1966 Topps #551 Bob Purkey
About Bob Purkey
No. 551 falls in the seventh and last series of 1966, a high number from the scarce end of the set. The 1965 line behind it tells the story: 10-9 in 32 games for St. Louis, but a 5.79 ERA against a league average of 3.54, with the sore arm still there. The Cardinals sold him to Pittsburgh in April, days before the 1966 season, so the card brings him home to the club that signed him out of South Hills High School. He got into 10 games in relief, roomed with rookie Steve Blass, and was released in August. "I have no regrets and I leave with good feelings all around," he said.
Bob Purkey was a right-handed Pittsburgh native who pitched thirteen big-league seasons, from 1954 through 1966, for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis Cardinals. Signed by his hometown Pirates out of South Hills High School, he went 16-29 over four years for second-division Pittsburgh clubs; midway through that run, in 1955, general manager Branch Rickey sent him to the minors and taught him a knuckleball in ten pitches. The pitch made his name, though he insisted he was really a sinker and slider man who lived on control, walking just 2.2 batters per nine innings. A December 1957 trade to Cincinnati for Don Gross remade him: over seven Reds seasons he went 103-76, was picked for five All-Star squads across three summers, and anchored the 1961 pennant winners. His best year was 1962, when he finished 23-5 with a 2.81 ERA, led all major-league pitchers in winning percentage, and placed third in the balloting for the lone Cy Young Award. A sore arm in the spring of 1963 took the rest; he wound up 129-115 with 793 strikeouts and a 3.79 ERA, and Cincinnati elected him to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1974.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 299 | 4 | 37 | 136 | 64 | 29 | 19 | 10 | 0 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 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. 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 card: #404 Pittsburgh Pirates
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #15 Vern Law
- #33 Jim Pagliaroni
- #54 Jose Pagan
- #71 Frank Carpin
- #99 Buc Belters
- #112 Manny Mota
- #123 Pirates 1966 Rookie Stars
- #144 Don Schwall
- #182 Jerry Lynch
- #210 Bill Mazeroski
- #215 National League 1965 Batting Leaders
- #221 National League 1965 ERA Leaders
- #225 National League 1965 Strikeout Leaders
- #235 Don Cardwell
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #551 card?
It is card #551 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Purkey of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Why is #551 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the seventh and last print series, #523-598 - the scarce end of the set. Forty-three of its 76 cards are short prints, so scarcity is stated for the series as a whole.
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.