Aurelio Monteagudo pitched in 72 games primarily as a relief pitcher with five teams in seven years the definition of "journeyman." Why he was chosen for the design of this prototype baseball card by Topps we'll never know. However presented here is a high-quality prototype developed by Topps in 1970 or possibly 1971 (as evidenced by the photo on his 1971 Topps card shown here for illustrative purposes only). The card was given directly to our consignor by longtime Topps art director and illustrator Woody Gelman. A well-established hobbyist with many industry connections he has kept the card in his collection for many years. The card design is as far removed as the actual designs for 1970 and 1971 Topps as possible featuring wide cream-colored borders with an ornate red and blue design flourish at the bottom in which Monteagudo's name team and position are printed (his first name misspelled). Inset into the framed area is the same posed photo of Monteagudo featured in his 1971 Topps card. The design flourishes and lettering appear to have been done by hand; had the design been selected as the final design it is likely that these graphic elements would have been further refined. An extremely interesting look at Topps' design process likely a one-of-a-kind example of a card design that was ultimately rejected.