1970 Topps #490 Bill Singer
About Bill Singer
Singer was diagnosed with hepatitis on April 22, 1970, two days before his 26th birthday, with a 1-2 record, and was limited to 16 starts that year. He returned to go 5-0 with a 1.84 ERA in July, earning National League Player of the Month, and finished 8-5 with a 3.13 ERA. Topps used him twice: first-series #71, the National League strikeout leaders card he shares with Fergie Jenkins and Bob Gibson, and fifth-series #490, a card of his own.
Bill Singer was a right-handed pitcher, born in Los Angeles and raised in Pomona, who spent 14 seasons in the majors between 1964 and 1977. The Dodgers signed him out of high school in September 1961 for a $50,000 bonus, outbidding 14 other clubs, and after three years split between Spokane and short looks in Los Angeles he stuck in the big-league rotation for good in 1967. Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully called him "the Singer Throwing Machine" in those late-1960s seasons, and Singer earned it: a 20-win year in 1969, a no-hitter over the Phillies at Dodger Stadium on July 20, 1970, and an All-Star selection in each league. Illness and injury kept interrupting him. Hepatitis cost him nearly two months in 1970 and a pitch that fractured his right index finger ended that season in August. He won 20 again for the California Angels in 1973, but surgery on a ruptured lumbar disc in June 1974 cut short another season, and he closed out with the Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins and the expansion Toronto Blue Jays, retiring at 118-127 with a 3.39 ERA and 1,515 strikeouts.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 180 | 8 | 31 | 100 | 29 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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.
Find this card
Search T206 Cards Shop 1970 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 Bill Singer in this set: #71 League Leaders
Team card: #411 Los Angeles Dodgers
More Los Angeles Dodgers cards:
- #5 Wes Parker
- #34 Willie Crawford
- #54 Jeff Torborg
- #71 1969 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #97 Joe Moeller
- #131 Dodgers 1970 Rookie Stars
- #157 Manny Mota
- #174 Ted Sizemore
- #204 Len Gabrielson
- #242 Walter Alston
- #260 Claude Osteen
- #286 Dodgers 1970 Rookie Stars
- #304 Bill Russell
- #341 Bill Sudakis
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #490 card?
It is card #490 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bill Singer of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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.