1964 Topps #175 Billy Williams
About Billy Williams
Card #175 sits in the second series and reports a 1963 line of .286, 25 home runs and 95 RBIs across 161 games -- the third straight season of at least 20 homers and 84 RBIs in a run that would last through 1973. It was also the year the Cubs finally finished 82-80, their first winning record since 1946, though still only seventh in the standings. And in September 1963 Williams began the consecutive-games streak that would reach 1,117 before he finally took a day off in September 1970.
Billy Williams played left field for the Chicago Cubs from 1959 through 1974, joining Ernie Banks and Ron Santo in an everyday core that pulled a long-buried franchise back toward contention in the late 1960s. Born in Whistler, Alabama, he liked to say his signing bonus was a bus ticket and a cigar for his father. Bigotry in the Double-A Texas League drove him home in 1959 until Cubs scout Buck O'Neil came to Whistler and coaxed him back. He hit .278 with 25 home runs and 86 RBIs in 1961 and became the first Cub named National League Rookie of the Year. A six-time All-Star known as "Sweet-Swinging Billy from Whistler" for a short, effortless stroke, he won the 1972 batting title at .333 and finished MVP runner-up twice, in 1970 and 1972, both times behind Cincinnati's Johnny Bench. He played 1,117 straight games from September 1963 to September 1970, a National League record that stood until 1983. Williams closed an 18-year career, the last two as Oakland's designated hitter, with a .290 average, 2,711 hits, 426 home runs and 1,475 RBIs -- a home run total that then ranked eighth in major league history among left-handed hitters. He entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987 and later coached 19 seasons in the majors.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · Internet Archive
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,050 | 1 | 31 | 178 | 222 | 230 | 143 | 243 | 2 |
| SGC | 246 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 41 | 59 | 64 | 61 | 5 |
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: #237 Chicago Cubs
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #1 1963 National League E.R.A. Leaders
- #29 Lou Brock
- #55 Ernie Banks
- #78 Merritt Ranew
- #96 Bob Buhl
- #111 Don Elston
- #131 Steve Boros
- #192 Cubs 1964 Rookie Stars
- #220 Dick Ellsworth
- #252 Ken Aspromonte
- #269 Ellis Burton
- #286 Don Landrum
- #309 Paul Toth
- #336 Andre Rodgers
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #175 card?
It is card #175 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs.
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.