1971 Topps #291 George Culver
About George Culver
George Culver's 1970 was split between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Houston Astros, who got him from St. Louis on June 13 for Jim Beauchamp and Leon McFadden. He pitched in 43 games, seven of them starts, and went 6-6 with a 3.98 ERA. He completed two games, saved three and worked 101 2/3 innings. His 1971 Topps card is #291, in the third series, and shows him with Houston.
George Raymond Culver signed with the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1963 out of Bakersfield College, then reached the majors with the Cleveland Indians in 1966. The right-hander spent nine big league seasons with six clubs, working as both a starter and reliever, and threw a no-hitter for the Cincinnati Reds against the Philadelphia Phillies on July 29, 1968. When the Dodgers placed him on waivers in August 1973, teammate Tommy John called it a big reason Los Angeles missed the playoffs that year, citing Culver's role as the team comic who kept the clubhouse loose. Culver closed his playing career in Japan with the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 1975, then spent three decades as a minor league manager, pitching coordinator and pitching coach for the Dodgers and Phillies organizations, finishing as a roving pitching coach in 2010. A longtime Bakersfield civic figure, he built the BC Baseball Hot Stove Dinner into a fundraiser that rebuilt Bakersfield College's baseball facilities, and was inducted into the California Community College Athletics Association Hall of Fame in 2012.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 289 | 0 | 19 | 155 | 88 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 13 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 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: #722 Houston Astros
More Houston Astros cards:
- #18 Norm Miller
- #44 Johnny Edwards
- #79 Wade Blasingame
- #102 Astros 1971 Rookie Stars
- #130 Denis Menke
- #148 John Mayberry
- #162 Jack Billingham
- #222 Bob Watson
- #237 Cesar Cedeno
- #242 Jim Ray
- #264 Joe Morgan
- #312 Harry Walker
- #337 Jesus Alou
- #371 Jack Hiatt
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #291 card?
It is card #291 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing George Culver of the Houston Astros.
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.