1966 Topps #144 Don Schwall
About Don Schwall
Card 144, from the 1966 Topps second series, pictures a pitcher who had just reinvented himself. With Elroy Face hurt and limited to 16 games, new manager Harry Walker moved Schwall to the bullpen for 1965, and the sinking fastball played: 43 appearances, 42 of them in relief, a single start, 19 games finished, four saves and a 9-6 record with a 2.92 ERA, the lowest of his career to that point. He gave up 77 hits in 77 innings and struck out 55 against 30 walks for a Pittsburgh club that won 90 games and finished third.
Don Schwall was born March 2, 1936 in Hanover Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, just outside Wilkes-Barre, and grew up in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where basketball was his principal sport. A 6-foot-6 center at the University of Oklahoma, he met Wilt Chamberlain's Kansas teams three times and in one February 1957 meeting outscored him 30 points to 11, but he pitched only sparingly for the Sooners before Red Sox scout Wog Rice signed him in December 1957 for what Rice called the largest bonus ever paid an Oklahoman. Three minor league summers followed: 23-6 at Class D Alpine in 1959, then 16-9 for Triple-A Minneapolis in 1960 as a teammate of Carl Yastrzemski, who would be his Boston roommate the next spring. Called up in May 1961, Schwall won his first six decisions, pitched in that season's second All-Star Game, and was voted American League Rookie of the Year. A sub-par 1962 sent him to Pittsburgh, where he worked as both starter and reliever until a June 1966 trade to Atlanta. He finished 49-48 with 408 strikeouts and a 3.72 ERA over seven seasons, then built a second career as an investment banker.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 214 | 2 | 20 | 118 | 45 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 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.
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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
- #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
- #248 Pete Mikkelsen
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #144 card?
It is card #144 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don Schwall of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.