1967 Topps #536 Cubs Rookie Stars - Joe Niekro / Paul Popovich
On this card: Joe Niekro, Paul Popovich
About this card
This is one of the 43 Rookie Stars cards in the set, each pairing two prospects. Thirty-nine are titled by club; #569, #576, #587 and #592 carry a league title and cover two clubs each.
The story on this card
Card #536, a Rookie Stars issue from the seventh and final print series, is a high number that pairs Niekro with fellow Cubs prospect Paul Popovich, both pictured as Chicago Cubs. It is recognized as Niekro's rookie card, arriving in the same season he broke into the majors and went 10-7 with a 3.34 ERA over 169.2 innings for Chicago. A knuckleballer who spent 22 seasons in the majors, Joe Niekro won 20 games in back-to-back years for Houston and combined with brother Phil for a record 539 career wins.
After spending the 1966-67 offseason with the Arizona Instructional League Cubs learning shortstop and third base, Popovich carved out a bench role with Chicago in 1967, appearing in 49 games and batting .214 with two RBIs and eighteen runs scored, splitting time between shortstop and second base. His 1967 Topps card, a high number from the set's seventh series, is a multi-player Cubs Rookie Stars issue he shares with Joe Niekro, and it stands as his recognized rookie card. A West Virginia-bred utility infielder who logged a decade in the majors with the Cubs, Dodgers, and Pirates, prized for his glove at second, short, and third more than his bat.
Sources: Wikipedia (Joe Niekro) · Wikipedia (Paul Popovich)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 763 | 3 | 56 | 223 | 180 | 148 | 67 | 81 | 5 |
| SGC | 153 | 0 | 8 | 15 | 31 | 33 | 37 | 26 | 3 |
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. PSA registers a row for every one of the 624 states; SGC lists no separate row for the #149 white-streak state.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1967 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
Team card: #354 Chicago Cubs
More Chicago Cubs cards:
- #16 Bill Hands
- #39 Curt Simmons
- #70 Ron Santo
- #87 George Altman
- #106 Randy Hundley
- #124 Jim Stewart
- #148 Adolfo Phillips
- #168 Ray Culp
- #171 Calvin Koonce
- #185 Ken Holtzman
- #215 Ernie Banks
- #256 Bob Hendley
- #272 Cubs 1967 Rookie Stars
- #296 Glenn Beckert
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1967 Topps #536 card?
It is card #536 of the 609-card 1967 Topps Baseball set, picturing Joe Niekro and Paul Popovich. This is one of the 43 Rookie Stars cards in the set, each pairing two prospects. Thirty-nine are titled by club; #569, #576, #587 and #592 carry a league title and cover two clubs each.
Is 1967 Topps #536 a rookie card?
Yes - #536 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Joe Niekro and Paul Popovich.
Why is #536 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the seventh and last print series, #534-609 - the scarce end of the set, holding both Hall of Fame rookies (Carew #569, Seaver #581). Twenty-two of the 76 are accepted double prints, so scarcity varies card by card inside the run.
How many cards are in the 1967 Topps Baseball set?
609 cards, tracked as 624 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 609 without a gap - no number was skipped and none was used twice - and 15 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, BaseballCardPedia, 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 2026-10-12.