1965 Topps #356 Bill Spanswick
About Bill Spanswick
Spanswick reported to Scottsdale in the spring of 1965, but in late March the Red Sox sold him outright to the Toronto Maple Leafs, who had replaced Seattle as the Boston Triple-A club; injuries held him to 84 innings there. Topps had already put him in a Red Sox uniform on card #356, a fifth-series card. By the time collectors pulled it his major-league file was closed: 65 1/3 innings, 55 strikeouts, 44 walks.
Bill Spanswick was a left-handed pitcher born July 8, 1938 in Springfield, Massachusetts, and raised just over the state line in Enfield, Connecticut. He starred at Enfield High, went to the College of the Holy Cross on an athletic scholarship, and signed with the Boston Red Sox in the spring of 1958 for $4,000; when the bonus rule was revoked a few months later, he believed the early signature had cost him a far bigger payday. Six years in the Boston farm system followed. He led the Carolina League in wins and ERA at Raleigh in 1959, then struggled at Class A in 1960 and ran into arm trouble at Seattle in 1962 before striking out a Pacific Coast League-leading 209 there in 1963. Manager Mike Higgins called him an in-and-out performer with a big-league arm. He finally stuck in 1964, making the club out of spring training and staying all season, going 2-3 with a 6.89 ERA in 29 games, seven of them starts. Teammates called him Crow for his black hair and looks. Three more minor-league seasons ended when his elbow popped out of its socket in 1967. He later ushered at the Red Sox spring-training home and was elected to the inaugural Enfield Athletic Hall of Fame class in 1996. He died December 2, 2020.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 213 | 0 | 35 | 115 | 42 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 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. The two checklist variations, #79 and #508, are listed under the wording PSA uses for each state.
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Related cards
Team card: #403 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #5 American League 1964 RBI Leaders
- #29 Felix Mantilla
- #42 Earl Wilson
- #55 Tony Conigliaro
- #74 Red Sox 1965 Rookie Stars
- #88 Jack Lamabe
- #111 Lee Thomas
- #142 Bill Monbouquette
- #147 Dennis Bennett
- #162 Russ Nixon
- #178 Dalton Jones
- #199 Bob Heffner
- #222 Bob Tillman
- #251 Billy Herman
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #356 card?
It is card #356 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Spanswick of the Boston Red Sox.
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.