1966 Topps #409 Billy Hoeft
About Billy Hoeft
By card 409 - a fifth-series number - Hoeft had found a last landing spot with the Cubs. Chicago signed him in May 1965 after Detroit cut him loose, parked him at Salt Lake City in the Pacific Coast League, where he went 3-7 with a 3.07 ERA, and brought him up on June 30. He answered with the sharpest relief work of his late career: 29 games, two of them starts, 51 1/3 innings, a 2-2 record, one save and a 2.81 ERA. The 1966 season would be his last.
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
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 182 | 1 | 23 | 107 | 36 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 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. Where SGC registers no separate row for a variation state, its slabs of that card are listed under the base state.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1966 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #204 Chicago Cubs
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #2 Ted Abernathy
- #24 Don Kessinger
- #43 Don Landrum
- #63 Jim Stewart
- #82 Bob Hendley
- #110 Ernie Banks
- #139 Cubs 1966 Rookie Stars
- #146 George Altman
- #166 Chris Krug
- #185 Bob Buhl
- #217 National League 1965 Home Run Leaders
- #232 Glenn Beckert
- #246 Ed Bailey
- #278 Calvin Koonce
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #409 card?
It is card #409 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Hoeft of the Chicago Cubs.
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.