1971 Topps #89 Ken Brett
About Ken Brett
Winter ball in Puerto Rico under Roberto Clemente did not carry over for Brett in 1971. Out of favor with manager Eddie Kasko, he appeared in 29 games for the Red Sox and started two. He went 0-3 with one save and a 5.34 ERA, and he spent another two weeks on Army Reserve duty. Card #89 comes from the first print series and pictures him with Boston. On October 10 he went to Milwaukee in a ten-player trade that brought Marty Pattin to the Red Sox.
A hard-throwing lefty out of El Segundo, California, Ken Brett was the Red Sox's first-round pick in 1966. Fifteen months later he became the youngest pitcher ever to appear in a World Series, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings in two relief outings against the Cardinals in 1967. Elbow trouble followed, but over fourteen seasons he pitched for ten major-league clubs, won the 1974 All-Star Game as the only Pirate selected that year, and twice carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning. He was also known as a hitting pitcher, batting .262 for his career and setting the major-league record for a pitcher with home runs in four straight starts in 1973. Brett was the second of four ballplaying brothers, the youngest being Hall of Famer George Brett, and the two were briefly teammates on the 1980-81 Royals. After retiring he worked in broadcasting and co-owned minor-league sports franchises with his brothers in Spokane, where he died of brain cancer in 2003.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 283 | 0 | 4 | 116 | 121 | 32 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
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: #386 Boston Red Sox
More Boston Red Sox cards:
- #9 George Scott
- #31 Eddie Kasko
- #58 Bill Lee
- #61 1970 American League Batting Leaders
- #63 1970 American League RBI Leaders
- #65 1970 American League Home Run Leaders
- #114 Billy Conigliaro
- #159 Jarvis Tatum
- #176 Red Sox 1971 Rookie Stars
- #191 Mike Andrews
- #225 Gary Peters
- #254 Cal Koonce
- #287 Mike Fiore
- #302 Phil Gagliano
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #89 card?
It is card #89 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ken Brett of the Boston Red Sox.
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.