1969 Topps #485 Gaylord Perry
About Gaylord Perry
Card #485 is a fifth-series single, but it is the Perry card variation collectors hunt. His last name reads in yellow on the common version and in white on the scarce one, an unexplained Topps misprint that left a small run of white-letter cards; Perry, Willie McCovey at #440 and Mickey Mantle at #500 are the marquee names among them. The 1968 season on the back was his best yet: 16-15 with a then-career-low 2.44 ERA, and on September 17 a 1-0 no-hitter at Candlestick against Bob Gibson and the defending champion Cardinals, the only run a first-inning Ron Hunt homer, one of two Hunt hit all year.
Gaylord Jackson Perry was born September 15, 1938, in Williamston, North Carolina, to tenant farmers, and signed with the San Francisco Giants in 1958. He debuted on April 14, 1962, and pitched 22 seasons for eight clubs through 1983. Taught the spitball by teammate Bob Shaw in 1964, he spent two decades denying it while fussing at his cap, hair and belt so hitters believed every pitch might be loaded. He told the story himself in 1974 in Me and the Spitter, and despite constant inspection was not ejected for doctoring a ball until 1982, his 21st season. He won 20 games five times, struck out 200 batters eight times, and was the first pitcher to take a Cy Young Award in both leagues - with Cleveland in 1972, going 24-16 with a 1.92 ERA, and with San Diego in 1978 at 40, going 21-6. He was a five-time All-Star. He and brother Jim were the first brothers each to win 200 games and remain the only pair each to win a Cy Young. Signing with Seattle in 1982 brought both the nickname the Ancient Mariner and his 300th win. He retired with 314 wins, a 3.11 ERA, 303 complete games and 3,534 strikeouts, and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991 on his third ballot.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia · PSA
Print variations
Two states of #485 are tracked individually: 485a - Last Name In Yellow and 485b - Last Name In White. The difference is on the front of the card (name color).
States catalogued by the PSA master set registry and the Trading Card Database; each is tracked here individually.
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 485a - Last Name In Yellow | |||||||||
| PSA | 887 | 2 | 43 | 245 | 187 | 166 | 106 | 137 | 1 |
| SGC | 128 | 0 | 5 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 1 |
| 485b - Last Name In White | |||||||||
| PSA | 352 | 0 | 3 | 40 | 51 | 100 | 71 | 86 | 1 |
| SGC | 42 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 16 | 12 | 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. Where a grader registers a variation separately its population is listed under that variation.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1969 Topps cards Live auctions Buy It Now on eBay Sold prices
As an eBay Partner Network affiliate, T206Cards.com may earn from qualifying purchases.
Related cards
More San Francisco Giants cards:
- #4 National League 1968 RBI Leaders
- #6 National League 1968 Home Run Leaders
- #8 National League 1968 ERA Leaders
- #10 National League 1968 Pitching Leaders
- #16 Giants 1969 Rookie Stars
- #41 Bob Barton
- #64 Bill Monbouquette
- #102 Jim Davenport
- #125 Ray Sadecki
- #158 Joe Gibbon
- #190 Willie Mays
- #204 Jack Hiatt
- #227 Frank Johnson
- #251 Ron Herbel
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #485 card?
It is card #485 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gaylord Perry of the San Francisco Giants.
Does 1969 Topps #485 have variations?
Yes. Two states are catalogued and tracked individually: 485a - Last Name In Yellow ("Perry" prints in yellow letters on the front - the common state of this fifth-series card) and 485b - Last Name In White ("Perry" in white letters - the scarce state and, with #440 McCovey and #500 Mantle, one of the three Hall of Famer cards in the white-letter run). Owning any one of them fills the #485 slot; the master set counts each state.
How many cards are in the 1969 Topps Baseball set?
664 cards, tracked as 696 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 664 with none skipped and no printed number shared by two cards; 32 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately, 23 of them the yellow- and white-letter name pairs of #440-511.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, Cardboard Connection, Baseball Almanac, 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.