1970 Topps #550 Frank Howard
About Frank Howard
Howard led the American League in 1970 with 44 home runs and 126 RBI, and his 132 walks topped the league too, on a .283 average for Washington. On September 2, Sam McDowell walked him intentionally three times, two of them leading off an inning, and moved to second base when Howard batted in the eighth. He placed fifth in the MVP vote and drew one first-place vote. League Leaders card #66 shares the American League home run board with Harmon Killebrew and Reggie Jackson; his own card is #550, from the sixth series.
Frank Oliver Howard, born August 8, 1936 in Columbus, Ohio, was a physically intimidating slugger, listed at 6-foot-7 and 255 pounds and heavier still in later years. An All-American in both basketball and baseball at Ohio State, he was drafted by the NBA's Philadelphia Warriors but signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1958 for a $108,000 bonus. After The Sporting News named him its 1959 Minor League Player of the Year, he took over in right field and won the 1960 National League Rookie of the Year award. He later homered off Whitey Ford in Game 4 of the Dodgers' 1963 World Series sweep. Traded to the Washington Senators in December 1964, he became an everyday player and a popular figure, twice leading the American League in home runs and making four straight All-Star teams from 1968 through 1971. Teammates tagged him "Hondo" after a John Wayne film character; in Washington he added "the Capital Punisher" and "the Washington Monument." His major-league career ended in 1973 with 382 home runs and 1,119 RBIs. He later coached for the Brewers, Mets, Mariners, Yankees and Devil Rays, managed the Padres in 1981 and the Mets in 1983, entered the Washington Nationals Ring of Honor in 2016, and died in 2023 at 87.
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 | 444 | 15 | 145 | 182 | 54 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 34 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 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
More Frank Howard in this set: #66 League Leaders
Team card: #676 Washington Senators
More Washington Senators cards:
- #14 Hank Allen
- #49 Tim Cullen
- #66 1969 American League Home Run Leaders
- #68 1969 American League ERA Leaders
- #84 Paul Casanova
- #106 Darold Knowles
- #127 Joe Coleman
- #154 Senators 1970 Rookie Stars
- #175 Dick Bosman
- #211 Ted Williams
- #235 Mike Epstein
- #281 Casey Cox
- #303 Brant Alyea
- #328 George Brunet
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #550 card?
It is card #550 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Frank Howard of the Washington Senators.
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.