1964 Topps #79 Bob Heffner
About Bob Heffner
1964 Topps #79 shows Heffner with the Boston Red Sox, part of the set's first print series. Pitching almost exclusively out of the bullpen with occasional starts, he set personal bests with seven wins, 112 strikeouts, six saves, and 158 2/3 innings for a Red Sox club that finished in eighth place. The card is recognized as his rookie card.
Bob Heffner was a tall right-handed pitcher out of Allentown, Pennsylvania, signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1957 after starring in basketball and baseball at Allentown High School. He worked his way up through the Red Sox farm system, including stops with his hometown Allentown club, before debuting in the majors in June 1963 with a complete-game win over Detroit. Used as both a starter and a reliever across five big league seasons with Boston, Cleveland, and California, Heffner posted an 11-21 record with a 4.51 ERA and six saves over 114 games. His best season came in 1964, when he set career highs in wins, strikeouts, games, and innings for an eighth-place Red Sox club. Off the mound he was known by the nickname "Butch," given to him in high school by the school's radio broadcaster. After his playing career ended in 1968, he spent nearly three decades in sales for a beverage distributor in his hometown.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 190 | 1 | 13 | 87 | 55 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 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: #579 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
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- #10 1963 American League Home Run Leaders
- #12 1963 American League R.B.I. Leaders
- #25 Bill Monbouquette
- #60 Frank Malzone
- #93 Gary Geiger
- #112 Bob Tillman
- #153 Dick Williams
- #170 Dick Radatz
- #182 Sox Sockers
- #186 Roman Mejias
- #210 Carl Yastrzemski
- #228 Felix Mantilla
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #79 card?
It is card #79 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Heffner of the Boston Red Sox.
Is 1964 Topps #79 a rookie card?
Yes - #79 is the 1964 Topps rookie card of Bob Heffner.
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.