1967 Topps #518 Denis Menke
About Denis Menke
Menke turns up twice in 1967 Topps: #396, a fifth-series combination card pairing him with roommate Tony Cloninger, and #518, a solo card in the sixth series. The pairing was earned, since it was Menke's bat that Cloninger borrowed in 1966 to hit two grand slams in one game, a feat that sent the bat to Cooperstown. Both cards show his last season in Atlanta: he hit .227 with 7 home runs and 39 runs batted in for a seventh-place club, and on October 8 the Braves traded him and pitcher Denny Lemaster to Houston for Sonny Jackson and Chuck Harrison, ending six years in the organization.
Denis John Menke was born July 21, 1940, on a 480-acre farm outside Bancroft, Iowa, and signed with the Milwaukee Braves in May 1958 for a bonus reported at between $125,000 and $175,000, one of the largest of the years before the amateur draft. After Pacific Coast League Rookie of the Year honors at Vancouver in 1961, he debuted on April 14, 1962, and went on to play 13 major-league seasons for the Braves, Houston Astros and Cincinnati Reds, playing shortstop, second base, third base and first base. He batted .250 with 101 home runs and 606 runs batted in over 1,598 games, and was picked for the National League All-Star team as a shortstop in 1969 and 1970. In November 1971 Houston sent him to Cincinnati in the seven-player deal built around Joe Morgan, and he started at third base for the 1972 pennant winners, homering off Catfish Hunter in Game Five of the World Series and setting a Series record with 29 chances at third without an error. He played his last game July 10, 1974, managed in the minors, then coached in the majors for two decades, including eight seasons as the Philadelphia Phillies' hitting coach. He died December 1, 2020, in Tarpon Springs, Florida, at 80.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 281 | 4 | 66 | 139 | 43 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 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. 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
More Denis Menke in this set: #396 Combo
Team card: #477 Atlanta Braves
More Atlanta Braves cards:
- #18 Gene Oliver
- #35 Rico Carty
- #57 Pat Jarvis
- #89 Felix Millan
- #101 Ken Johnson
- #113 Dave Nicholson
- #119 Wade Blasingame
- #138 Dick Kelley
- #179 Braves 1967 Rookie Stars
- #199 Billy Hitchcock
- #219 Clay Carroll
- #240 National League 1966 Batting Leaders
- #242 National League 1966 RBI Leaders
- #244 National League 1966 Home Run Leaders
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1967 Topps #518 card?
It is card #518 of the 609-card 1967 Topps Baseball set, picturing Denis Menke of the Atlanta Braves.
Why is #518 harder to find?
It is from the sixth print series, #458-533 - noticeably tougher than the first five.
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.