1970 Topps #668 Bob Tillman
About Bob Tillman
Tillman's last season in professional ball was 1970, when he split the Braves' catching with Hal King and Bob Didier. He started 63 games behind the plate to King's 51. He hit .238 with 11 home runs and 30 RBIs. On December 2 Atlanta traded him to Milwaukee for Hank Allen, Paul Click and John Ryan, and the Brewers released him in February 1971. His #668 is a series 7 high-number card showing him with Atlanta.
John Robert Tillman, a 6-foot-4 right-handed catcher born in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 24, 1937, caught nine big-league seasons for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves between 1962 and 1970. Signed out of Middle Tennessee State by Red Sox scout George Digby in January 1958, he climbed through Raleigh, Allentown, Minneapolis, and Seattle before sticking in Boston in 1962. He was the Red Sox Opening Day catcher three years running from 1963, and his 17 home runs in 1964 set a club single-season record for a catcher that stood until Carlton Fisk hit 22 in 1972. Tillman worked behind the plate for two no-hitters, Earl Wilson's in 1962 and Dave Morehead's in 1965. Sold to the Yankees in August 1967, he went to Atlanta that December in the trade that sent Bobby Cox to New York. With the Braves he backed up Joe Torre and then Bob Didier, and he reached the postseason when they won the National League West in 1969. He retired after 775 games with a .232 average, 79 home runs, and 282 RBIs. He died in Gallatin, Tennessee, in 2000.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · National Baseball Hall of Fame · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 159 | 0 | 18 | 84 | 43 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 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.
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Related cards
Team card: #472 Atlanta Braves
More Atlanta Braves cards:
- #17 Hoyt Wilhelm
- #48 Gil Garrido
- #65 1969 National League Home Run Leaders
- #69 1969 National League Pitching Leaders
- #86 Lum Harris
- #105 Tony Gonzalez
- #122 George Stone
- #145 Rico Carty
- #160 Phil Niekro
- #171 Jim Nash
- #172 Braves 1970 Rookie Stars
- #206 Clete Boyer
- #232 Bob Didier
- #278 Tommie Aaron
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #668 card?
It is card #668 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bob Tillman of the Atlanta Braves.
Why is #668 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.