1966 Topps #2 Ted Abernathy
About Ted Abernathy
Abernathy's 1966 Topps card, #2 in the set's low-numbered first series, pictures him still with the Chicago Cubs, coming off his record-setting 1965 season. The follow-up year was rockier: after a slow start in Chicago he was traded in late May to the Atlanta Braves, and split the season between the two clubs with a combined 5-7 record, 4.55 ERA and eight saves over 93 innings.
Ted Abernathy was a submarine-style relief pitcher who spent 14 major league seasons, from 1955 to 1972, with seven clubs. Born in Stanley, North Carolina, he broke into the big leagues with the Washington Senators, but a serious arm injury in 1956 forced him to abandon a conventional delivery. After elbow surgery and years of rehab in the minors, he adopted an underhand submarine motion learned from a Senators teammate, and returned reinvented as a full-time relief specialist. Pitching for the Indians, Cubs, Braves, Reds, Cardinals and Royals, Abernathy became one of the game's most durable firemen, twice leading the National League in saves, in 1965 and 1967, and winning The Sporting News NL Fireman of the Year award both years. He set a then-record for games pitched in a season with 84 appearances in 1965. Over his career he compiled a 63-69 record, 148 saves and a 3.46 ERA in 1,147.2 innings across 681 games. He finished his playing days with the Royals in 1972 at age 39, closing out a career built on reinvention and workload.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 174 | 3 | 13 | 77 | 52 | 11 | 14 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 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: #204 Chicago Cubs
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #24 Don Kessinger
- #43 Don Landrum
- #63 Jim Stewart
- #82 Bob Hendley
- #110 Ernie Banks
- #139 Cubs 1966 Rookie Stars
- #146 George Altman
- #166 Chris Krug
- #185 Bob Buhl
- #217 National League 1965 Home Run Leaders
- #232 Glenn Beckert
- #246 Ed Bailey
- #278 Calvin Koonce
- #290 Ron Santo
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #2 card?
It is card #2 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ted Abernathy of the Chicago Cubs.
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.