1964 Topps #234 Gary Bell
About Gary Bell
Card #234 in the 1964 set, a third-series issue, reports the sharpest earned run average Bell ever posted: 2.95 in 1963 across 58 appearances, 119 innings and 98 strikeouts, with an 8-5 record and five saves. Seven of those outings were starts, so Cleveland was still using him both ways, and he never bettered that ERA in any of the six seasons he had left.
Wilbur Gary Bell was a right-handed pitcher from San Antonio, Texas, who spent twelve big league seasons (1958-1969) with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Pilots and Chicago White Sox. He signed with Cleveland over the Yankees and Red Sox, reasoning that an aging Indians staff of Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Mike Garcia and Early Wynn would open a door for him, and he debuted in relief on June 1, 1958. He went 12-10 that first year and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting. Known as 'Ding Dong,' Bell was a four-time All-Star, chosen for both 1960 games and again in 1966 and 1968, and Cleveland shuffled him between the rotation and the bullpen under at least nine managers across ten seasons there. He finished 121-117 with a 3.68 ERA, 51 saves and 1,378 strikeouts in 519 games, then settled back in San Antonio, where he opened his own sporting-goods business in 1987.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 198 | 0 | 21 | 99 | 46 | 11 | 13 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 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: #172 Cleveland Indians
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #64 Ted Abernathy
- #77 Jerry Walker
- #105 Woody Held
- #122 Don McMahon
- #133 Jim Grant
- #146 Indians 1964 Rookie Stars
- #184 Al Luplow
- #199 Joe Azcue
- #216 Mike de la Hoz
- #253 Wally Post
- #301 Larry Brown
- #317 Al Smith
- #338 Jack Kralick
- #367 Fred Whitfield
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #234 card?
It is card #234 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gary Bell of the Cleveland Indians.
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.