1965 Topps #598 Al Downing
About Al Downing
The 1965 set catches Downing at his statistical peak: a career-high 217 strikeouts in 1964, tops in the American League, to go with a 13-8 record and 3.47 ERA over 244 innings. Card #11, 'American League 1964 Strikeout Leaders,' ranks him first ahead of Camilo Pascual's 213 and Dean Chance's 207; his solo card #598 is a series-7 high number and the last card in the set.
Alphonso Erwin Downing, a left-handed pitcher born June 28, 1941, in Trenton, New Jersey, signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1961 and reached the majors that July at age 20, becoming the first Black pitcher in franchise history when he took the mound on July 19. He spent parts of nine seasons in pinstripes, breaking out in 1963 at 13-5 with a 2.56 ERA and leading the American League with 217 strikeouts in 1964. On August 11, 1967, the year of his only All-Star selection, he struck out the side on nine pitches against Cleveland, the majors' first immaculate inning since 1964. Traded to Oakland before 1970 and to Milwaukee that June, he found a second act with the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning 20 games with a league-leading five shutouts in 1971 and taking National League Comeback Player of the Year. He is remembered above all for one pitch: on April 8, 1974, he surrendered Hank Aaron's record-breaking 715th home run. He finished 123-107 with a 3.22 ERA and 1,639 strikeouts over 17 seasons, later broadcasting for the Dodgers.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Retrosheet
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 520 | 2 | 31 | 166 | 130 | 79 | 52 | 58 | 2 |
| SGC | 69 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 23 | 13 | 16 | 13 | 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. The two checklist variations, #79 and #508, are listed under the wording PSA uses for each state.
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Related cards
More Al Downing in this set: #11 League Leaders
Team card: #513 New York Yankees
More New York Yankees cards:
- #1 American League 1964 Batting Leaders
- #3 American League 1964 Home Run Leaders
- #5 American League 1964 RBI Leaders
- #11 American League 1964 Strikeout Leaders
- #13 Pedro Ramos
- #30 Jim Bouton
- #65 Tony Kubek
- #97 Pedro Gonzalez
- #115 Bobby Richardson
- #131 Johnny Keane
- #133 World Series Game #2 - Stottlemyre Wins
- #134 World Series Game #3 - Mantle's Clutch HR
- #137 World Series Game #6 - Bouton Wins Again
- #155 Roger Maris
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #598 card?
It is card #598 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Al Downing of the New York Yankees.
Is #598 the last card in the set?
Yes. The 1965 set runs from #1 to #598 with no gaps and no unissued numbers, and #598 Al Downing is the last card.
Is 1965 Topps #598 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh and last series, #507-598. Unlike most 1960s Topps sets the 1965 highs are not scarce as a run - the premium sits on the short-printed cards inside #523-598. It is also a short-print zone card. Forty-four of the 76 cards in #523-598 were short-printed; #507-522 was not. The zone is stated as a range because the catalogs disagree on exactly which cards, so no single card is marked.
How many cards are in the 1965 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 600 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps and no printed-number collisions, and two checklist cards - #79 and #508 - carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, 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.