1966 Topps #534 Mets Rookie Stars - Dave Eilers / Rob Gardner
On this card: Dave Eilers, Rob Gardner
About this card
The 46 Rookie Stars cards group a club's prospects under one number - except #553, which mixes Braves and Angels, and #591 NL Rookie Stars, which mixes Dodgers and Phillies. The class is headlined by #254 (Ferguson Jenkins, with Bill Sorrell) and #288 (Don Sutton, with Bill Singer).
The story on this card
Eilers spent 1966 with the New York Mets, his contract having been sold over from Milwaukee the previous August. He appeared in 23 games out of the bullpen, going 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA over 34.2 innings and 14 strikeouts. His card, #534, is a high number from series 7, a Rookie Stars subset issue and his Topps rookie card; he shares it with fellow pitcher Rob Gardner, both shown as Mets. A journeyman right-handed reliever who pitched for the Braves, Mets and Astros from 1964 to 1967, all 81 of his big league games in relief.
In his first full major league season, Gardner opened 1966 at 2-0 for the Mets before losing his next six decisions and being moved to the bullpen, finishing 4-8 with a 5.12 ERA over 41 appearances. This high-number Rookie Stars card, from the set's seventh print series, is a recognized rookie card for Gardner; he shares it with fellow Mets pitching prospect Dave Eilers, both pictured representing New York. A Binghamton, New York left-hander whose big-league debut season included a fifteen-inning scoreless duel with the Phillies that ended in a tie after eighteen innings, one of his career's few bright moments.
Sources: Wikipedia (Dave Eilers) · Wikipedia (Rob Gardner)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 436 | 6 | 56 | 206 | 101 | 43 | 12 | 9 | 3 |
| SGC | 20 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 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: #172 New York Mets
More New York Mets cards:
- #17 Johnny Stephenson
- #35 Ron Swoboda
- #51 Gordon Richardson
- #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
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #534 card?
It is card #534 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dave Eilers and Rob Gardner. The 46 Rookie Stars cards group a club's prospects under one number - except #553, which mixes Braves and Angels, and #591 NL Rookie Stars, which mixes Dodgers and Phillies. The class is headlined by #254 (Ferguson Jenkins, with Bill Sorrell) and #288 (Don Sutton, with Bill Singer).
Is 1966 Topps #534 a rookie card?
Yes - #534 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Dave Eilers and Rob Gardner.
Why is #534 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.