1966 Topps #81 Ray Oyler
About Ray Oyler
Oyler opened 1966 hot, batting .297 on June 1, before acting manager Bob Swift began platooning him at short against left-handers alongside McAuliffe. His production faded and he finished at .171 with one home run. A highlight came July 17, when he collected two hits in each game of a doubleheader against Cleveland. This 1966 Topps card comes from print series 1.
Ray Oyler made his name with his glove, not his bat. A Marine veteran out of Indianapolis, he signed with Detroit in 1960 and spent five seasons climbing the farm system before sticking as the Tigers' shortstop in the mid-1960s. Managers and teammates raved about his range and hands - Dick McAuliffe called him the best shortstop he ever played with - but his bat never caught up, and his .175 career average is the lowest on record for any player with over 1,000 at-bats since the deadball era. Oyler's defense held down short for Detroit's pennant contenders of 1967 and the 1968 World Series champions, even as manager Mayo Smith ultimately benched him for the Series to get Mickey Stanley's bat into the lineup at short. Drafted by the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969, he closed his career in 1970 with the California Angels. He died in 1981 at age 42.
Sources: SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 187 | 0 | 20 | 86 | 47 | 15 | 12 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 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: #583 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #20 Willie Horton
- #38 Ron Nischwitz
- #58 Dave Wickersham
- #98 Don Demeter
- #113 Hank Aguirre
- #145 Bill Freehan
- #161 Jerry Lumpe
- #187 Chuck Dressen
- #198 Mickey Stanley
- #209 Tigers 1966 Rookie Stars
- #218 American League 1965 Home Run Leaders
- #220 American League 1965 RBI Leaders
- #226 American League 1965 Strikeout Leaders
- #239 Orlando Pena
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #81 card?
It is card #81 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ray Oyler of the Detroit Tigers.
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.