1971 Topps #649 Sparky Lyle
About Sparky Lyle
Lyle went 6-4 with a 2.75 ERA and 16 saves for Boston in 1971. He appeared in 50 games, struck out 37 batters and went 3 for 3 at the plate. His Red Sox card #649 appeared in the sixth series of 1971 Topps.
Sparky Lyle pitched all 899 games of his 16-season major league career in relief. He finished with 238 saves, a 2.88 ERA and a 99-76 record. The left-hander played for Boston, the Yankees, Texas, Philadelphia and the White Sox. Baltimore signed him in 1964, and Boston selected him in the first-year draft that November. Ted Williams described the slider to Lyle at spring training in 1966; Lyle worked out how to throw it and made it his principal pitch. With New York, he became the first American League reliever to win the Cy Young Award in 1977. He coauthored "The Bronx Zoo" with Peter Golenbock in 1979. From 1998 through 2012, he managed the Somerset Patriots, winning five Atlantic League championships.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 551 | 0 | 10 | 130 | 229 | 97 | 46 | 39 | 0 |
| SGC | 59 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 21 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 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: #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
- #89 Ken Brett
- #114 Billy Conigliaro
- #159 Jarvis Tatum
- #176 Red Sox 1971 Rookie Stars
- #191 Mike Andrews
- #225 Gary Peters
- #254 Cal Koonce
- #287 Mike Fiore
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1971 Topps #649 card?
It is card #649 of the 752-card 1971 Topps Baseball set, picturing Sparky Lyle of the Boston Red Sox.
Why is #649 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.