1966 Topps #549 Senators Rookie Stars - Al Closter / Casey Cox
On this card: Al Closter, Casey Cox
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
Closter's rookie card, 1966 Topps #549, is a Rookie Stars issue from the set's seventh print series, sharing the card with fellow Senators pitcher Casey Cox as a high number. It captures the season in which Closter made his major league debut with Washington on April 19, 1966, pitching one third of an inning in relief against Baltimore before being purchased back by the Yankees organization the following month. Al Closter, a left-handed pitcher from Nebraska, spent four big-league seasons with the Senators, Yankees and Braves between 1966 and 1973, after representing the United States at the 1964 Olympics while at Iowa State.
This high-number series-seven Rookie Stars card, #549, is Casey Cox's recognized rookie card, shared with fellow Senators prospect Al Closter. It caught Cox in his 1966 debut season, when he set career highs with 66 relief appearances and seven saves, going 4-5 with a 3.50 ERA after being called up from the minors that April. A 6-foot-5 right-hander from Long Beach, California, Casey Cox spent eight seasons as a Washington Senators reliever and spot starter, posting his best year in 1969 with a 2.78 ERA on a rare winning club.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 355 | 0 | 23 | 197 | 73 | 35 | 17 | 8 | 2 |
| SGC | 12 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 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: #194 Washington Senators
More Washington Senators cards:
- #11 Senators 1966 Rookie Stars
- #29 Mike Brumley
- #46 Howie Koplitz
- #69 Ken Hamlin
- #77 Johnny Orsino
- #95 Pete Richert
- #118 Mike McCormick
- #149 Dick Nen
- #165 Don Lock
- #211 Frank Kreutzer
- #251 Ed Brinkman
- #274 Buster Narum
- #294 Steve Ridzik
- #312 Bob Saverine
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #549 card?
It is card #549 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Al Closter and Casey Cox. 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 #549 a rookie card?
Yes - #549 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Al Closter and Casey Cox.
Why is #549 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.