1970 Topps #504 Don Pavletich
About Don Pavletich
Boston was loaded with catchers in 1970, and Jerry Moses and Tom Satriano got most of the work while Pavletich stayed on the roster for his ability to play first base. He appeared in 32 games, 16 at first and 10 behind the plate. He went 9-for-65, with his first hit of the year not coming until June 7. In February 1971 Eddie Kasko said he had probably made a mistake in not using him more. Card #504, from the fifth series, shows him with the Red Sox.
Donald Stephen Pavletich was born in Milwaukee on July 13, 1938, and grew up in the suburb of West Allis. He was of Croatian descent, all four grandparents having come over from Croatia. He hit .405 across four years at Nathan Hale High School and starred in American Legion and semipro ball before the Reds signed him in August 1956 for a reported $35,000 bonus. The bonus rule kept him on the big-league roster, and he debuted at 18 on April 20, 1957, pinch-hitting at Milwaukee's County Stadium. Weeks later he enlisted in the Army, serving as a medic in Heilbronn, Germany, until February 1959. He rebuilt his career at Topeka and Indianapolis, was voted a Triple-A All-Star in 1961, and finally collected his first big-league hit on April 29, 1962, five years after his debut. He spent most of the 1960s in Cincinnati behind Johnny Edwards and then Johnny Bench, and went to the White Sox after 1968 and to Boston after 1969. He closed out at .254 with 46 home runs and 193 RBIs in 536 games over twelve seasons. After his playing days he sold investment real estate and later worked as a Milwaukee loan officer. He died in 2020 at 81.
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 | 179 | 2 | 38 | 111 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 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: #563 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #10 Carl Yastrzemski
- #39 Mike Nagy
- #62 1969 American League Batting Leaders
- #78 Joe Lahoud
- #104 Gerry Moses
- #116 Sparky Lyle
- #144 Ray Culp
- #163 Syd O'Brien
- #191 Vicente Romo
- #215 Reggie Smith
- #237 Russ Gibson
- #251 Dick Schofield
- #279 Bill Lee
- #317 Red Sox 1970 Rookie Stars
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #504 card?
It is card #504 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Don Pavletich of the Boston Red Sox.
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.