1966 Topps #488 George Banks
About George Banks
The end came quickly. Banks pinch-hit in all four of his 1966 games, spread from April 15 to May 7, and went 1-for-4; the single, against the Yankees on April 20, drove in the last run of his major league career. His final big league appearance came on May 7 against Baltimore, and he spent his remaining playing days in the minors through 1968. Card #488 falls in the sixth series, and it was the last Topps card he ever received.
George Edward Banks was a right-handed third baseman and outfielder out of Pacolet Mills, South Carolina, born September 24, 1938. He signed with the New York Yankees in 1957 and never climbed past their Eastern League club, but back-to-back minor league seasons of 29 and 30 home runs got him taken by the Minnesota Twins in the 1961 Rule 5 draft. He stuck for all of 1962, batting .252 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 63 games while splitting time between third base and both outfield corners. It was his only full big league season. A June 1964 trade sent Banks and pitcher Lee Stange to Cleveland for Mudcat Grant, and he got into only 17 games for the Indians over parts of three years. He finished at .219 with nine home runs and 27 RBIs in 106 games, spent most of the rest of his career at Triple-A, and retired after 1968 with 223 minor league home runs over 11 seasons. Banks died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis on March 1, 1985, at 46, in Spartanburg, South Carolina; athletic fields in Pacolet are named in his memory.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 171 | 3 | 30 | 94 | 20 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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: #303 Cleveland Indians
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #16 Larry Brown
- #44 Indians 1966 Rookie Stars
- #65 Leon Wagner
- #88 Fred Whitfield
- #109 Ralph Terry
- #128 Jim Landis
- #129 Jack Kralick
- #133 Don McMahon
- #150 Rocky Colavito
- #169 Duke Sims
- #197 Sonny Siebert
- #216 American League 1965 Batting Leaders
- #220 American League 1965 RBI Leaders
- #222 American League 1965 ERA Leaders
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #488 card?
It is card #488 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing George Banks of the Cleveland Indians.
Why is #488 harder to find?
It is from the sixth print series, #447-522 - noticeably tougher than the first five. Nothing in #447-522 is short-printed.
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.