1966 Topps #15 Vern Law
About Vern Law
Law appears in the 1966 set at #15 in the first series and returns on the third-series National League ERA leaders card #221, where his 2.15 trails only Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal. That season began badly: he lost his first five decisions while the Pirates scored five runs behind him, then won eight straight once manager Harry Walker left him in the rotation. He finished with 217.1 innings and 13 complete games, and thought 1965 the best pitching of his life.
Vernon Sanders Law pitched all 16 of his major league seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates, from his 1950 debut through 1967, with 1952 and 1953 given to the Army. He signed out of Meridian, Idaho in 1948 after part-owner Bing Crosby telephoned his parents. Law went 18-9 in 1959, then 20-9 with a 3.08 ERA and 18 complete games in 1960, winning the Cy Young Award when a single trophy still covered both leagues, the first won by a Pirate. He started three games of that World Series and won Games One and Four on an ankle teammates had sprained while tugging at his shoe in the pennant celebration. Favoring it tore muscles at the back of his shoulder; three thin seasons followed, and Danny Murtaugh suggested he retire after 1963. Law came back instead, going 17-9 with a career-low 2.15 ERA in 1965 for National League Comeback Player of the Year and the Lou Gehrig Award. He finished 162-147 with a 3.77 ERA, then coached Pirates pitchers and later at Brigham Young University, where future Hall of Famer Jack Morris pitched for him. An elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was "Deacon" to teammates for the faith that governed his conduct; Pittsburgh elected him to the club's own Hall of Fame in August 2025.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 240 | 1 | 20 | 125 | 53 | 28 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 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
More Vern Law in this set: #221 League Leaders
Team card: #404 Pittsburgh Pirates
More Pittsburgh Pirates cards:
- #33 Jim Pagliaroni
- #54 Jose Pagan
- #71 Frank Carpin
- #99 Buc Belters
- #112 Manny Mota
- #123 Pirates 1966 Rookie Stars
- #144 Don Schwall
- #182 Jerry Lynch
- #210 Bill Mazeroski
- #215 National League 1965 Batting Leaders
- #221 National League 1965 ERA Leaders
- #225 National League 1965 Strikeout Leaders
- #235 Don Cardwell
- #248 Pete Mikkelsen
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #15 card?
It is card #15 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Vern Law of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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.