1970 Topps #85 Max Alvis
About Max Alvis
Bud Selig had bought the Seattle Pilots and moved them to his hometown, and the Milwaukee Brewers kept the Pilots' uniforms for their first season in 1970. Max Alvis spent that season with them, though card #85, from the first series of 1970 Topps, shows him with the Indians. He started 24 games, mostly as a backup to Tommy Harper at third base. In 62 games he hit .183 with 3 home runs, and Milwaukee released him after the season.
Roy Maxwell Alvis, born February 2, 1938 in Jasper, Texas, was a dual-sport star at the University of Texas, a halfback and linebacker under Darrell Royal who also led the Southwest Conference in hitting at .403. Cleveland signed him in 1958, and after four minor league seasons he debuted on September 11, 1962. He took the Indians' third-base job out of spring training in 1963 and set career highs with a .274 average, 22 home runs and 67 RBI. He finished 17th in the Most Valuable Player voting and was named the Cleveland writers' Man of the Year. In late June 1964 he was taken ill on a flight from Minnesota to Boston and hospitalized with spinal meningitis; he was back in six weeks, and he later said he no longer had his old strength, stamina and endurance. He was an All-Star in 1965 and 1967, led American League third basemen in putouts four times, and remained Cleveland's regular at the hot corner through 1968. A knee injury and surgery cut his 1969 short, and he closed out at Milwaukee in 1970, finishing nine seasons at .247 with 111 home runs and 373 RBI. Back home in Jasper he rose from loan officer to president of the First National Bank.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 140 | 1 | 32 | 73 | 26 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 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
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #85 card?
It is card #85 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Max Alvis of the Cleveland Indians.
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.