1956 Topps #270 Billy Loes
1956 Topps #270 Billy Loes
About Billy Loes
Billy Loes was a right-handed pitcher who starred at William Cullen Bryant High School in Queens, where he threw five no-hitters, before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948 for a $21,000 bonus that was described as the largest in club history at the time. Born December 13, 1929, in Long Island City and raised in Astoria, Loes debuted for Brooklyn on May 18, 1950, and pitched eleven big-league seasons with the Dodgers (1950, 1952–56), Baltimore Orioles (1956–59), and San Francisco Giants (1960–61), finishing 80–63 with a 3.89 ERA and 645 strikeouts over 1,190.1 innings. His best year came in 1952, when he went 13–8 with a 2.69 ERA and four shutouts, and he later made his only All-Star team in 1957 with the Orioles, tossing three scoreless innings. Loes is best remembered as a quirky character: in Game 6 of the 1952 World Series he committed a balk when the ball slipped from his hand and then explained a misplayed grounder by saying he lost it "in the sun," and he had predicted the Yankees would win in seven games (he was misquoted as saying six). He was a member of Brooklyn's 1955 World Series championship club, the franchise's first title, and one writer dubbed him the Dodgers' "right-handed weirdie." He died July 15, 2010, in Tucson, Arizona. This #270 card is part of the tougher high-number fourth series of the 1956 Topps set.
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 | 840 | 0 | 18 | 229 | 260 | 197 | 72 | 64 | 0 |
| SGC | 88 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 26 | 15 | 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 Billy Loes card?
It is card #270 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 Brooklyn Dodgers player.
Is the 1956 Topps Billy Loes 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.