1958 Topps #13 Billy Hoeft
About Billy Hoeft
Billy Hoeft appears as #13 in the first series of the 1958 Topps set, in a Detroit Tigers uniform. It follows a 1957 season of 9 wins and 11 losses with a 3.48 ERA over 207 innings, a step down from his 20-win peak of 1956. The card exists in two printings, the common white name and a scarcer yellow-name variation, and both carry the number 13.
Billy Hoeft, born May 17, 1932, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was a left-handed pitcher who spent 15 seasons in the major leagues. As a schoolboy and American Legion pitcher he was a Wisconsin legend, winning more than 30 straight games with three no-hitters and, in April 1950, striking out all 27 batters he faced. Scouts swarmed him, but he refused bonus-player status, reasoning that the rules attached to it would stall his development, and signed with Detroit. He debuted at 19 on April 18, 1952, struck out the side on nine pitches against the White Sox on September 7, 1953, and went 16-7 with a 2.99 ERA in 1955, leading the majors with seven shutouts and earning his only All-Star selection. He won 20 games in 1956. Detroit traded him in May 1959, and he pitched afterward for Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Milwaukee and the Cubs, closing his career with four late games back in San Francisco in 1966. He finished 97-101 with a 3.94 earned run average and 1,140 strikeouts in 505 games, and he served up the first of Harmon Killebrew's 573 home runs. Hoeft died of cancer on March 16, 2010, in Canadian Lakes, Michigan.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Variations & how to tell them apart
Yellow Name (YN) #13
Nineteen Series 1/early-2 cards exist with the player name printed in yellow instead of white, including stars Aaron (#30), Kaline (#70) and McDougald (#20).
- #13 — base card: the lettering is printed in WHITE — the base, more common version. (this page)
- #13B — Yellow Name: the player name is printed in YELLOW — the scarcer version, roughly 2-2.5x tougher than white per PSA populations. — see the card page
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 245 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 87 | 76 | 22 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 22 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 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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Related cards
More Billy Hoeft in this set: #13B Yellow Name
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #13B Billy Hoeft (Yellow Name)
- #32 J.W. Porter
- #32B J.W. Porter (Yellow Name)
- #46 Lou Sleater
- #46B Lou Sleater (Yellow Name)
- #57 Tim Thompson
- #57B Tim Thompson (Yellow Name)
- #70 Al Kaline
- #70B Al Kaline (Yellow Name)
- #81 Steve Boros
- #81B Steve Boros (Yellow Team)
- #95 Frank Bolling
- #112 Gus Zernial
- #115 Jim Bunning
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1958 Topps Billy Hoeft card?
It is card #13 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 Hoeft, Detroit Tigers.
Does the 1958 Topps Billy Hoeft #13 have a yellow variation?
Yes - #13 is one of the 33 cards that also exist with yellow lettering. This page covers the common white-letter version; the yellow version runs roughly 2-2.5x scarcer per PSA population data.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Billy Hoeft #13 are there?
PSA has graded 245 copies and SGC 22 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.