1969 Topps #391 Ray Culp
About Ray Culp
Card #391 lands in the fourth series on the strength of the year Culp became Boston's best pitcher. Two early knockouts left him 0-2 with a 15.95 ERA over 7 1/3 innings; the palmball, gripped deep in the hand and thrown soft, went into games at midseason, and from August 27 he ran off seven straight complete-game wins, four of them shutouts and the last a one-hitter at Yankee Stadium. He finished 16-6, 2.91, with six shutouts and 190 strikeouts.
Ray Culp, a right-handed pitcher born August 6, 1941, in Elgin, Texas, signed with the Philadelphia Phillies out of Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin for a $100,000 bonus in 1959, then spent four uneven minor-league seasons before sticking in the majors. He debuted on April 10, 1963, and was named The Sporting News' National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year that season, going 14-11 with a 2.97 ERA, 176 strikeouts, five shutouts and an All-Star selection. Elbow trouble knocked him back the following year, and after a bullpen-heavy 1966 he demanded a trade; Philadelphia sent him to the Chicago Cubs that December for Dick Ellsworth, and Chicago dealt him to the Boston Red Sox a year later. Armed with a palmball Roger Craig had shown him back in Philadelphia, he became the Red Sox ace, winning between 14 and 17 games in each of his first four seasons there and making a second All-Star team in 1969. Shoulder surgery and arm trouble ended his career in 1973 at 122-101 with a 3.58 ERA and 1,411 strikeouts over 11 seasons; he went home to Austin and built a real-estate business.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · Retrosheet
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 201 | 3 | 33 | 107 | 41 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 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.
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 Boston Red Sox cards:
- #1 American League 1968 Batting Leaders
- #3 American League 1968 RBI Leaders
- #5 American League 1968 Home Run Leaders
- #21 Jose Santiago
- #52 Mike Andrews
- #89 Russ Gibson
- #109 Jim Lonborg
- #130 Carl Yastrzemski
- #148 Lee Stange
- #172 Jerry Stephenson
- #189 Red Sox 1969 Rookie Stars
- #215 Rico Petrocelli
- #240 Ken Harrelson
- #264 Bill Landis
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #391 card?
It is card #391 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ray Culp of the Boston Red Sox.
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.