1968 Topps #228 Dodgers Rookie Stars - Jack Billingham / Jim Fairey
On this card: Jack Billingham, Jim Fairey
About this card
Thirty Rookie Stars cards carry two players each on a horizontal front. The class is headlined by the two Hall of Fame rookies, #177 Nolan Ryan (with Jerry Koosman) and #247 Johnny Bench (with Ron Tompkins), with #384 Hal McRae (with Bill Henry) the other rookie card collectors chase.
The story on this card
As a 25-year-old rookie with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Billingham worked almost exclusively out of the bullpen, going 3-0 with a 2.17 ERA over 50 appearances and not allowing a run until his seventh outing. His lone start came on three hours' notice and he held Pittsburgh scoreless into the eighth inning. This card is shared with fellow Rookie Stars pick Jim Fairey, printed while both were still with the Dodgers organization before that fall's expansion draft reshuffled Billingham's future. A steady right-hander who threw a sinking fastball, anchored Cincinnati's rotation through the Big Red Machine years, made his only All-Star team in 1973, and posted a record-low 0.36 ERA across three World Series.
Fairey broke into the majors with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968, playing 99 games and seeing time in the outfield in 63 of them as a rookie. Topps featured him that year on card #228, a multi-player Rookie Stars card he shares with fellow Dodgers farmhand Jack Billingham, part of the set's third print series. A left-handed outfielder from Orangeburg, South Carolina, Fairey spent parts of six seasons (1968-1973) with the Dodgers and expansion Montreal Expos as a bench and platoon outfielder.
Sources: Wikipedia (Jack Billingham) · Wikipedia (Jim Fairey) · SABR BioProject
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 299 | 14 | 64 | 111 | 37 | 30 | 14 | 23 | 6 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 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: #168 Los Angeles Dodgers
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
- #9 National League 1967 Pitching Leaders
- #15 Ron Hunt
- #34 Al Ferrara
- #65 John Roseboro
- #88 Phil Regan
- #103 Don Sutton
- #124 Nate Oliver
- #145 Don Drysdale
- #208 Willie Davis
- #249 Bill Singer
- #266 Paul Popovich
- #281 Jim Campanis
- #298 Jim Brewer
- #315 Zoilo Versalles
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #228 card?
It is card #228 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jack Billingham and Jim Fairey. Thirty Rookie Stars cards carry two players each on a horizontal front. The class is headlined by the two Hall of Fame rookies, #177 Nolan Ryan (with Jerry Koosman) and #247 Johnny Bench (with Ron Tompkins), with #384 Hal McRae (with Bill Henry) the other rookie card collectors chase.
Is 1968 Topps #228 a rookie card?
Yes - #228 is a rookie card for every player pictured on it: Jack Billingham and Jim Fairey.
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.