1971 Topps #36 Dean Chance
About Dean Chance
Dean Chance's 1971 Topps #36, in the first series, shows him with the New York Mets, who purchased him from Cleveland on September 18, 1970. He finished that year 9-9 with a 4.36 ERA and 5 saves between the two clubs. Detroit acquired him on March 30, 1971, and he started 14 of his 31 games. He went 4-6 with a 3.51 ERA, and his last game came on August 9.
Wilmer Dean Chance signed with the Baltimore Orioles out of Northwestern High School in West Salem, Ohio, in 1959 for a $30,000 bonus. He reached the majors with the expansion Los Angeles Angels, who acquired him from Washington the same day the Senators drafted him in December 1960. He threw from a three-quarters slot behind a windup that turned his back to the hitter, and he never looked in at the plate once he had the sign. Chance started regularly for the Angels through 1966 and for Minnesota from 1967, and was an All-Star in both 1964 and 1967. His Cy Young Award came in 1964, when he tied for the American League lead in wins and led it in earned run average, innings, complete games and shutouts. The award still covered all of baseball then. He took The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year prize in 1967, then finished up with Cleveland, the Mets and Detroit, retiring after 1971 at 128-115 with a 2.92 ERA and 1,534 strikeouts. At the plate he batted .066 for his career, striking out 420 times in 662 at-bats. The Angels put him in their team Hall of Fame in 2015, the year he died at his home in Wooster, Ohio, the farm town where he was born.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac (1) · Baseball Almanac (2) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 292 | 0 | 10 | 123 | 108 | 38 | 9 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 16 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 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: #641 New York Mets
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- #68 1970 National League ERA Leaders
- #72 1970 National League Strikeout Leaders
- #83 Mets 1971 Rookie Stars
- #104 Dan Frisella
- #115 Donn Clendenon
- #136 Duffy Dyer
- #160 Tom Seaver
- #183 Gil Hodges
- #228 Wayne Garrett
- #259 Dave Marshall
- #278 Jerry Grote
- #310 Tommie Agee
- #335 Jerry Koosman
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #36 card?
It is card #36 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dean Chance of the New York Mets.
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.