1968 Topps #120 Mel Stottlemyre
A near-identical card with a yellow-tinged back was distributed in the 1968 Milton Bradley Win-A-Card game; check the back to confirm the Topps issue.
About Mel Stottlemyre
#120 shipped in the second series, early in the best year Stottlemyre ever had. He widened his stance to stop throwing across his body, cut his walks to a career-low rate, and threw shutouts in three of his first seven starts, finishing 21-12 with a 2.45 ERA over 278.2 innings, 19 complete games and six shutouts. One thing to know: a near-identical card with a yellow-tinged back came in the 1968 Milton Bradley Win-A-Card game, so check the back.
Mel Stottlemyre (1941-2019) spent his entire 11-year major-league career with the New York Yankees. Born in Hazleton, Missouri and raised in the farm town of Mabton, Washington, he was signed for no bonus out of Yakima Valley Junior College by Yankees scout Eddie Taylor in 1961, and he was still pitching for Triple-A Richmond when New York called him up in August 1964 to cover for the injured Whitey Ford. He went 9-3 the rest of the way, helped the club to its fifth straight American League pennant, and started three games against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, beating Bob Gibson in Game Two before losing the decisive Game Seven. An overhand sinkerballer who kept the ball at the knees, he became the ace of a Yankees team that fell into the second division for the first time since 1925. He won 20 games three times, was named to five All-Star squads, and threw 40 shutouts, the same career total as Sandy Koufax. Shoulder tendinitis dogged him from 1967 onward, and a torn rotator cuff ended his pitching at age 32 in 1974; the Yankees released him before the 1975 season. He retired 164-139 with a 2.97 ERA, then coached 23 seasons in the majors and won five World Series rings with the Mets and Yankees.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 488 | 9 | 89 | 187 | 99 | 43 | 29 | 32 | 0 |
| SGC | 46 | 0 | 7 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 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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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #120 card?
It is card #120 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mel Stottlemyre of the New York Yankees.
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.