1970 Topps #556 Dave Bristol
About this card
This is one of the 24 manager cards, one for each club and every one a solo card, separate from the 24 team cards. #211 Ted Williams manages the Washington Senators and #556 Dave Bristol the Seattle Pilots; seven of the 24 managers are Hall of Famers.
About Dave Bristol
Bristol's #556 is a sixth-series manager card that still reads Seattle Pilots. He was the second manager in the franchise's history, hired into a club on the verge of bankruptcy that went to spring training in 1970 not knowing whether it would play in Seattle or Milwaukee. Topps kept issuing Seattle Pilots cards even after the franchise moved to Milwaukee.
James David Bristol, born June 23, 1933 in Macon, Georgia, was a minor league infielder who became a playing manager in the Cincinnati farm system in 1957 at age 24, leading the Hornell Redlegs of the Class D New York-Penn League. By 1964 he was piloting the Reds' top affiliate, the Pacific Coast League San Diego Padres, to a pennant. His minor league clubs won 652 and lost 562 over his nine seasons as a pilot. Cincinnati promoted him to the big league coaching staff in 1966, and on July 13 he replaced manager Don Heffner. He led Cincinnati to winning records in 1967, 1968 and 1969 before his dismissal, after which Sparky Anderson took over and led the Big Red Machine. Bristol later managed the Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants and coached for the Phillies and Expos, in a career in professional baseball that spanned 44 years.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 274 | 3 | 96 | 143 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 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: #713 Seattle Pilots
More Seattle Pilots cards:
- #2 Diego Segui
- #31 Marty Pattin
- #53 John Kennedy
- #88 Pilots 1970 Rookie Stars
- #111 Mike Hegan
- #134 Danny Walton
- #158 Jerry McNertney
- #185 Don Mincher
- #224 Steve Barber
- #249 Bob Locker
- #271 Greg Goossen
- #289 Gene Brabender
- #323 Wayne Comer
- #359 Phil Roof
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #556 card?
It is card #556 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dave Bristol of the Seattle Pilots. This is one of the 24 manager cards, one for each club and every one a solo card, separate from the 24 team cards. #211 Ted Williams manages the Washington Senators and #556 Dave Bristol the Seattle Pilots; seven of the 24 managers are Hall of Famers.
Why does this card say Seattle Pilots?
Because the card prints the Seattle Pilots, and it is correct as printed: the franchise played the 1970 season as the Milwaukee Brewers, but thirty 1970 Topps cards print the Pilots - the #713 team card, #556 Dave Bristol's manager card, the #88 Pilots Rookie Stars and twenty-seven player cards. 1970 Topps is the second and last Topps flagship set with Seattle Pilots cards.
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.