1971 Topps #686 Chico Ruiz
About Chico Ruiz
Early in 1970, Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times poked fun at Ruiz's bench role by calling him a season ticket holder. On August 19, 1970, at Anaheim Stadium, he finally used his catcher's mitt in a big-league game. On June 13, 1971, Alex Johnson accused Ruiz of threatening him with a gun in the Angels clubhouse, and Ruiz denied it. He played 31 games that year, the last on August 3 as a pinch-runner. The Angels card, #686, was a sixth-series number.
Chico Ruiz was born Giraldo Sablon Ruiz on December 5, 1938, in Santo Domingo, Cuba, where his father ran a cigar factory. American paperwork rendered the first name Hiraldo after his father's Spanish pronunciation was misheard at immigration, and "Chico" was a generic Spanish "buddy" pinned on him by Americans. He signed with Cincinnati in 1958 through the Cuban pipeline that ran between Reds general manager Gabe Paul and Bobby Maduro of the Havana Sugar Kings. He spent six seasons in the farm system and led his league in stolen bases five years running, from 61 for Visalia in 1959 through 50 for San Diego in 1963. A switch-hitting utility infielder who played mainly second base and third, Ruiz debuted April 13, 1964, and hit .240 with 34 steals over 565 games for Cincinnati (1964-1969) and California (1970-1971). His signature moment came September 21, 1964, when he stole home off Art Mahaffey with Frank Robinson batting, the only run of a 1-0 win that touched off the Phillies' ten-game collapse. He died in a single-car crash near his San Diego home on February 9, 1972, at 33.
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 | 350 | 2 | 8 | 140 | 140 | 44 | 10 | 6 | 0 |
| SGC | 23 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 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: #442 California Angels
More California Angels cards:
- #15 Andy Messersmith
- #43 Steve Kealey
- #61 1970 American League Batting Leaders
- #67 1970 American League ERA Leaders
- #78 Jim Spencer
- #105 Tony Conigliaro
- #152 Angels 1971 Rookie Stars
- #174 Dave LaRoche
- #205 Gerry Moses
- #240 Clyde Wright
- #256 Tony Gonzalez
- #279 Lefty Phillips
- #318 Rudy May
- #360 Jim Fregosi
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #686 card?
It is card #686 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Chico Ruiz of the California Angels.
Why is #686 harder to find?
It is a high number card from the sixth and last print series, #644-752 - the scarce end of the set. Some of its cards were printed in larger numbers than others, so scarcity varies card by card inside the run.
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.