1971 Topps #26 Bert Blyleven
About Bert Blyleven
Blyleven reached the Twins in June 1970 and finished 10-9 with a 3.18 ERA in 164 innings, good for Rookie Pitcher of the Year honors from The Sporting News. He also threw two innings of relief in the ALCS loss to Baltimore. His 1971 Topps #26, from the first series, is his rookie card and shows him with Minnesota.
Bert Blyleven was a right-handed starter whose curveball carried him to 287 wins, 3,701 strikeouts and a 3.31 ERA over 22 seasons, pitching for the Twins, Rangers, Pirates, Indians and Angels. Born Rik Aalbert Blijleven in Zeist, Netherlands, he became the first Netherlands-born player inducted into the Hall of Fame, elected in 2011 on his 14th ballot with 79.7 percent of the vote. He debuted with Minnesota at 19 in 1970. He won World Series rings with Pittsburgh in 1979 and Minnesota in 1987, went 19-7 for Cleveland in 1984, and in 1985 completed 24 games over 293 2/3 innings. He became the tenth member of the 3,000-strikeout club in 1986, and his 60 career shutouts rank ninth all-time. His first two full seasons back in Minnesota, 1986 and 1987, produced major-league records of 50 home runs allowed in a season and 96 over two seasons. A dugout prankster who set teammates' shoelaces on fire, he was known as the Frying Dutchman. After retiring he called Twins television games from 1996 to 2020, and the club retired his number on July 16, 2011.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 4,082 | 1 | 21 | 294 | 846 | 1,014 | 819 | 1,079 | 8 |
| SGC | 1,038 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 137 | 248 | 302 | 239 | 83 |
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: #522 Minnesota Twins
More Minnesota Twins cards:
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- #61 1970 American League Batting Leaders
- #65 1970 American League Home Run Leaders
- #69 1970 American League Pitching Leaders
- #74 Twins 1971 Rookie Stars
- #95 Luis Tiant
- #127 Danny Thompson
- #141 Frank Quilici
- #165 Cesar Tovar
- #189 George Mitterwald
- #210 Rod Carew
- #245 Jim Kaat
- #271 Bill Zepp
- #290 Tony Oliva
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #26 card?
It is card #26 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Bert Blyleven of the Minnesota Twins.
Is 1971 Topps #26 a rookie card?
Yes - #26 is the 1971 Topps rookie card of Bert Blyleven.
What are the key cards in the 1971 Topps set?
#5 Thurman Munson and #630 Roberto Clemente are the headline cards. The headline rookie cards are #26 Bert Blyleven, #341 Steve Garvey and #709, the Outfielders Rookie Stars card shared by Dusty Baker, Tom Paciorek and Don Baylor, with #14 Dave Concepcion and #117 Ted Simmons among the other rookie cards. The high numbers (#644-752), the sixth and last series, are the scarce end of the set.
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.