1964 Topps #575 Tony Cloninger


About Tony Cloninger
Card #575 lands in the seventh series of 1964 Topps, a high number. The 1963 line behind it reads 9-11 with a 3.78 ERA in 145 1/3 innings, and it took a trade to get him there: new manager Bobby Bragan kept him out of the regular rotation until Milwaukee sent veteran Lew Burdette to the Cardinals in June. Once installed, Cloninger won six of eight starts, including back-to-back shutouts, the second a two-hitter against the Dodgers in which he faced only 28 batters.
Tony Lee Cloninger was a North Carolina fireballer who signed with the Milwaukee Braves in the spring of 1958 for a $100,000 bonus and reached the majors on June 15, 1961, two months shy of his 21st birthday. As Warren Spahn's career wound down, Cloninger took over as staff ace and led the Braves in wins three straight seasons, peaking in 1965 at 24-11 with a 3.29 ERA and 211 strikeouts. He could swing a bat, too: on July 3, 1966 he hit two grand slams and drove in nine runs in a 17-3 rout of the Giants, and he remains the only pitcher in major-league history to hit two slams in a game. A pulled shoulder muscle, an eye ailment and a sore elbow cost him most of 1967, and Atlanta traded him to Cincinnati in June 1968. He started Game Three of the 1970 World Series for the pennant-winning Reds, closed out his playing days with the Cardinals in 1972 at 113-97 with a 4.07 ERA over twelve seasons, then coached, winning four World Series rings in the New York Yankees bullpen. He was never elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame; the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame took him in 2004. Cloninger died on July 24, 2018.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 297 | 4 | 43 | 154 | 61 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 21 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 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: #132 Milwaukee Braves
More Milwaukee Braves cards:
- #3 1963 National League Pitching Leaders
- #7 1963 National League Batting Leaders
- #9 1963 National League Home Run Leaders
- #11 1963 National League R.B.I. Leaders
- #35 Ed Mathews
- #53 Denis Menke
- #65 Felipe Alou
- #70 Joe Torre
- #94 Braves 1964 Rookie Stars
- #115 Frank Bolling
- #152 Denver Lemaster
- #171 Ty Cline
- #198 Len Gabrielson
- #218 Hank Fischer
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1964 Topps #575 card?
It is card #575 of the 587-card 1964 Topps Baseball set, picturing Tony Cloninger of the Milwaukee Braves.
Is 1964 Topps #575 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.