1964 Topps #209 Bob Allen
About Bob Allen
Bob Allen's 1964 Topps card, #209, sits in print series 3. It is the odd one in his run, the only Topps card that shows him as a Pittsburgh Pirate. Pittsburgh had acquired him from Cleveland on December 14, 1963, but the deal came undone that spring: the Pirates sent him back to the Indians in April 1964, and he never pitched a regular-season game for them. By the time series 3 packs reached the counter, the pitcher on the front was already back in the Cleveland organization, and he would not appear in the majors at all in 1964.
Robert Gray Allen was a left-handed relief pitcher who spent his entire five-season major league career with the Cleveland Indians, appearing exclusively out of the bullpen and never making a start in 204 games. Born in Tatum, Texas on October 23, 1937, he signed with Cleveland as an amateur free agent in 1956 and went 16-11 for the Indians' Mobile farm club in 1960. He reached the American League on April 14, 1961, retiring all three batters he faced, and went 3-2 over 81 2/3 innings as a rookie. He pitched for Cleveland again in 1962 and 1963, and that December the Indians traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for players to be named; the Pirates sent him back to Cleveland in April 1964 without his ever pitching a big-league game for them, and he was out of the majors through 1964 and 1965. Allen resurfaced with the Indians in 1966 and 1967, closing with a 7-12 record, a 4.11 ERA, 199 strikeouts and 19 saves. He died in Tatum in December 2023 at the age of 86.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 175 | 1 | 23 | 76 | 49 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 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: #373 Pittsburgh Pirates
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #1 1963 National League E.R.A. Leaders
- #7 1963 National League Batting Leaders
- #20 Bob Friend
- #37 Smoky Burgess
- #62 Ted Savage
- #74 Pirates 1964 Rookie Stars
- #91 Bob Bailey
- #117 Earl Francis
- #141 Danny Murtaugh
- #163 Donn Clendenon
- #193 Jerry Lynch
- #224 Tommie Sisk
- #246 Manny Mota
- #266 Gene Freese
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #209 card?
It is card #209 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Allen of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.