1958 Topps #449 Gene Fodge
About Gene Fodge
Fodge's only major league season came in 1958 with the Chicago Cubs. He debuted April 20 and went 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 games, striking out 15 in 39.2 innings, and beat the Dodgers with a complete game at the Los Angeles Coliseum. This is his rookie card, #449, printed in the sixth and final series of 1958 Topps, next to Charlie Lau at #448 and Preston Ward at #450. Topps issued 494 cards in the set.
Gene Fodge was a right-handed pitcher from South Bend, Indiana, who reached the major leagues for one season, 1958, with the Chicago Cubs. A 1950 graduate of South Bend Central High School, he signed with the Cubs that year and began at Class-D Janesville in 1951 before two years in the Marine Corps during the Korean War. He worked his way up through Des Moines, the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League, where he went 19-7 in 1956, and then Fort Worth, Memphis and Portland. After debuting with two perfect innings against the Cardinals, he went 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 games for the Cubs, and his only win came in a complete game against the Dodgers. He returned to Fort Worth for the rest of the year, finished with a 68-51 minor league record, and went home to South Bend, where he raised his family.
Sources: Wikipedia · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 293 | 0 | 5 | 102 | 99 | 59 | 19 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 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 Gene Fodge card?
It is card #449 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 Gene Fodge, Chicago Cubs.
Is the 1958 Topps Gene Fodge #449 a rookie card?
Yes - #449 is a rookie card, one of 103 in the 1958 Topps set.
How many graded copies of the 1958 Topps Gene Fodge #449 are there?
PSA has graded 293 copies and SGC 18 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.