1971 Topps #197 1970 A.L. Playoffs Game 3: Palmer Mows 'Em Down!
Pictures a Hall of Famer: Jim Palmer.
About this card
Cards #195-202 cover the 1970 league playoffs: #195-198 the American League playoffs, won by the Orioles, and #199-202 the National League playoffs, won by the Reds. The six World Series cards follow at #327-332.
The story on this card
Jim Palmer closed out the 1970 American League Championship Series in Game 3 at Memorial Stadium on October 5, ten days short of his 25th birthday. Coming off a 20-win season with a 2.71 ERA, he beat Minnesota 6-1. He scattered seven hits, struck out a career-high 12 and walked three. Minnesota starter Jim Kaat left with two on and none out in the third, and Palmer doubled in a run in that inning. Don Buford scored the first run on Boog Powell's single in the first, and Davey Johnson homered in the seventh off Jim Perry. The Twins scored once, on Leo Cardenas' single after a triple, and the win gave the Orioles the pennant with a three-game sweep. This is 1971 Topps #197, titled Palmer Mows 'Em Down!, the Jim Palmer card in the Playoffs subset (#195-202) of the second series.
Sources: Wikipedia · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 399 | 0 | 2 | 93 | 137 | 90 | 44 | 29 | 4 |
| SGC | 52 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 3 |
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: #1 1970 World Champions (Baltimore Orioles)
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #29 Don Buford
- #53 Paul Blair
- #63 1970 American League RBI Leaders
- #67 1970 American League ERA Leaders
- #69 1970 American League Pitching Leaders
- #99 Mark Belanger
- #122 Eddie Watt
- #137 Marcelino Lopez
- #170 Mike Cuellar
- #193 Bob Grich
- #195 1970 A.L. Playoffs Game 1: Powell Muscles Twins!
- #196 1970 A.L. Playoffs Game 2: McNally Makes It Two Straight!
- #198 1970 A.L. Playoffs: Orioles Celebrate!
- #219 Elrod Hendricks
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #197 card?
It is card #197 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, 1970 A.L. Playoffs Game 3: Palmer Mows 'Em Down!. Cards #195-202 cover the 1970 league playoffs: #195-198 the American League playoffs, won by the Orioles, and #199-202 the National League playoffs, won by the Reds. The six World Series cards follow at #327-332.
How many cards are in the 1971 Topps Baseball set?
752 cards, tracked as 761 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 752 with none skipped, issued in six print series (132/131/130/130/120/109 cards), the sixth (#644-752) the high numbers; seven cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - the #42, #265 and #306 photo pairs and the #123, #206, #369 and #619 checklists, #369 and #619 in three printings each.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA (its price guide, master set registry and set article), 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.