1968 Topps #515 Russ Nixon
About Russ Nixon
Number 515 lands in the 1968 Topps sixth series, and it still has Nixon with Minnesota. He was gone by the time it circulated: the Twins released him outright in early April, and the Red Sox signed him as catching insurance and sent him to Double-A Pittsfield. Recalled in July when Elston Howard's elbow went sore, he pinch-hit a bases-clearing double in his first trip up to beat his old Minnesota club 6-5. He hit .153 in 29 games, all but one of them in July and August, and played his last big-league game on September 16.
Russ Nixon was a left-handed-hitting catcher who spent twelve major-league seasons, from 1957 to 1968, with the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, and Minnesota Twins. Born in Cleves, Ohio, on February 19, 1935, he signed with Cleveland in 1953 out of Cincinnati's Western Hills High School alongside his twin brother Roy, and reached the Indians in 1957. His best year came in 1958, when he batted .301 in 113 games. Cleveland dealt him to Boston in March 1960 for catcher Sammy White and first baseman Jim Marshall, but White retired rather than report and the commissioner voided the deal; on June 13 the Indians sent Nixon and Carroll Hardy to the Red Sox for Ted Bowsfield and Marty Keough. He platooned behind the plate in Boston through 1965, went to Minnesota in an April 1966 trade, and came back to the Red Sox for his last big-league games in 1968. Over 906 games he batted .268 with 670 hits and 27 home runs, and he holds the major-league record for most games played without a stolen base. He later coached the 1976 world-champion Reds and managed both Cincinnati and Atlanta.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 584 | 15 | 189 | 301 | 53 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 49 | 0 | 20 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 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: #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 #515 card?
It is card #515 of the 598-card 1968 Topps Baseball set, picturing Russ Nixon of the Minnesota Twins.
Is 1968 Topps #515 a scarce card?
It is from the sixth print series (cards 458-533). Together with series 7 it forms the #458-598 block that hobby sources price at a modest premium; several catalogs call these cards high numbers outright.
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.