1968 Topps #350 Hoyt Wilhelm
About Hoyt Wilhelm
Card #350 lands in the fourth series of the 1968 set -- a regular number. It carries the best ERA Wilhelm ever posted: 1.31 in 1967, over 49 games and 89 innings, with an 8-3 record, 12 saves and 76 strikeouts, all of it out of the bullpen without a single start. That was also the year Wilbur Wood arrived in Chicago throwing an occasional knuckleball; Wilhelm pushed him to throw it full time, and Wood credited him with the career that followed. At 45, Wilhelm was the oldest player in the major leagues, as he would be for each of his last seven seasons.
Hoyt Wilhelm rode a knuckleball he taught himself as a North Carolina teenager to one of baseball's strangest careers. Born in Huntersville on July 26, 1922 -- a year earlier than the date his cards carried -- he was one of eleven children of tenant farmers. He served in the Army, was wounded at the Battle of the Bulge and earned a Purple Heart, then pitched the rest of his life with a fragment lodged in his back; his rise to staff sergeant left him the nickname "Old Sarge." He did not reach the majors until age 29, debuting for the New York Giants in April 1952, and homered in his first at-bat, the only home run he ever hit. Working entirely in relief, he won the National League ERA title as a rookie at 2.43, going 15-3, then took a second crown as a Baltimore starter in 1959 at 2.19 and no-hit the Yankees 1-0 on September 20, 1958. He pitched for nine franchises, tying Satchel Paige and Goose Gossage for the most by a Hall of Fame pitcher, and was the first to reach 200 saves and 1,000 games. Twenty-one seasons left him 143-122 with a 2.52 ERA, 228 saves and a record 124 relief wins; in 1985 he became the first reliever elected to Cooperstown.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 828 | 20 | 160 | 350 | 108 | 77 | 49 | 64 | 0 |
| SGC | 102 | 0 | 9 | 34 | 22 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 1 |
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: #424 Chicago White Sox
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #8 American League 1967 ERA Leaders
- #14 Jerry McNertney
- #33 Pete Ward
- #51 Bob Locker
- #72 Tommy John
- #99 Rocky Colavito
- #125 Joe Horlen
- #142 White Sox 1968 Rookie Stars
- #172 Walt Williams
- #210 Gary Peters
- #229 Fred Klages
- #259 Ken Boyer
- #265 Tommy Davis
- #287 White Sox 1968 Rookie Stars
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #350 card?
It is card #350 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Hoyt Wilhelm of the Chicago White 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.