1969 Topps #451 Rich Rollins
About Rich Rollins
Card #451 is a series-five card. It is his Seattle Pilots card, and it comes two ways: his first name printed in yellow, or printed in white. Rollins had started at third base in the Pilots' first game, April 8, 1969, at Anaheim, after beating out Mike Ferraro in the spring, but he soon settled in behind Tommy Harper. A bad back in May and knee trouble that would not quit sent him home from a road trip; July surgery and the 60-day disabled list ended his year at .225 with four home runs in 58 games. Seattle lasted one season before the franchise moved to Milwaukee.
Richard John Rollins was born April 16, 1938, in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the Cleveland suburbs, where he played second base, third base and catcher at Parma High School. A scholarship took him to Kent State, where he was a three-time All-Mid-American Conference pick at second base with future major leaguer Gene Michael beside him at shortstop. Undrafted - there was no amateur draft then - he signed with the Washington Senators in 1960 for a $6,000 bonus and reached the majors with the relocated Minnesota Twins on June 16, 1961. Handed the third-base job in 1962, he hit .298 with 16 home runs and 96 RBIs, was voted the Twins' team MVP by his teammates, and started both All-Star Games ahead of Brooks Robinson. A broken jaw, an arthritic hip and chronic knee trouble wore down the rest of a ten-year career that also took in the Seattle Pilots, Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Indians. He finished at .269 with 77 home runs and 399 RBIs, later worked in the Indians front office and for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, and was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1976. Rollins died May 13, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Print variations
Two states of #451 are tracked individually: 451a - First Name In Yellow and 451b - First 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.
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Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 451a - First Name In Yellow | |||||||||
| PSA | 227 | 0 | 11 | 84 | 58 | 41 | 15 | 18 | 0 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 451b - First Name In White | |||||||||
| PSA | 132 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 44 | 34 | 23 | 21 | 0 |
| SGC | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 1 |
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.
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Related cards
More Seattle Pilots cards:
- #17 Mike Marshall
- #42 Tommy Harper
- #62 Chico Salmon
- #83 Mike Ferraro
- #111 Johnny Morris
- #135 Tommy Davis
- #178 Ray Oyler
- #209 Larry Haney
- #233 Steve Barber
- #254 Joe Schultz
- #285 Don Mincher
- #301 Darrell Brandon
- #322 Jose Vidal
- #346 Wayne Comer
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1969 Topps #451 card?
It is card #451 of the 664-card 1969 Topps Baseball set, picturing Rich Rollins of the Seattle Pilots.
Does 1969 Topps #451 have variations?
Yes. Two states are catalogued and tracked individually: 451a - First Name In Yellow ("Rich" prints in yellow letters on the front - the common state of this fifth-series card) and 451b - First Name In White ("Rich" prints in white letters - the scarce state of the pair; white letters are the premium side on all 23 of the set's name-color variations (#440-511)). Owning any one of them fills the #451 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.