1971 Topps #666 Gene Brabender
About Gene Brabender
Gene Brabender became the first Wisconsin native to appear for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970, a season in which he went 6-15 with a 6.02 ERA. He pitched his last major league game on September 26. On January 28, 1971, Milwaukee traded him to the California Angels for outfielder Bill Voss, and his #666, a sixth-series card, lists him with California. The Angels viewed him as a short reliever, but he did not make the team in spring training and went 1-4 with an 8.36 ERA at Triple-A Salt Lake City.
Gene Brabender was a big right-handed pitcher out of Black Earth, Wisconsin, who broke in with the Baltimore Orioles in 1966 as a rookie member of the club that won the World Series that fall. He pitched three seasons in Baltimore, including a four-hit, 12-strikeout shutout of Cleveland in August 1967, before the Orioles sent him to the expansion Seattle Pilots in a 1969 trade. He led the Pilots with 13 wins in their lone Seattle season, a mark that stood as an expansion-team record for years afterward. When the Pilots became the Milwaukee Brewers in 1970, Brabender closed out his five-year major league career there before returning home to work the family dairy farm. Brabender died in 1996 at age 55.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 369 | 0 | 7 | 145 | 143 | 54 | 12 | 8 | 0 |
| SGC | 23 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 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: #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 #666 card?
It is card #666 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Gene Brabender of the California Angels.
Why is #666 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.