1968 Topps #456 John O'Donoghue
About John O'Donoghue
The Indians traded O'Donoghue to the Baltimore Orioles in November 1967 along with Gordon Lund for Eddie Fisher and two minor leaguers. In 1968 he split time between Baltimore and the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, pitching exclusively in relief for the Orioles with a 6.14 ERA and two saves over 22 innings. This 1968 Topps card, a print series 5 issue, shows him in his new Orioles uniform during that transitional relief season.
John O'Donoghue was a left-handed pitcher born October 7, 1939, in Kansas City, Missouri, who stood 6 feet 4 inches. He pitched for the University of Missouri, taking the mound twice in the 1958 College World Series championship series as the Tigers finished runner-up to USC, then signed with the Kansas City Athletics in 1959. After four rough minor league seasons he broke through in 1963 and debuted with the Athletics that September. He worked mainly as a starter through 1967, then shifted almost entirely to relief for the rest of his career, pitching for Cleveland, Baltimore, Seattle, Milwaukee, and Montreal. His finest outing came on August 19, 1967, a one-hit shutout of Detroit at Tiger Stadium. Over nine major league seasons he went 39-55 with a 4.07 ERA and 377 strikeouts, and he was named to the 1965 American League All-Star team, though he did not appear in the game. He also became a recurring figure in Jim Bouton's book Ball Four during his 1969 season with the Seattle Pilots.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 317 | 20 | 112 | 124 | 30 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 10 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 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: #334 Baltimore Orioles
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #2 American League 1967 Batting Leaders
- #4 American League 1967 RBI Leaders
- #20 Brooks Robinson
- #42 Larry Haney
- #56 Orioles 1968 Rookie Stars
- #82 Sam Bowens
- #97 Tom Phoebus
- #118 Mark Belanger
- #135 Paul Blair
- #163 Gene Brabender
- #186 Eddie Watt
- #194 Don Buford
- #204 Andy Etchebarren
- #222 Jim Hardin
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #456 card?
It is card #456 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing John O'Donoghue of the Baltimore Orioles.
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.