1967 Topps #168 Ray Culp
About Ray Culp
Chicago got a single Topps card out of Culp, #168 in the second series, issued the spring after the December 7, 1966 trade that sent him and cash from Philadelphia for Dick Ellsworth. Its back covers a 1966 season spent mostly in the bullpen: 7-4 with a 5.04 ERA, one complete game and just 12 starts in 34 appearances, after which he told the Phillies flatly that he would not report to their camp again.
Ray Culp, a right-handed pitcher born August 6, 1941, in Elgin, Texas, signed with the Philadelphia Phillies out of Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin for a $100,000 bonus in 1959, then spent four uneven minor-league seasons before sticking in the majors. He debuted on April 10, 1963, and was named The Sporting News' National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year that season, going 14-11 with a 2.97 ERA, 176 strikeouts, five shutouts and an All-Star selection. Elbow trouble knocked him back the following year, and after a bullpen-heavy 1966 he demanded a trade; Philadelphia sent him to the Chicago Cubs that December for Dick Ellsworth, and Chicago dealt him to the Boston Red Sox a year later. Armed with a palmball Roger Craig had shown him back in Philadelphia, he became the Red Sox ace, winning between 14 and 17 games in each of his first four seasons there and making a second All-Star team in 1969. Shoulder surgery and arm trouble ended his career in 1973 at 122-101 with a 3.58 ERA and 1,411 strikeouts over 11 seasons; he went home to Austin and built a real-estate business.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · Retrosheet
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 318 | 4 | 44 | 175 | 63 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 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. PSA registers a row for every one of the 624 states; SGC lists no separate row for the #149 white-streak state.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1967 Topps #168 card?
It is card #168 of the 609-card 1967 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ray Culp of the Chicago Cubs.
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.