1971 Topps #503 Gates Brown
About Gates Brown
Brown's #503, a fourth-series card, lists him with the Tigers. In 1971 he played 82 games, 56 of them in the outfield, and hit .338. He connected for 11 home runs, had 29 RBI and scored 37 runs, and he stole four bases.
Gates Brown, born William James Brown, spent his entire thirteen-season career (1963-1975) with the Detroit Tigers. He was convicted of burglary at eighteen and served time at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield. A prison coach there spotted his hitting and helped connect him to Tigers scouts Frank Skaff and Pat Mullin, who signed him for a $7,000 bonus. He debuted on June 19, 1963, hitting a pinch-hit home run at Fenway Park in his first major-league at-bat, the third player in American League history to do so. Playing left field for Detroit, Brown became a pinch-hitting specialist, retiring with American League career records of 107 pinch hits, 414 pinch-hit at-bats and 16 pinch-hit home runs. His 1968 season, a .370 average with six home runs, helped the Tigers win the World Series. He later served as Detroit's hitting coach from 1978 through 1984. His mother gave him the nickname Gates as a toddler, and he thought it might have something to do with the way he walked.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 312 | 0 | 15 | 124 | 133 | 28 | 8 | 3 | 1 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 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: #336 Detroit Tigers
More Detroit Tigers cards:
- #3 Dick McAuliffe
- #39 Tigers 1971 Rookie Stars
- #71 1970 American League Strikeout Leaders
- #86 Mike Kilkenny
- #101 Les Cain
- #120 Willie Horton
- #133 Mickey Lolich
- #154 Cesar Gutierrez
- #180 Al Kaline
- #208 Billy Martin
- #229 Jim Hannan
- #265 Jim Northrup
- #296 Tom Timmermann
- #316 Fred Scherman
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #503 card?
It is card #503 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gates Brown of the Detroit Tigers.
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.