1964 Topps #580 Johnny Podres
About Johnny Podres
#580 is a true high number, printed in the short seventh series that closed out the 1964 set. Its back reports 1963: 14-12, a 3.54 earned run average, five shutouts and 198 1/3 innings for a pennant winner. In the World Series that followed, Podres drew Game 2 and beat the Yankees 4-1, then came out in the ninth with a shutout still in reach because Ron Perranoski was warm - there was, he said, "no sense fooling myself." Los Angeles swept from there. It was the third championship of his career and, as it turned out, the last World Series game he ever pitched.
John Joseph Podres was a left-hander out of Witherbee, a hamlet in New York's Adirondacks where his father worked the mines and pitched semipro ball on Sundays. Brooklyn signed him as an amateur free agent before the 1951 season, and by 1953 he was with the Dodgers, 9-4 as a rookie. Two years later he became folklore. Podres beat the Yankees in Game 3 of the 1955 World Series on his 23rd birthday, then started Game 7 on October 4 and shut them out 2-0 to give Brooklyn the only championship it ever won, taking home the first World Series Most Valuable Player Award ever given. The Navy claimed his 1956 season. He came back to lead the National League with a 2.66 earned run average and six shutouts in 1957, was named to four All-Star teams, and added three more rings after the club moved to Los Angeles. He finished at 148-116 with a 3.68 earned run average and 1,435 strikeouts, then coached pitchers for the Padres, Red Sox, Twins and Phillies across 23 seasons. Cooperstown honors the moment without ever having elected the man: a bronze of Podres stands outside the Hall of Fame, 60 feet six inches from a statue of Roy Campanella. The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame inducted him in 2002.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 437 | 6 | 52 | 197 | 99 | 47 | 23 | 13 | 0 |
| SGC | 46 | 0 | 1 | 16 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 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: #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 #580 card?
It is card #580 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Johnny Podres of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Is 1964 Topps #580 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.