1965 Topps #471 Billy Hoeft
About Billy Hoeft
Number 471 is a sixth-series card, well short of the 1965 high numbers and not a rookie card, and it carries a Detroit designation that the calendar had already voided. Milwaukee released Hoeft on October 19, 1964, after a tidy year in the Braves bullpen - 4-0 with a 3.80 ERA and four saves in 42 games - and the Tigers, his first organization, signed him on November 16. He never pitched for them again: Detroit let him go on April 11, 1965, at the end of spring training.
Billy Hoeft, born May 17, 1932, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was a left-handed pitcher who spent 15 seasons in the major leagues. As a schoolboy and American Legion pitcher he was a Wisconsin legend, winning more than 30 straight games with three no-hitters and, in April 1950, striking out all 27 batters he faced. Scouts swarmed him, but he refused bonus-player status, reasoning that the rules attached to it would stall his development, and signed with Detroit. He debuted at 19 on April 18, 1952, struck out the side on nine pitches against the White Sox on September 7, 1953, and went 16-7 with a 2.99 ERA in 1955, leading the majors with seven shutouts and earning his only All-Star selection. He won 20 games in 1956. Detroit traded him in May 1959, and he pitched afterward for Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Milwaukee and the Cubs, closing his career with four late games back in San Francisco in 1966. He finished 97-101 with a 3.94 earned run average and 1,140 strikeouts in 505 games, and he served up the first of Harmon Killebrew's 573 home runs. Hoeft died of cancer on March 16, 2010, in Canadian Lakes, Michigan.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 213 | 1 | 35 | 110 | 47 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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: #173 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #9 American League 1964 Pitching Leaders
- #19 Gates Brown
- #37 Fred Gladding
- #53 Dick McAuliffe
- #83 George Thomas
- #130 Al Kaline
- #153 Norm Cash
- #191 Phil Regan
- #206 Willie Horton
- #236 Dennis McLain
- #259 Tigers 1965 Rookie Stars
- #271 Don Wert
- #288 Jack Hamilton
- #306 Bubba Phillips
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1965 Topps #471 card?
It is card #471 of the 598-card 1965 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Hoeft of the Detroit Tigers.
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.