1966 Topps #51 Gordon Richardson
About Gordon Richardson
Card #51 in Topps' first series for 1966 is Richardson's rookie card, pictured with the Mets. It follows his 1965 season, when the Mets recalled him from Buffalo in midseason and he became a reliable relief arm, working 52 innings with a 3.78 ERA. He impressed New York's manager that spring and made the Opening Day roster for the first time in his career, but pitched only 18 innings before a June outing against the Dodgers proved his last in the majors.
Gordon Clark Richardson, a left-hander out of Colquitt, Georgia, spent seven seasons in the minors before reaching the majors with the Cardinals in July 1964. A control pitcher who leaned on breaking stuff and a changeup rather than velocity, he won his big-league debut against the Phillies and helped St. Louis close out the pennant race that September, then appeared twice in the World Series against the Yankees. Traded to the Mets that winter, he battled leg trouble before returning to the majors as a relief specialist, earning praise for durability during a stretch of frequent appearances in 1965. His final big-league season came in 1966. Over three years he pitched for St. Louis and New York, working almost exclusively in relief after his rookie year. He retired at 32 to run his family's Georgia farm, later adding a meat-packing business.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 252 | 3 | 33 | 130 | 57 | 16 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 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: #172 New York Mets
More New York Mets cards:
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- #35 Ron Swoboda
- #67 Mets 1966 Rookie Stars
- #87 Dan Napoleon
- #108 Bobby Klaus
- #124 Tug McGraw
- #154 Chuck Hiller
- #188 Al Luplow
- #191 Darrell Sutherland
- #212 Ed Kranepool
- #241 Dennis Ribant
- #262 Jack Hamilton
- #282 Johnny Lewis
- #302 Ernie Bowman
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #51 card?
It is card #51 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gordon Richardson of the New York Mets.
Is 1966 Topps #51 a rookie card?
Yes - #51 is the 1966 Topps rookie card of Gordon Richardson.
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.