1971 Topps #661 Chuck Tanner
About this card
Every club has its own manager card this year, separate from its team card, and every one pictures the manager alone. Nine of the 24 managers are Hall of Famers: Bob Lemon (#91), Gil Hodges (#183), Red Schoendienst (#239), Ted Williams (#380), Earl Weaver (#477), Walt Alston (#567), Leo Durocher (#609), Sparky Anderson (#688) and Dick Williams (#714).
About Chuck Tanner
Tanner's manager card, #661 in the sixth series, shows him as White Sox skipper after he took over a last-place club in September 1970 when Don Gutteridge was fired. The White Sox went 3-13 in his first 16 games. In 1971 they finished third in the AL West at 79-83, a 23-game improvement, as Tanner moved Wilbur Wood from the bullpen into the rotation and Wood won 22 games with a 1.91 ERA.
Chuck Tanner was a left-handed outfielder from New Castle, Pennsylvania, who signed with the Boston Braves in 1946 and hit over .300 in the minors every year from 1947 through 1954. He reached Milwaukee in 1955 and homered on the first major-league pitch he saw, as a pinch-hitter on Opening Day. Over eight seasons with the Braves, Cubs, Indians and Angels he hit .261 with 21 home runs in 396 games. His larger fame came as a manager. After eight years leading Angels farm clubs, he managed the White Sox from 1970 through 1975. He then managed Oakland for a season before Pittsburgh acquired him in an unusual trade, sending Manny Sanguillen and cash to the Athletics. There the 1979 Pirates, adopting We Are Family as their theme, rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat Baltimore in the World Series. He finished with 1,352 wins over 19 seasons and was known as baseball's Mr. Sunshine for his optimism.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 365 | 1 | 8 | 148 | 149 | 36 | 16 | 7 | 0 |
| SGC | 30 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
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: #289 Chicago White Sox
More Chicago White Sox cards:
- #13 White Sox 1971 Rookie Stars
- #37 Rich McKinney
- #56 Duane Josephson
- #80 Bill Melton
- #113 Jerry Crider
- #156 Bart Johnson
- #169 Ed Herrmann
- #186 Bob Spence
- #227 Floyd Weaver
- #243 Carlos May
- #267 Rich Morales
- #292 Jay Johnstone
- #311 Lee Stange
- #345 Joe Horlen
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #661 card?
It is card #661 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Chuck Tanner of the Chicago White Sox. Every club has its own manager card this year, separate from its team card, and every one pictures the manager alone. Nine of the 24 managers are Hall of Famers: Bob Lemon (#91), Gil Hodges (#183), Red Schoendienst (#239), Ted Williams (#380), Earl Weaver (#477), Walt Alston (#567), Leo Durocher (#609), Sparky Anderson (#688) and Dick Williams (#714).
Why is #661 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.