1970 Topps #98 Gates Brown
About Gates Brown
Brown's average fell more than 160 points in 1969, to .204. He had 19 hits in 93 at-bats over 60 games, with one home run and six RBIs. The slump continued in 1970, when he hit .226 with three home runs and 24 RBIs in 124 at-bats. His #98 card belongs to the first series of 1970 Topps and lists him with the Detroit Tigers.
Gates Brown, born William James Brown, spent his entire thirteen-season career (1963-1975) with the Detroit Tigers. He was convicted of burglary at eighteen and served time at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. A prison coach there spotted his hitting and helped connect him to Tigers scouts Frank Skaff and Pat Mullin, who signed him for a $7,000 bonus. He debuted on June 19, 1963, hitting a pinch-hit home run at Fenway Park in his first major-league at-bat, the third player in American League history to do so. Playing left field for Detroit, Brown became a pinch-hitting specialist, retiring with American League career records of 107 pinch hits, 414 pinch-hit at-bats and 16 pinch-hit home runs. His 1968 season, a .370 average with six home runs, helped the Tigers win the World Series. He later served as Detroit's hitting coach from 1978 through 1984. His mother gave him the nickname Gates as a toddler, and he thought it might have something to do with the way he walked.
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 | 227 | 5 | 51 | 126 | 35 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 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: #579 Detroit Tigers
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- #33 Don Wert
- #70 1969 American League Pitching Leaders
- #72 1969 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #95 Earl Wilson
- #129 Jimmie Price
- #152 Ike Brown
- #177 Jim Northrup
- #207 Tigers 1970 Rookie Stars
- #269 Cesar Gutierrez
- #313 Mayo Smith
- #335 Bill Freehan
- #356 Fred Lasher
- #383 Mickey Stanley
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #98 card?
It is card #98 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gates Brown of the Detroit Tigers.
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.