1964 Topps #504 Claude Raymond
About Claude Raymond
The National League held a special draft on October 10, 1963 to reinforce Houston and New York, and the Colt .45s took Raymond out of the Milwaukee organization for $30,000. Card #504, from series 6, is his first Topps issue in Houston colors. The 1963 line behind it explains why he was available: 4-6 with a 5.40 ERA, though he carried a heavy load of 45 games for the Braves.
Claude Raymond, the Quebec right-hander known as Frenchy, signed with the Milwaukee Braves organization in 1955 before the White Sox took him in the December 1958 Rule 5 draft. He debuted April 15, 1959, was returned to Milwaukee that May, and pitched 12 major-league seasons (1959, 1961-1971) as a relief specialist for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves, Houston and the Montreal Expos, finishing 46-53 with a 3.66 ERA, 497 strikeouts and more than 80 saves in 449 games. At midseason in 1966 he led both leagues with a 1.35 ERA and was named to the National League All-Star team, a first for a Quebec-born player. Sold to the Expos in August 1969, he became the club's first Quebecer and pitched through 1971 despite arthritis in his pitching hand and an ankle infection. He was Montreal's French-language broadcaster from 1972 to 2001 and a roving coach from 2002 to 2004, entered the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2019.
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 | 195 | 2 | 23 | 91 | 48 | 14 | 12 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 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
More Houston Colt .45's cards:
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- #38 Jim Wynn
- #56 Hal Brown
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- #121 Pete Runnels
- #142 John Bateman
- #158 Ken Johnson
- #179 Carl Warwick
- #205 Nellie Fox
- #226 Colts 1964 Rookie Stars
- #241 Jim Owens
- #256 Johnny Weekly
- #282 Bob Bruce
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #504 card?
It is card #504 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Claude Raymond of the Houston Colt .45's.
Why is #504 harder to find?
It is a series 5-6 card. Cards from the fifth and sixth print series (#371-522) are a step tougher to find than #1-370; availability in 1964 runs in three tiers, not a cliff.
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.