1968 Topps #423 Fred Gladding
About Fred Gladding
This 1968 Topps card, #423, shows Fred Gladding with the Houston Astros in his first season after being traded from Detroit. Unable to consistently throw his fastball, he worked just seven relief appearances covering four and a third innings, picking up two saves, before floating bone chips in his right elbow forced the Astros to shut him down for the year with a 14.54 ERA.
Fred Gladding was a right-handed relief pitcher who spent thirteen major league seasons, 1961 to 1973, with the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. Born in Flat Rock, Michigan, he signed with the Tigers in 1956 and spent six seasons working through their minor league system before debuting in 1961. Teammates nicknamed him "The Bear" during his minor league days in Birmingham, after catcher Ron Witucki noticed how he stomped around the mound when angry, and Detroit catcher Bill Freehan later called him "Little Monster." A sinkerball pitcher who ran the ball in on right-handed hitters, Gladding became a dependable Tigers reliever through the 1960s before an August 1967 trade sent him to Houston in exchange for Eddie Mathews. With the Astros he led the National League in saves in 1969, the first year saves were officially counted. He finished his career with a 48-34 record, a 3.13 ERA, and 109 saves in 450 games. He also holds the lowest non-zero career batting average in major league history, .016.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 321 | 14 | 133 | 139 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 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.
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Related cards
More Houston Astros cards:
- #5 National League 1967 Home Run Leaders
- #21 Ron Davis
- #41 Julio Gotay
- #57 Dan Schneider
- #77 Don Wilson
- #95 Bob Aspromonte
- #128 Houston 1968 Rookie Stars
- #144 Joe Morgan
- #161 Norm Miller
- #182 Dave Giusti
- #207 Carroll Sembera
- #232 Denis Menke
- #260 Jim Wynn
- #274 Mike Cuellar
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #423 card?
It is card #423 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Fred Gladding of the Houston Astros.
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.