1958 Topps #164 Bob Taylor
About Bob Taylor
Topps placed Bob Taylor at #164 in the second series of its 1958 set, a rookie card lettered for the Milwaukee Braves. The picture follows a 1957 in which the 18-year-old, fresh from high school, appeared in seven games for the World Series champions, almost all as a pinch runner, with a single at bat. His $119,000 bonus had forced him onto the roster, and it was the reason his name was already known.
Robert Dale "Hawk" Taylor (1939-2012), born in Metropolis, Illinois, was a schoolboy sensation who batted .650 as a senior and signed with the Milwaukee Braves hours after his 1957 high-school graduation for a reported $119,000, the richest bonus any prospect had been given to that point. Bonus rules forced the 18-year-old straight onto the Braves' major-league roster, where he rode the bench through most of the 1957 championship season, used mainly as a pinch runner. Once the rule eased in 1958 he spent several years developing in the minors, earning a Triple-A All-Star selection as a catcher in 1960. Injury and Army service limited him to 56 games for Milwaukee across 1961-63, and the Braves sold him to the New York Mets in December 1963. New York gave him the fullest opportunity of his career in 1964, and in 1966 he hit the first pinch-hit grand slam in Mets history. He finished with the California Angels and the expansion Kansas City Royals before a back injury ended his playing days in 1971, then earned two degrees at Murray State and taught and coached baseball in Tennessee and western Kentucky. The nickname came from a boyhood favorite movie serial, "Hawk of the Wilderness."
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 245 | 0 | 4 | 62 | 91 | 46 | 25 | 17 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 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 Bob Taylor card?
It is card #164 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 Bob Taylor, Milwaukee Braves.
Is the 1958 Topps Bob Taylor #164 a rookie card?
Yes - #164 is a rookie card, one of 103 in the 1958 Topps set.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Bob Taylor #164 are there?
PSA has graded 245 copies and SGC 15 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.