1958 Topps #297 Don Buddin
About Don Buddin
Card #297 in the fourth series of the 1958 Topps set shows Buddin with the Boston Red Sox and is catalogued as his rookie card. He had debuted in 1956, hitting .239 with 5 home runs in 114 games, then spent 1957 in the Army. Back in Boston, he played all 136 of his games at shortstop in 1958, hitting .237 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI, and led the American League's shortstops in errors.
Donald Thomas Buddin was a shortstop from Turbeville, South Carolina, who signed with the Boston Red Sox out of Olanta High School for a reported fifty thousand dollar bonus after scout Mace Brown persuaded him and his father to pick Boston. He held the Red Sox starting shortstop job from 1956 through 1961, missing 1957 for Army service at Fort Jackson and Fort McPherson. A right-handed hitter who finished with slightly more career walks than strikeouts, 410 to 404, Buddin led American League shortstops in on-base plus slugging in 1958 and ranked second only to Woodie Held in 1959 -- but his league-leading error totals in those same two seasons earned him the nickname Bootin' Buddin from unforgiving Fenway Park crowds, and prompted one Boston writer to suggest his car carry an E-6 license plate. His signature moment came on July 11, 1959, when he hit a walk-off grand slam against the Yankees in the bottom of the tenth. He closed out a six-year major league career in 1962 with Houston and the Detroit Tigers, a .241 lifetime hitter with 41 home runs.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 233 | 0 | 10 | 81 | 79 | 26 | 25 | 12 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 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 Don Buddin card?
It is card #297 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 Don Buddin, Boston Red Sox.
Is the 1958 Topps Don Buddin #297 a rookie card?
Yes - #297 is a rookie card, one of 103 in the 1958 Topps set.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Don Buddin #297 are there?
PSA has graded 233 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.