1968 Topps #171 Don Nottebart
About Don Nottebart
Topps printed him as a Red in 1968; the Reds had no place for him. A contract dispute turned bitter that spring, and after Cincinnati failed to find a trade partner it sent him to the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League, where he spent the season. He threw no major league pitch in 1968 at all, which makes #171 a card to place carefully - a second-series card in Cincinnati flannel for a year its subject spent in the minors. His 1967 relief work remains his last full big-league season.
Don Nottebart was a right-handed pitcher from West Newton, Massachusetts, who worked 296 major league games over nine seasons between 1960 and 1969 for the Milwaukee Braves, Houston Colt .45s and Astros, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs. He grew up idolizing Warren Spahn and signed with the Braves out of Lexington High School in 1954 for that reason, then spent seven years in a farm system too deep to make room for him, winning 18 games in four of five seasons on the way up. A multi-player swap in November 1962 sent him to Houston, where on May 17, 1963 he threw the first no-hitter in franchise history, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 at Colt Stadium despite an unearned run. That season, 11-8 with a 3.17 ERA, was his best. Cincinnati took him in the 1965 Rule 5 draft and turned him into a full-time reliever, and after a lost 1968 in the minors he finished up in 1969 with the Yankees and Cubs. His career line reads 36-51, 3.65, with 21 saves and 525 strikeouts. He died in 2007 in Cypress, Texas.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 259 | 8 | 58 | 137 | 36 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 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. 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
Team card: #574 Cincinnati Reds
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
- #23 Chico Cardenas
- #48 Ted Davidson
- #74 Milt Pappas
- #90 Vada Pinson
- #108 Don Pavletich
- #130 Tony Perez
- #133 Fred Whitfield
- #148 Dave Bristol
- #196 Gary Nolan
- #213 Chico Ruiz
- #230 Pete Rose
- #247 Reds 1968 Rookie Stars
- #264 Ted Abernathy
- #283 Mel Queen
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #171 card?
It is card #171 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don Nottebart of the Cincinnati Reds.
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.