1968 Topps #114 Ron Swoboda
About Ron Swoboda
Card #114 sat in the second series of 1968. This was Swoboda's steadiest year: Gil Hodges' first as manager, 125 games in right field, and personal bests of 450 at-bats and 59 RBI; he led the club in RBI, triples (six) and walks (52). He also set career highs of 217 putouts and 14 outfield assists. Sports Illustrated put him on its May 6, 1968 cover under the caption Slugger Ron Swoboda.
Ron Swoboda came out of Baltimore's Sparrows Point High School and one year at the University of Maryland, signing with the Mets in September 1963 for $35,000 after a strong showing in the AAABA tournament. He made the big club out of spring training in 1965 at age 20 and hit 19 home runs as a rookie, a Mets rookie record that stood until Darryl Strawberry hit 26 in 1983, and earned a place on the 1965 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. He picked up the nickname Rocky for his less-than-reliable fielding, though his arm was strong and accurate. He was the Mets' left fielder in 1965 and 1966, moved to first base and then right field in 1967 when Tommy Davis arrived, and batted a career-best .281 that season. Platooned during the 1969 championship year, he collected six hits in 15 World Series at-bats against Baltimore and drove in the winning run in the clinching fifth game, but he is remembered for the backhanded diving catch off Brooks Robinson that saved Game 4. Traded to Montreal in March 1971 and on to the Yankees that June, he finished with a .242 average, 73 homers and 344 RBI over nine seasons, then spent decades as a television sportscaster in New York, Milwaukee and New Orleans.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 302 | 6 | 87 | 132 | 39 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 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: #401 New York Mets
More New York Mets cards:
- #27 Gil Hodges
- #45 Tom Seaver
- #63 Dick Kenworthy
- #92 Ed Kranepool
- #132 Bud Harrelson
- #177 Mets 1968 Rookie Stars
- #191 Dan Frisella
- #211 J.C. Martin
- #236 Tug McGraw
- #254 Cleon Jones
- #277 Jerry Buchek
- #292 Art Shamsky
- #313 Al Weis
- #345 Bob Hendley
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1968 Topps #114 card?
It is card #114 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ron Swoboda of the New York Mets.
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.