1968 Topps #435 Ron Perranoski
About Ron Perranoski
Number 435, a fifth-series card, is the first of his Topps issues to list him with Minnesota. The Twins had landed him on November 28, 1967, sending Mudcat Grant and Zoilo Versalles to Los Angeles for Perranoski, Bob Miller and catcher John Roseboro. In his first American League season he matched the club record of 66 appearances, set by Bill Dailey in 1963, and went 8-7 with a 3.10 ERA and six saves over 87 innings while Al Worthington handled the late leads and led the league with 18 saves. Minnesota finished seventh at 79-83.
Ron Perranoski was a left-handed relief pitcher who spent 13 major league seasons, from 1961 through 1973, mostly with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Minnesota Twins, with shorter stops in Detroit and California. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, on April 1, 1936, and raised in nearby Fair Lawn, he starred at Michigan State before signing with the Chicago Cubs, and he reached the majors only after a 1960 trade sent him to the Dodgers. Working almost entirely out of the bullpen with a sinking fastball and a sharp curve, he led or shared the National League lead in appearances three times for Los Angeles and won World Series rings with the Dodgers in 1963 and 1965. Traded to Minnesota after the 1967 season, he led the American League in saves in 1969 and in 1970 and was named The Sporting News Fireman of the Year both years. He finished with 79 wins, 178 saves and a 2.79 ERA in 737 games, and he was never chosen for an All-Star team. He later spent 14 seasons as the Dodgers' pitching coach, adding championship rings in 1981 and 1988. He was inducted into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 and died in 2020.
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 | 293 | 20 | 62 | 149 | 40 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 12 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 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: #137 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
- #4 American League 1967 RBI Leaders
- #6 American League 1967 Home Run Leaders
- #10 American League 1967 Pitching Leaders
- #12 American League 1967 Strikeout Leaders
- #28 Ted Uhlaender
- #44 Frank Kostro
- #64 Jim Merritt
- #80 Rod Carew
- #91 Jim Ollom
- #111 Rich Reese
- #165 Tony Oliva
- #181 Jerry Zimmerman
- #206 Cal Ermer
- #220 Harmon Killebrew
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #435 card?
It is card #435 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ron Perranoski of the Minnesota Twins.
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.