1964 Topps #553 Jim Brewer
About Jim Brewer
Card #553 is a high number out of the seventh series of the 1964 set, and it is the first Topps card to put Brewer in Dodger blue - though the season printed on the back was still a Chicago season. He steadied himself in 1963: 3-2 with a 4.89 ERA in 29 games, 35 strikeouts in 49 2/3 innings, almost all of it in relief behind a single start. On December 13, 1963, the Cubs traded him to the Dodgers' Triple-A club at Spokane, so he was Los Angeles property before he had thrown a pitch for them.
Jim Brewer was a left-handed pitcher who spent 17 major league seasons (1960-1976) with the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and California Angels after the Cubs signed him out of Broken Arrow High School in Oklahoma in 1956. His rookie year ended in violence: on August 4, 1960, Cincinnati's Billy Martin flung his bat toward the mound after a brushback pitch, walked out to retrieve it, then turned and punched Brewer, breaking the orbital bone under his right eye and finishing his season. Brewer sued, and after two trials a Chicago jury awarded him $10,000 in 1969. Traded into the Dodgers' organization in December 1963, he picked up a screwball grip from Braves great Warren Spahn in 1964 and turned it into one of the National League's best relief weapons. He helped Los Angeles to three pennants and the 1965 World Series title, and from 1968 through 1973 averaged roughly 20 saves a year, making the 1973 All-Star team at age 35. Brewer retired with 69 wins, more than 130 saves and a 3.07 ERA in 584 games, then spent three seasons as the Montreal Expos' pitching coach and later taught the screwball to Dodgers prospects. He was killed in a 1987 car crash in Texas, driving through a thunderstorm on his way to a pitching clinic.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 234 | 1 | 26 | 117 | 51 | 21 | 11 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 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: #531 L. A. Dodgers
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
- #1 1963 National League E.R.A. Leaders
- #3 1963 National League Pitching Leaders
- #5 1963 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #7 1963 National League Batting Leaders
- #14 Dodgers 1964 Rookie Stars
- #30 Ron Perranoski
- #51 Pete Richert
- #68 Willie Davis
- #88 John Roseboro
- #101 Walt Alston
- #120 Don Drysdale
- #136 World Series Game #1 - Koufax Strikes Out 15
- #137 World Series Game #2 - Davis Sparks Rally
- #138 World Series Game #3 - L.A. Takes 3rd Straight
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #553 card?
It is card #553 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jim Brewer of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Is 1964 Topps #553 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #523-587, distributed last. Scarcer than the rest of the set but only mildly so - the high premium runs roughly 55-60 percent, far milder than the 1952-62 highs.
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.