1971 Topps #617 Clay Dalrymple
About Clay Dalrymple
Dalrymple caught 18 of his 23 games in 1971 and hit .204. His last game came on September 25. His card, #617, is a fifth-series Orioles issue. He made the postseason roster and supplied scouting reports on Pittsburgh batters. The Orioles then left him off the 40-man roster and assigned him to Triple-A Rochester, and he retired that December at age 35.
Clayton Errol Dalrymple was a left-handed hitting catcher who spent nine seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and three with the Baltimore Orioles. Philadelphia took him out of the Milwaukee Braves organization in the Rule 5 draft of November 30, 1959, and he reached the majors on April 24, 1960. Valued for his arm and his pitch-calling more than his bat, he twice broke up a no-hit bid in the eighth inning, against Juan Marichal in his major-league debut in July 1960 and against Gaylord Perry in July 1966. He caught Philadelphia through the 1964 pennant race and its September collapse, and ran off a since-broken league record of 99 consecutive errorless games over 1966 and 1967. He threw out 48.8 percent of the runners who tried to steal on him, 30th on the all-time list. Traded to Baltimore for outfielder Ron Stone on January 20, 1969, he spent three years as a third catcher behind Elrod Hendricks and Andy Etchebarren while the Orioles won three straight American League pennants. He retired after the 1971 season, having hit .233 with 55 home runs in 1,079 games. He was part of the inaugural class of the Chico Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in his California hometown.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · Retrosheet · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 261 | 0 | 9 | 110 | 96 | 32 | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 9 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 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: #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!
- #197 1970 A.L. Playoffs Game 3: Palmer Mows 'Em Down!
- #198 1970 A.L. Playoffs: Orioles Celebrate!
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #617 card?
It is card #617 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Clay Dalrymple of the Baltimore Orioles.
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.