and characters, and there are a few names yet to be discovered. Light soiled spots. Multiple signatures light and beaded (legible). Otherwise, fine condition. Accompanied by PSA/DNA LOA.