1971 Topps #615 Mel Stottlemyre
About Mel Stottlemyre
Stottlemyre went 15-13 with a 3.09 ERA in 1970. He worked 271 innings and completed 14 of his 37 starts. He was an All-Star again that season. He followed with a 16-12 record, a 2.87 ERA and seven shutouts in 1971. #615 comes from the fifth series and lists him with the Yankees.
Mel Stottlemyre (1941-2019) spent his entire 11-year major-league career with the New York Yankees. Born in Hazleton, Missouri and raised in the farm town of Mabton, Washington, he was signed for no bonus out of Yakima Valley Junior College by Yankees scout Eddie Taylor in 1961. He was still pitching for Triple-A Richmond when New York called him up in August 1964 to cover for the injured Whitey Ford. He went 9-3 the rest of the way, helped the club to its fifth straight American League pennant, and started three games against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, beating Bob Gibson in Game Two before losing the decisive Game Seven. An overhand sinkerballer who kept the ball low, he became the ace of a Yankees team that fell into the second division in 1965 for the first time since 1917. He won 20 games three times, was named to five All-Star squads, and threw 40 shutouts, the same career total as Sandy Koufax. Shoulder tendinitis dogged him from 1967 onward, and a torn rotator cuff ended his pitching at age 32 in 1974; the Yankees released him before the 1975 season. He retired 164-139 with a 2.97 ERA, then coached 23 seasons in the majors and won five World Series rings with the Mets and Yankees.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 462 | 0 | 9 | 167 | 193 | 53 | 24 | 16 | 0 |
| SGC | 33 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
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: #543 New York Yankees
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- #111 Yankees 1971 Rookie Stars
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #615 card?
It is card #615 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Mel Stottlemyre of the New York Yankees.
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.