1966 Topps #598 Gaylord Perry
The last card in the 1966 set; all four published short-print lists include it.
About Gaylord Perry
Perry closes the 1966 set. At #598 he is the last of its 598 cards, in the high-number seventh series. It is the card of his breakout. He reported to camp early, claimed a rotation turn in late April, stood 12-1 at the All-Star break and won the game in relief, then ran to 20-2 by August 20 before six straight losses left him 21-8 with a 2.99 ERA and 13 complete games. It was his first All-Star season, and the Giants finished a game and a half behind the Dodgers.
Gaylord Jackson Perry was born September 15, 1938, in Williamston, North Carolina, to tenant farmers, and signed with the San Francisco Giants in 1958. He debuted on April 14, 1962, and pitched 22 seasons for eight clubs through 1983. Taught the spitball by teammate Bob Shaw in 1964, he spent two decades denying it while fussing at his cap, hair and belt so hitters believed every pitch might be loaded. He told the story himself in 1974 in Me and the Spitter, and despite constant inspection was not ejected for doctoring a ball until 1982, his 21st season. He won 20 games five times, struck out 200 batters eight times, and was the first pitcher to take a Cy Young Award in both leagues - with Cleveland in 1972, going 24-16 with a 1.92 ERA, and with San Diego in 1978 at 40, going 21-6. He was a five-time All-Star. He and brother Jim were the first brothers each to win 200 games and remain the only pair each to win a Cy Young. Signing with Seattle in 1982 brought both the nickname the Ancient Mariner and his 300th win. He retired with 314 wins, a 3.11 ERA, 303 complete games and 3,534 strikeouts, and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 on his third ballot.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,267 | 1 | 26 | 201 | 314 | 262 | 181 | 278 | 4 |
| SGC | 272 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 52 | 53 | 71 | 74 | 2 |
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: #19 San Francisco Giants
More San Francisco Giants cards:
- #1 Willie Mays
- #39 Ken Henderson
- #61 Bob Bolin
- #78 Frank Linzy
- #94 Matty Alou
- #115 Bill Henry
- #132 Orlando Cepeda
- #156 D P Combo
- #176 Jim Davenport
- #215 National League 1965 Batting Leaders
- #217 National League 1965 Home Run Leaders
- #219 National League 1965 RBI Leaders
- #221 National League 1965 ERA Leaders
- #242 Jesus Alou
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #598 card?
It is card #598 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants.
What are the key cards in the 1966 Topps set?
#1 Willie Mays opens the set and #598 Gaylord Perry closes it. The #50 Mickey Mantle anchors it, with #30 Pete Rose, #100 Sandy Koufax (his last solo Topps card), #300 Bob Clemente, #500 Hank Aaron (his first base card as an Atlanta Brave) and #215 National League 1965 Batting Leaders (Clemente, Aaron and Mays on one card) among the headliners, and three Hall of Fame rookies: #126 Jim Palmer, #254 Phillies Rookie Stars (Ferguson Jenkins) and #288 Dodgers Rookie Stars (Don Sutton). The 76-card high series (#523-598) is the hardest run to complete - 43 of its cards are short prints.
Why is #598 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.