1966 Topps #226 American League 1965 Strikeout Leaders - Sam McDowell / Mickey Lolich / Denny McLain / Sonny Siebert
On this card: Sam McDowell, Mickey Lolich, Denny McLain, Sonny Siebert
About this card
Cards #215-226 are the twelve League Leaders, printed in the middle of the third series rather than at the front of the set - the one structural quirk of 1966. Each card lists the 1965 leaders in one statistical category, the National League card first and the American League card second in each pair.
The story on this card
This card recaps the 1965 American League strikeout race, from Topps' third series. Sam McDowell topped the league with 325 strikeouts for Cleveland, the best mark of his career and second only to Bob Feller's 1946 club record. Mickey Lolich ranked second in the league for Detroit with 226, followed by teammate Denny McLain's 192 and Cleveland's Sonny Siebert with 191, giving each city two men on the board. McDowell and Siebert had just become the American League's first starting duo to each average better than nine strikeouts per nine innings. Lolich and McLain would anchor Detroit's championship rotation a few years later.
Sam McDowell, 'Sudden Sam,' was a hard-throwing Cleveland Indians left-hander and six-time All-Star who led the American League in strikeouts five times, capping it with a 20-win, 304-strikeout 1970 that made him The Sporting News AL Pitcher of the Year. Mickey Lolich - Detroit Tigers left-hander built for complete games and heavy innings, remembered for three complete-game wins in the 1968 World Series, capped by a Game 7 duel with Bob Gibson that made him Series MVP. Denny McLain - Detroit's outspoken right-handed ace, who went 31-6 with a 1.96 ERA in 1968 to become the last 30-game winner in the majors, sweeping the American League Cy Young Award and the MVP. Sonny Siebert - right-hander who threw a no-hitter for Cleveland in 1966 and made two All-Star teams over a 140-win career with the Indians, Red Sox, Rangers, Cardinals, Padres, and Athletics.
Sources: Wikipedia (Sam McDowell) · Wikipedia (Mickey Lolich) · Wikipedia (Denny McLain) · Wikipedia (Sonny Siebert) · SABR BioProject (Sam Mcdowell) · SABR BioProject (Mickey Lolich) · SABR BioProject (Sonny Siebert) · Baseball Almanac (Sam McDowell)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 307 | 0 | 17 | 132 | 81 | 34 | 30 | 11 | 2 |
| SGC | 23 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 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. Where SGC registers no separate row for a variation state, its slabs of that card are listed under the base state.
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Related cards
Team cards: #303 Cleveland Indians, #583 Detroit Tigers
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #16 Larry Brown
- #44 Indians 1966 Rookie Stars
- #65 Leon Wagner
- #88 Fred Whitfield
- #109 Ralph Terry
- #128 Jim Landis
More Detroit Tigers cards:
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #226 card?
It is card #226 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sam McDowell, Mickey Lolich, Denny McLain and Sonny Siebert. Cards #215-226 are the twelve League Leaders, printed in the middle of the third series rather than at the front of the set - the one structural quirk of 1966. Each card lists the 1965 leaders in one statistical category, the National League card first and the American League card second in each pair.
How many cards are in the 1966 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 613 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 598 with no gaps and no number used twice, and 14 cards carry catalogued print variations - five checklists, the trade and sold statement backs, the three-state #43 Don Landrum, three team-card dot pairs and the #161 Jerry Lumpe white streak - that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, 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.