1964 Topps #551 Billy Hoeft
About Billy Hoeft
Card 551 sits in the seventh series of 1964 Topps, among the set's high numbers, and it is a Milwaukee Braves card, one of his six Topps cards from 1961 through 1966. It was already behind events. Hoeft spent 1963 in San Francisco, kept off the mound until June 15 by a shoulder he jammed in a spring fall, then worked 23 games out of the bullpen for 24 1/3 innings, four saves and a 4.44 ERA. On December 3, 1963, the Giants shipped him to Milwaukee with Felipe Alou and Ed Bailey for Del Crandall, Bob Shaw and Bob Hendley.
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-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 249 | 2 | 38 | 123 | 60 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-09-04. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team card: #132 Milwaukee Braves
More Milwaukee Braves cards:
- #3 1963 National League Pitching Leaders
- #7 1963 National League Batting Leaders
- #9 1963 National League Home Run Leaders
- #11 1963 National League R.B.I. Leaders
- #35 Ed Mathews
- #53 Denis Menke
- #65 Felipe Alou
- #70 Joe Torre
- #94 Braves 1964 Rookie Stars
- #115 Frank Bolling
- #152 Denver Lemaster
- #171 Ty Cline
- #198 Len Gabrielson
- #218 Hank Fischer
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #551 card?
It is card #551 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Hoeft of the Milwaukee Braves.
Is 1964 Topps #551 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #523-587, distributed last. Scarcer than the rest of the set but only mildly so - the high premium runs roughly 55-60 percent, far milder than the 1952-62 highs.
How many cards are in the 1964 Topps Baseball set?
587 cards, tracked as 589 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 587 with no gaps, and no number carries two different cards; two cards - #4, the A.L. Pitching Leaders, and #517, the seventh-series checklist - carry a catalogued back variation that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, The Topps Archives, Baseball Almanac, Baseball-Reference, the SABR BioProject and the National Baseball Hall of Fame, PSA & SGC population reports. Card data compiled and maintained by T206Cards.com. Page last updated 2026-10-11.