1964 Topps #391 Sam McDowell
About Sam McDowell
Sent to Portland out of spring training, McDowell went 8-0 with a 1.18 ERA and 102 strikeouts against 24 walks, then came back to Cleveland in late May and never pitched in the minors again. His first start up was a complete-game win over the White Sox with 14 strikeouts and three walks. He finished 11-6 with a 2.70 ERA and 177 strikeouts in 173.1 innings, leading the American League at 9.2 strikeouts per nine - though his 100 walks were still the fourth-most in the league. Card #391 comes from the fifth series.
Sam McDowell, born September 21, 1942 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was a hard-throwing left-handed pitcher who spent fifteen major league seasons, 1961 through 1975, mostly with the Cleveland Indians. Rated the country's top schoolboy prospect out of Pittsburgh's Central Catholic High School, he signed with Cleveland in 1960 for a $75,000 bonus and reached the majors six days before his 19th birthday. A six-time All-Star, he led the American League in strikeouts five times and won the 1965 ERA title, and in 1970 he topped 300 innings and 300 strikeouts while going 20-12, earning The Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year award. Control trouble shadowed all of it - he led the league in walks five times as well - and injuries and alcoholism wore down the back end of his career through stops with the Giants, Yankees and Pirates. He retired with a 141-134 record, a 3.17 ERA and 2,453 strikeouts. He got sober in the early 1980s, earned associate degrees in sports psychology and addiction at the University of Pittsburgh, and later worked as an addiction counselor for the Rangers and Blue Jays. He is a member of the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame, the franchise's own team hall.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 287 | 2 | 36 | 123 | 68 | 30 | 19 | 8 | 1 |
| SGC | 24 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 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
- #234 Gary Bell
- #253 Wally Post
- #301 Larry Brown
- #317 Al Smith
- #338 Jack Kralick
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #391 card?
It is card #391 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sam McDowell of the Cleveland Indians.
Why is #391 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.