1970 Topps #163 Syd O'Brien
About Syd O'Brien
Syd O'Brien hit .243 with 9 home runs and 29 RBI in 100 games for the 1969 Red Sox, 53 of them at third base. Boston sent him to the White Sox after that season, but his 1970 Topps card, #163 from the second series, still shows him with the Red Sox. In Chicago he played 68 games at third base and 43 at second, and stole three bases.
Sydney Lloyd O'Brien was born in Compton, California, graduated from Millikan High School in Long Beach, and played at Long Beach City College before signing with the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1964. The Kansas City Athletics drafted him out of the minors that November, but Boston reacquired him two years later. A right-handed hitter and thrower listed at 6 feet 1 inch and 185 pounds, O'Brien reached the majors with the Red Sox in 1969 at age 25. Over four seasons he played second base, third base and shortstop for Boston, the Chicago White Sox, the California Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers. His busiest year came in 1970 with the White Sox, when he set career highs in batting average, hits, RBI, runs scored, walks and steals while also leading the White Sox with a .948 fielding percentage. He moved to the Angels in a November 1970 trade that sent Jay Johnstone, Tom Egan and Tom Bradley to Chicago, and played a season and a half there, mostly at shortstop. Midway through 1972 he was traded to the Brewers, where he finished his career.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 207 | 5 | 47 | 119 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| SGC | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 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
- #191 Vicente Romo
- #215 Reggie Smith
- #237 Russ Gibson
- #251 Dick Schofield
- #279 Bill Lee
- #317 Red Sox 1970 Rookie Stars
- #340 Tony Conigliaro
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1970 Topps #163 card?
It is card #163 of the 720-card 1970 Topps Baseball set, picturing Syd O'Brien 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.