1956 Topps #286 Bill Wight
1956 Topps #286 Bill Wight
About Bill Wight
Signed out of the Bay Area by Yankees scout Joe Devine for $1,000, left-hander Bill Wight (born April 12, 1922, in Rio Vista, California; died 2007) reached the majors with New York on April 17, 1946, and pitched 12 big-league seasons through 1958. A well-traveled starter, he worked for eight clubs—the Yankees, White Sox, Red Sox, Tigers, Indians, Orioles, Reds and Cardinals—finishing 77-99 with a 3.95 ERA and 574 strikeouts over 347 games and roughly 1,563 innings. His best year came in 1949 with the Chicago White Sox, when he went 15-13 with a 3.31 ERA. Wight was famous less for his fastball than for one of the era's finest pickoff moves to first base, a deception he taught himself by studying veteran left-hander Walter Mails; opposing managers insisted he balked on every attempt, yet he was charged with only seven balks in his entire career. This card, a high-number Series 4 issue, catches him during his 1955-57 run with the Baltimore Orioles. After retiring he became a longtime scout for Houston and Atlanta, credited with signing future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan for the Colt .45s.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · SABR
Variations & how to tell them apart
High Number (Series 4)
Cards 261-340. Unlike most vintage sets, the 1956 high numbers carry NO series premium - they were distributed in similar quantities to the rest of the set.
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 675 | 1 | 13 | 173 | 230 | 153 | 68 | 37 | 0 |
| SGC | 62 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-06-30. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8); totals are summed across each grader's listed variations.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1956 Topps Bill Wight card?
It is card #286 of 340 in the 1956 Topps set - Topps' first set after buying out rival Bowman, and one of the most attractive issues in the hobby. It pictures the Baltimore Orioles player.
Is the 1956 Topps Bill Wight valuable?
Value depends on grade and (where it applies) the back or front variation. Use the links above to check current T206 Cards inventory and live eBay listings.
Sources: Trading Card Database, Baseball-Reference, BaseballCardPedia, PSA & SGC population reports, and Baseball-Almanac. Card data, images & population compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-07-01.