1968 Topps #43 Gary Bell
A look-alike from the 1968 Milton Bradley Win-A-Card game has a yellow-tinged back.
About Gary Bell
Card #43 comes from the first series of the 1968 set and is Bell's first Topps card in a Boston uniform. Cleveland had sent him east on June 4, 1967, for Tony Horton and Don Demeter, and the change took: 1-5 with the Indians, then 12-8 with a 3.16 ERA for the Red Sox club that won the 'Impossible Dream' pennant. He worked three World Series games against St. Louis, losing his Game Three start 5-2 and saving Game Six to force a seventh.
Wilbur Gary Bell was a right-handed pitcher from San Antonio, Texas, who spent twelve big league seasons (1958-1969) with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Pilots and Chicago White Sox. He signed with Cleveland over the Yankees and Red Sox, reasoning that an aging Indians staff of Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, Mike Garcia and Early Wynn would open a door for him, and he debuted in relief on June 1, 1958. He went 12-10 that first year and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting. Known as 'Ding Dong,' Bell was a four-time All-Star, chosen for both 1960 games and again in 1966 and 1968, and Cleveland shuffled him between the rotation and the bullpen under at least nine managers across ten seasons there. He finished 121-117 with a 3.68 ERA, 51 saves and 1,378 strikeouts in 519 games, then settled back in San Antonio, where he opened his own sporting-goods business in 1987.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 417 | 21 | 166 | 164 | 33 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 18 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 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 Boston Red Sox cards:
- #2 American League 1967 Batting Leaders
- #4 American League 1967 RBI Leaders
- #6 American League 1967 Home Run Leaders
- #10 American League 1967 Pitching Leaders
- #12 American League 1967 Strikeout Leaders
- #26 Darrell Brandon
- #61 Reggie Smith
- #87 Dick Williams
- #106 Dalton Jones
- #123 Jose Santiago
- #140 Tony Conigliaro
- #152 World Series Game #2 - Yaz Smashes Two Homers
- #155 World Series Game #5 - Lonborg Wins Again!
- #156 World Series Game #6 - Petrocelli Socks Two Homers
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #43 card?
It is card #43 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gary Bell of the Boston Red Sox.
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.