1968 Topps #311 Jack Lamabe
About Jack Lamabe
Card #311, a series-4 issue, is Lamabe's only Topps card as a Cardinal, and it was already stale: sent to Tulsa in April and traded to the Cubs on the 22nd, he spent 1968 in Chicago's bullpen, 3-2 in 42 relief outings, his last big-league season. The St. Louis half-season behind the card began the day after Bob Gibson broke his leg: 3-4 with a 2.83 ERA and four saves, no earned runs in 25 August innings, and the Game Six loss in a World Series Gibson closed out.
John Alexander Lamabe was a right-handed pitcher whose first professional contract, with the Philadelphia Phillies, was voided by Commissioner Ford Frick in October 1956 under the rule protecting college players. About a dozen clubs bid for him, and he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates on January 27, 1957. He reached the majors on April 17, 1962, and over seven seasons pitched for the Pirates, Red Sox, Astros, White Sox, Mets, Cardinals and Cubs, working mostly in relief and finishing 33-41 with a 4.24 ERA, 434 strikeouts and three shutouts in 285 games. Boston's baseball writers voted him their club's Unsung Hero, and his florid complexion earned him the nickname "Tomatoes" during his Red Sox years. He won a championship ring with the 1967 Cardinals. Afterward he coached college baseball at Jacksonville University and became LSU's first full-time head coach, and he spent years as a minor league pitching instructor in the Expos and Padres systems. He died in Baton Rouge in 2007, and Jacksonville put him in its athletic hall of fame four years later.
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 | 311 | 11 | 89 | 149 | 36 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 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
Team card: #497 St. Louis Cardinals
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #3 National League 1967 RBI Leaders
- #25 Julian Javier
- #46 Dave Ricketts
- #68 Ron Willis
- #84 Bob Tolan
- #100 Bob Gibson
- #117 Larry Jaster
- #141 Dal Maxvill
- #151 World Series Game #1 - Brock Socks 4-Hits in Opener
- #153 World Series Game #3 - Briles Cools Off Boston
- #154 World Series Game #4 - Gibson Hurls Shutout!
- #157 World Series Game #7 - St. Louis Wins It!
- #158 1967 World Series - The Cardinals Celebrate!
- #162 Cardinals 1968 Rookie Stars
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #311 card?
It is card #311 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Jack Lamabe of the St. Louis Cardinals.
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.