1964 Topps #490 Ron Fairly
About Ron Fairly
A champion's line fills the back: .271 with 12 home runs and 77 RBI over 152 games in 1963, when the Dodgers took the National League pennant and swept the New York Yankees in the World Series. Fairly played all four games but was credited with a single at-bat, going hitless while drawing three walks, the odd box score of a sweep decided almost entirely by pitching. Card #490 belongs to the sixth series, which runs tougher than the early series.
Ronald Ray Fairly was born July 12, 1938 in Macon, Georgia, and grew up in Long Beach, California. He played center field for Rod Dedeaux's USC Trojans in their 1958 College World Series title season, then signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for a $75,000 bonus offered through scout Harold "Lefty" Phillips, less money than the White Sox dangled but a chance to stay home. He debuted September 9, 1958 and stayed a Dodger for twelve seasons, learning right field from Carl Furillo and later taking Furillo's number six as a tribute. He hit left-handed with a short, compact swing. Fairly won World Series rings in 1959, 1963 and 1965 and lost a fourth Series in 1966, then went to the expansion Montreal Expos in a 1969 trade and revived his bat there, making All-Star teams for Montreal in 1973 and Toronto in 1977, the only player to represent both Canadian clubs. He also played for St. Louis, Oakland and California, finishing in 1978 with 2,442 games, 1,913 hits, 215 home runs, 1,044 RBI and a .266 average, the second man after Stan Musial with 1,000-plus games in both the outfield and the infield. He broadcast baseball from 1979 to 2006 and died October 30, 2019.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 238 | 2 | 29 | 118 | 49 | 25 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 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: #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 #490 card?
It is card #490 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ron Fairly of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Why is #490 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.