1970 Topps #640 Al Kaline
About Al Kaline
Detroit won 90 games in 1969 and still finished 19 games behind Baltimore in the newly formed American League East. Kaline hit .272 with 21 home runs in 131 games, the last season of his career in which he reached 20 homers, and received the Hutch Award. His #640 comes from series seven, the high-number run of the 1970 Topps set, and shows him with the Tigers.
Al Kaline spent his entire 22-season career with the Detroit Tigers, signing out of Baltimore's Southern High School in 1953 and stepping straight into the majors at 18 without a day in the minor leagues. In 1955, at 20, he hit .340 with 200 hits and 27 home runs to become the youngest batting champion in big-league history. The long tie to one franchise made him Mr. Tiger. He was selected to 18 All-Star Games and won ten Gold Gloves (1957-1959 and 1961-1967) in right field, where he was known for his strong throwing arm. He did all of it on a left foot deformed by childhood osteomyelitis that cost him two inches of bone. His one World Series, in 1968, brought a .379 average, two home runs and eight runs batted in as Detroit beat St. Louis in seven games. He finished with 3,007 hits, 399 home runs and a .297 average, the twelfth man to reach 3,000 hits. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980 on the first ballot with 88.3 percent of the vote. He called Tigers games on television from 1975 to 2002 and worked in the front office until his death in 2020.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 1,836 | 9 | 135 | 666 | 436 | 241 | 177 | 168 | 4 |
| SGC | 390 | 0 | 9 | 69 | 105 | 95 | 61 | 42 | 9 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Data as of 2026-10-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted.
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Related cards
Team card: #579 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
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- #33 Don Wert
- #70 1969 American League Pitching Leaders
- #72 1969 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #95 Earl Wilson
- #98 Gates Brown
- #129 Jimmie Price
- #152 Ike Brown
- #177 Jim Northrup
- #207 Tigers 1970 Rookie Stars
- #269 Cesar Gutierrez
- #313 Mayo Smith
- #335 Bill Freehan
- #356 Fred Lasher
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #640 card?
It is card #640 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Al Kaline of the Detroit Tigers.
What are the key cards in the 1970 Topps set?
#189 Yankees 1970 Rookie Stars - the Thurman Munson rookie card, shared with Dave McDonald - #350 Roberto Clemente and #712 Nolan Ryan are the headline cards. The other key cards are #286 Dodgers 1970 Rookie Stars, the Bill Buckner rookie card (with Jack Jenkins), #459 Reggie Jackson and #469 Sam McDowell from the All-Star run, #500 Hank Aaron, #600 Willie Mays, and the high numbers #640 Al Kaline, #660 Johnny Bench and #700 Frank Robinson. The high numbers, #634-720, are the seventh series and the toughest series of the set to find.
Why is #640 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the seventh and last series, #634-720 - the high numbers, and the toughest series of the set to find.
How many cards are in the 1970 Topps Baseball set?
720 cards, tracked as 726 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 720 with none skipped, issued in seven series - #1-132, #133-263, #264-372, #373-459, #460-546, #547-633 and the high numbers, #634-720; 6 cards, all of them checklists, carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, BaseballCardPedia, 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 2026-10-25.