1968 Topps #412 Clay Carroll
About Clay Carroll
1968 Topps #412, from the set's fifth print series, shows Carroll with the Atlanta Braves. He reported at his old playing weight but was 0-1 with a 4.84 ERA on June 11, when Atlanta sent him to the Cincinnati Reds with Tony Cloninger and Woody Woodward for Milt Pappas, Bob Johnson and Ted Davidson. The change of scenery worked: he appeared in 58 games and 121-2/3 innings for Cincinnati the rest of the way, with a 2.29 ERA and 17 saves.
Clay Carroll grew up in the cotton mill town of Clanton, Alabama, one of nine children of a mill worker, and signed with the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent in 1961 for $1,000. He reached the majors in September 1964 and became a bullpen regular by 1966, leading the National League that year with 73 appearances for the Braves. A June 1968 trade sent him to Cincinnati, where he became the workhorse of the Big Red Machine bullpen, and teammates called him Hawk for the way his profile resembled the bird. He made the National League All-Star team in 1971 and 1972, and in 1972 he led the league with 37 saves and was named The Sporting News Fireman of the Year. Carroll worked nine shutout innings in the 1970 World Series and won the only game Cincinnati took from Baltimore, then won Game Seven of the 1975 World Series, the game that brought the Reds their first championship in 35 years. He later pitched for the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, making his last big-league appearance in 1978 and finishing 96-73 with 143 saves. Cincinnati elected him to the Reds Hall of Fame in 1980, and the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame followed in 1992.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 348 | 14 | 116 | 149 | 44 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 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. Slabs of the yellow team-letter #49 and #66 are 1968 Milton Bradley game cards and are not counted here.
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Related cards
Team card: #221 Atlanta Braves
More Atlanta Braves cards:
- #3 National League 1967 RBI Leaders
- #5 National League 1967 Home Run Leaders
- #7 National League 1967 ERA Leaders
- #30 Joe Torre
- #55 Felipe Alou
- #76 Braves 1968 Rookie Stars
- #93 Tony Cloninger
- #110 Hank Aaron
- #134 Pat Jarvis
- #166 Claude Raymond
- #174 Bob Tillman
- #187 Sonny Jackson
- #203 Dick Kelley
- #241 Felix Millan
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #412 card?
It is card #412 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Clay Carroll of the Atlanta Braves.
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.