Airbrushed Fridays: 1976 Topps Traded #120T

This week's airbrushed card asks the pivotal questions: What's a Staub? And why is it corroded?

Who is this week's victim, and why do we care? Rusty Staub has the rare distinction of being a beloved Montreal Expos icon, despite the fact that he only played there for 3 seasons and change, and also despite the fact that the Expos haven't really existed in awhile. If Rusty was elected to the Hall of Fame, he'd go in as an Expo, and they are the one team that has retired his number. That probably won't happen, but he'll have a seat at a table next to Larry Walker, Edgar Martinez and Jim Edmonds I suppose.

Why is this a thing? Before the 1976 season, the six-time All-Star was sent from the Mets to the Tigers in a trade that included Portlander Mickey Lolich. All told, Staub's 23 year career saw him play for 5 franchises, including two stops in Montreal. He was also the first player whose baseball card I flipped over that ever prompted me to ask what the heck a Colt .45 was.

Airbrushed Fridays is a weekly feature as the name seems to imply. If you know of a card with an altered photograph that you'd like to see featured, please contact me. You probably won't win anything other than tasty, tasty steroids, but you never know!