1968 Topps #37 Billy Williams
About Billy Williams
Card #37, an early first-series number, reports a 1967 of .278 with 28 home runs and 84 RBIs in 162 games, and 162 is the figure to notice: by then the consecutive-games streak was more than four years old and still climbing toward 1,117. The Cubs around him had finally turned, winning 87 games and finishing third, their best showing since Williams arrived, with Ferguson Jenkins, Ken Holtzman, Randy Hundley and Glenn Beckert backing the old Banks and Santo core.
Billy Williams played left field for the Chicago Cubs from 1959 through 1974, joining Ernie Banks and Ron Santo in an everyday core that pulled a long-buried franchise back toward contention in the late 1960s. Born in Whistler, Alabama, he liked to say his signing bonus was a bus ticket and a cigar for his father. Bigotry in the Double-A Texas League drove him home in 1959 until Cubs scout Buck O'Neil came to Whistler and coaxed him back. He hit .278 with 25 home runs and 86 RBIs in 1961 and became the first Cub named National League Rookie of the Year. A six-time All-Star known as "Sweet-Swinging Billy from Whistler" for a short, effortless stroke, he won the 1972 batting title at .333 and finished MVP runner-up twice, in 1970 and 1972, both times behind Cincinnati's Johnny Bench. He played 1,117 straight games from September 1963 to September 1970, a National League record that stood until 1983. Williams closed an 18-year career, the last two as Oakland's designated hitter, with a .290 average, 2,711 hits, 426 home runs and 1,475 RBIs -- a home run total that then ranked eighth in major league history among left-handed hitters. He entered the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987 and later coached 19 seasons in the majors.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · Internet Archive
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,289 | 19 | 136 | 393 | 226 | 180 | 122 | 212 | 1 |
| SGC | 225 | 1 | 14 | 32 | 51 | 47 | 42 | 37 | 1 |
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. Slabs of the yellow team-letter #49 and #66 are 1968 Milton Bradley game cards and are not counted here.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1968 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 Chicago Cubs cards:
- #5 National League 1967 Home Run Leaders
- #9 National League 1967 Pitching Leaders
- #11 National League 1967 Strikeout Leaders
- #13 Chuck Hartenstein
- #60 Ken Holtzman
- #83 John Stephenson
- #101 Glenn Beckert
- #119 Ted Savage
- #136 Randy Hundley
- #159 Don Kessinger
- #179 Bill Stoneman
- #184 Lou Johnson
- #202 Adolfo Phillips
- #219 Rob Gardner
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #37 card?
It is card #37 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Billy Williams of the Chicago Cubs.
How many cards are in the 1968 Topps Baseball set?
598 cards, tracked as 606 collectible states. The numbers run from 1 to 598 without a gap and no printed number carries two different cards; eight cards - six of the seven checklists, #10 AL Pitching Leaders and #400 Mike McCormick - carry a catalogued print variation that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, BaseballCardPedia, Baseball Almanac, Beckett, 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.