1964 Topps #278 Bobby Shantz
About Bobby Shantz
Shantz opened 1964 in the St. Louis bullpen but was no longer the pitcher of the year before, and on June 15 the Cardinals packaged him with Ernie Broglio and Doug Clemens to the Cubs for Lou Brock, Jack Spring and Paul Toth. Chicago got little from him and sold his contract to the Phillies on August 15. Back where he started, he gave up eight runs in 32 innings down the stretch, beat Don Drysdale with 7 2/3 innings of three-hit relief on September 17, then, on his 39th birthday, took the loss when Rico Carty tripled with the bases loaded during the Phillies' ten-game collapse. His card, number 278, is a regular-series Cardinals card.
Bobby Shantz, born September 26, 1925, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, was a left-handed pitcher who spent sixteen major league seasons, from 1949 through 1964, with the Philadelphia and Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Colt .45's, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies. Listed at 5-foot-6 and about 140 pounds, he was told all his life he was too small to pitch, then went 24-7 in 1952 to lead the American League in wins and take the Most Valuable Player Award for a fourth-place Athletics club. A broken left wrist that September and a shoulder injury the following May ended his run as a frontline starter, and after 1957 he was never again a regular member of a rotation. He still had plenty left: a three-time All-Star, he led the majors in earned run average for the 1957 Yankees, won a World Series title with the 1958 Yankees, and took the first Gold Glove Award ever given to a pitcher in 1957, the start of eight straight, four in each league. He retired at 119-99 with a 3.38 ERA. Philadelphia later put him on its Baseball Wall of Fame and in its Sports Hall of Fame.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 304 | 1 | 39 | 167 | 67 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
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: #87 St. Louis Cardinals
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #7 1963 National League Batting Leaders
- #11 1963 National League R.B.I. Leaders
- #24 Carl Sawatski
- #40 Dick Groat
- #59 Ernie Broglio
- #103 Curt Flood
- #119 Gary Kolb
- #147 Ray Sadecki
- #160 Ken Boyer
- #183 Ron Taylor
- #211 Jim Coker
- #240 Bill White
- #262 Cardinals 1964 Rookie Stars
- #295 Roger Craig
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #278 card?
It is card #278 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bobby Shantz of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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.