1966 Topps #438 Willie Smith
About Willie Smith
Smith's production dipped in 1966, when he batted .185 with 1 home run and 20 RBI in 90 games as an outfielder for California. His 1966 Topps card, #438 in the fifth print series, depicts him with the California Angels during that down year before his trade out of the organization.
Willie Smith, nicknamed "Wonderful Willie," broke into pro ball with the Negro league Birmingham Black Barons, earning East-West All-Star Game selections in 1958 and 1959. Detroit signed him as a pitching prospect, and in 1963 at Triple-A Syracuse he led the International League in winning percentage while also hitting .380. He debuted with the Tigers as a pitcher that year, then was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in April 1964. Still working as a pitcher for Los Angeles, he was converted to the outfield partway through 1964 by manager Bill Rigney to get his left-handed bat into the lineup daily, and responded with a career-best .301 average, 11 home runs and 51 RBI. He spent parts of nine big-league seasons as an outfielder, first baseman, pinch hitter and occasional pitcher for the Tigers, Angels, Indians, Cubs and Reds, finishing with 410 hits and 46 home runs. He later played two seasons in Japan for the Nankai Hawks. Smith died in his hometown of Anniston, Alabama, in 2006.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 187 | 1 | 19 | 109 | 33 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 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: #131 California Angels
More California Angels cards:
- #5 Jim Fregosi
- #23 Jack Sanford
- #42 Aubrey Gatewood
- #62 Merritt Ranew
- #83 Albie Pearson
- #102 Ed Kirkpatrick
- #152 Frank Malzone
- #155 Marcelino Lopez
- #173 Al Spangler
- #192 Vic Power
- #213 Fred Newman
- #249 Bill Rigney
- #263 Tom Egan
- #280 Bobby Knoop
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1966 Topps #438 card?
It is card #438 of the 598-card 1966 Topps Baseball set, picturing Willie Smith of the California Angels.
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.