1958 Topps #105 Billy Gardner
About Billy Gardner
1958 Topps #105 shows Billy Gardner as a Baltimore Oriole, in the second series of the 494-card set. It reports his best year, 1957: he led the American League in doubles with 36 and in at-bats with 644, hit .262 with 55 RBIs, played all 154 games and led league second basemen in fielding at .987, with 55 straight errorless games. The Orioles' broadcasters and writers voted him Most Valuable Oriole.
William Frederick Gardner, a Connecticut-born infielder nicknamed Shotgun for his strong throwing arm, reached the majors with the New York Giants on April 22, 1954 and collected a World Series ring that fall without appearing in the sweep of Cleveland. The Giants sold his contract to Baltimore for $20,000 in April 1956, and he became the Orioles regular second baseman for four straight seasons. His career year was 1957: he led the American League in doubles with 36, at-bats with 644 and plate appearances with 718, hit .262, played all 154 games, and led American League second basemen in fielding percentage at .987. Washington acquired him for 1960, he moved with that franchise to Minnesota, and a 1961 trade landed him with the Yankees, where he picked up a second championship as a utility infielder. A 1962 deal sent him to Boston, where his ten-year playing career ended. He spent decades afterward as a minor- and major-league coach and manager, piloting the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals in the 1980s, and died in Connecticut in January 2024 at the age of 96.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 166 | 0 | 3 | 63 | 45 | 31 | 9 | 15 | 0 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-07-09. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8). PSA counts are straight-graded (the +/Q qualifier rows are excluded).
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Billy Gardner card?
It is card #105 of the 1958 Topps Baseball set - Topps' sixth flagship issue: 494 cards numbered 1-495 (#145 was never issued), with die-cut player photos on solid-color backgrounds and the first team logos on Topps fronts. It pictures Billy Gardner, Baltimore Orioles.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Billy Gardner #105 are there?
PSA has graded 166 copies and SGC 9 as of the 2026-07-09 snapshot. Population is a scarcity guide, not a price - high-grade 1958s are notoriously tough because of the set's chronic centering and print-quality issues.
How many cards are in the 1958 Topps set?
494 issued cards, numbered 1-495 - #145 (Ed Bouchee) was pulled before release and never issued, leaving a permanent gap. The PSA master census counts 534 items: the 494 base cards plus 33 yellow-letter variations, 4 numerical checklist-back team cards, the 'Herrer' #433 error, and 2 unnumbered ad cards.
Sources: PSA CardFacts, Beckett, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball-Reference, PSA & SGC population reports, and hobby press-sheet research (Topps Archives, 2026). Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-09-30.