1968 Topps #596 Charlie Smith
About Charlie Smith
The Yankees brought in Bobby Cox from Atlanta to play third, and Smith spent 1968 in reserve: 46 games and just 77 plate appearances, with most of his work coming as a pinch hitter. In that role he went 10-for-31 with four RBIs, and overall he batted .229. His only home run of the year was a walk-off against Wilbur Wood on September 10. Card #596 lives in the seventh series, a high number issued for a player who had become a spare part.
Charles William Smith, a right-handed-hitting third baseman born September 15, 1937 in Charleston, South Carolina, signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1957, among the last players inked before the franchise moved to Los Angeles. Originally a shortstop, he switched to third base in 1960 at Spokane, batting .293 with 73 home runs and 330 RBIs over four seasons in the farm system before debuting with the Dodgers as a September call-up in 1960. Over the next decade he changed addresses constantly, playing for the Dodgers, Phillies, White Sox, Mets, Cardinals, Yankees and Cubs. His biggest years came with the Mets in the mid-1960s, and after a career-best season in St. Louis the Yankees acquired him from the Cardinals straight up for Roger Maris in December 1966. He finished with a .239 average, 69 home runs and 281 RBIs in 771 games. He made his home in Reno, Nevada, where he had broken in at 19 with the Class C Silver Sox, and he died there on November 29, 1994 at 57, of a blood clot after knee surgery.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 367 | 12 | 107 | 166 | 55 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 25 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 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. Slabs of the yellow team-letter #49 and #66 are 1968 Milton Bradley game cards and are not counted here.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #596 card?
It is card #596 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Charlie Smith of the New York Yankees.
Is 1968 Topps #596 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #534-598, by the checklist-card division. The last two series together (#458-598) carry only a modest premium; no short-print list exists.
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.