1968 Topps #540 Nelson Briles
About Nelson Briles
Briles' solo card #540 falls in the 1968 set's high-numbered seventh series and reports his 1967 breakthrough: promoted into the St. Louis rotation that July after ace Bob Gibson broke his leg, he won nine straight decisions and finished 14-5 with a 2.43 ERA, the National League's best winning percentage. He capped the season with a complete-game 5-2 win over Boston in Game 3 of the 1967 World Series, helping the Cardinals to the championship.
Nelson Briles pitched 14 major league seasons (1965-1978) as a right-hander, breaking in with the St. Louis Cardinals after Santa Clara University and scout Bill Sayers signed him for a reported bonus near $40,000-50,000. Used mostly in relief as a Cardinals rookie in 1965, he moved into the rotation in July 1967 when ace Bob Gibson broke his leg, won nine straight decisions and finished 14-5 with a 2.43 ERA, the National League's best winning percentage that year. He started and won Game 3 of the 1967 World Series over Boston, then set career highs of 19 wins, 141 strikeouts and 13 complete games in 1968 as St. Louis repeated as National League champions. Traded to Pittsburgh in 1971, he capped that season with a two-hit complete game over Baltimore in World Series Game 5, putting Pittsburgh ahead 3-2 in a World Series it went on to win. He also pitched for Kansas City, Texas and Baltimore before retiring in 1979 with a 129-112 record, 3.44 ERA and 1,163 strikeouts across 452 games. Briles later worked in Pirates broadcasting and as the club's Director of Corporate Sales; he died of a heart attack in 2005 while playing in the Pirates' annual alumni golf outing.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Baseball Almanac (3)
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 299 | 9 | 71 | 148 | 43 | 23 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| SGC | 18 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 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 #540 card?
It is card #540 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Nelson Briles of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Is 1968 Topps #540 a scarce card?
It is a high number card from the seventh print series, #534-598, by the checklist-card division. The last two series together (#458-598) carry only a modest premium; no short-print list exists.
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.