1968 Topps #224 Jack Aker
About Jack Aker
With the franchise relocated to Oakland for 1968, Aker remained in the bullpen alongside a young Reggie Jackson and Sal Bando as the team improved to 82-80. He pitched 54 games in relief, posting a 4-4 record, 4.10 ERA, and 11 saves, and earned the win in just the eighth game ever played at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum that April. His 1968 Topps card, #224, comes from the set's third series.
Jackie Delane Aker was a side-arming sinkerballer who spent eleven seasons in the majors as a relief pitcher, breaking in with the Kansas City Athletics in 1964. A standout at the College of Sequoias before signing with the A's organization in 1959, Aker worked his way up through the minors as a starter before the club converted him into a full-time reliever. He is of Potawatomi ancestry and carried the nickname "Chief" through his playing career. Aker also pitched for the Seattle Pilots, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, and New York Mets. As the Athletics' player representative during the 1967 labor dispute with owner Charles Finley, he became a central figure in one of the era's most public front-office conflicts. After retiring, he managed in the minor leagues for a decade, then went on to teach baseball skills to children for two decades, including at-risk Native American youth on southwestern reservations, work that earned him a Giant Steps Award from President Bill Clinton in 1997.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 294 | 5 | 68 | 165 | 35 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 22 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 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
Team card: #554 Oakland Athletics
More Oakland Athletics cards:
- #18 Mike Hershberger
- #38 Tony Pierce
- #62 Chuck Dobson
- #79 Ted Kubiak
- #109 Bert Campaneris
- #127 Paul Lindblad
- #146 Sal Bando
- #164 Ramon Webster
- #183 Bob Kennedy
- #199 A's 1968 Rookie Stars
- #244 John Donaldson
- #261 Dave Duncan
- #282 Rick Monday
- #303 Dick Green
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #224 card?
It is card #224 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jack Aker of the Oakland Athletics.
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.