1972 Topps #498 Brooks Robinson
About this card
This is one of the sixteen Boyhood Photos cards, in two runs of eight (#341-348 and #491-498); every Boyhood Photos player also has a regular card in the set.
About Brooks Robinson
Playing 152 games at third base in 1972, Robinson batted .250 with 64 RBI. That season also brought him a Gold Glove, a Sporting News All-Star selection at third and the Roberto Clemente Award. Topps issued him twice with the Baltimore Orioles, #498 in the Boyhood Photos subset in the fourth series and #550 in the fifth.
Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. spent his entire 23-year career (1955-1977) at third base for the Baltimore Orioles, the club that signed him out of Little Rock, Arkansas, for $4,000 in 1955. Known as the Human Vacuum Cleaner, he is generally regarded as the greatest fielding third baseman in major-league history. He was an All-Star in 15 straight seasons (1960-1974) and won 16 consecutive Gold Gloves (1960-1975), the most by any position player. He still holds the career records for a third baseman in putouts, assists, total chances and double plays. He was the American League Most Valuable Player in 1964, batting .317 with 28 home runs and a league-best 118 RBIs. He played on four AL pennant winners and two World Series champions, in 1966 and 1970. His glovework in the 1970 Series against Cincinnati, where he robbed the Reds again and again while batting .429, earned him the Series MVP award. He finished with a .267 average, 2,848 hits and 268 home runs, all in Baltimore, and his 23 seasons with one team have since been matched only by Carl Yastrzemski. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1983 on the first ballot, named on 92 percent of the ballots.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference · Baseball Almanac · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 304 | 7 | 69 | 140 | 47 | 17 | 14 | 10 | 0 |
| SGC | 28 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 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
More Brooks Robinson in this set: #550
Team card: #731 Baltimore Orioles
More Baltimore Orioles cards:
- #26 Andy Etchebarren
- #70 Mike Cuellar
- #86 1971 A.L. Batting Leaders
- #88 1971 A.L. R.B.I. Leaders
- #92 1971 A.L. E.R.A. Leaders
- #100 Frank Robinson
- #128 Eddie Watt
- #140 Pat Dobson
- #212 Grant Jackson
- #222 1971 A.L. Playoffs: Orioles Champs!
- #223 1971 World Series Game No. 1
- #224 1971 World Series Game No. 2
- #228 1971 World Series Game No. 6
- #235 Merv Rettenmund
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1972 Topps #498 card?
It is card #498 of the 787-card 1972 Topps Baseball set, picturing Brooks Robinson of the Baltimore Orioles. This is one of the sixteen Boyhood Photos cards, in two runs of eight (#341-348 and #491-498); every Boyhood Photos player also has a regular card in the set.
How many cards are in the 1972 Topps Baseball set?
787 cards, tracked as 794 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 787 with none skipped, in six print series (#1-132, #133-263, #264-394, #395-525, #526-656 and #657-787, the high numbers); 7 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - four Chicago Cubs cards with yellow or green under the "C" and "S" of the team name, the #251 and #478 checklists with smaller or larger print on the front, and the #604 checklist with its copyright line aligned right or left.
Sources: Trading Card Database, PSA CardFacts, 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.