1974 Topps #601 Rookie Outfielders - Ed Armbrister / Rich Bladt / Brian Downing / Bake McBride
On this card: Ed Armbrister, Rich Bladt, Brian Downing, Bake McBride
About this card
Cards #596-608 are the thirteen four-player Rookie Prospects cards, each titled by position. A Rookie Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card - on #601, #603, #604, #605 and #608 one of the four had already appeared on one, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
The story on this card
Armbrister debuted August 31, 1973, pinch running for Pete Rose, tripled and homered five days later, and hit .216 in 18 games. He went 1-for-6 with five strikeouts in the NLCS loss to the Mets and started Game 3 in the field. In 1974 he played nine games for the Reds. Card #601 is a Rookie Prospects card with Rich Bladt (Yankees), Brian Downing (White Sox) and Bake McBride (Cardinals). Bahamian outfielder and pinch runner who played five seasons, 1973 to 1977, for the Big Red Machine Reds. His collision with Carlton Fisk in Game 3 of the 1975 World Series drew a no-interference call, and he is in the Bahamas National Hall of Fame.
In 1974 Bladt was in the New York Yankees' minor league system. Topps printed him with the Yankees on card #601, a four-player Rookie Prospects card that also carries Ed Armbrister with the Reds, Brian Downing with the White Sox and Bake McBride with the Cardinals. The card is a rookie card for Bladt, Downing and McBride. Rick Bladt was an outfielder who played 10 games for the 1969 Cubs and 52 for the 1975 Yankees. He debuted by pinch-running for Billy Williams, and his only major league home run came on August 23, 1975, off the Angels' Andy Hassler.
Downing played 108 games in 1974, 63 of them at catcher and 39 in the outfield. He hit .225 with 10 home runs. Rookie Prospects card #601 is his rookie card; it lists him with the White Sox and shares the card with Ed Armbrister of the Reds, Rich Bladt of the Yankees and Bake McBride of the Cardinals. Brian Downing was a catcher for the White Sox who found his bat after a 1977 trade to the Angels. He moved to the outfield, then to designated hitter, and retired in 1992 with 275 home runs and 2,099 hits.
McBride's rookie card is #601, a four-man Rookie Prospects card with Ed Armbrister of the Reds, Rich Bladt of the Yankees and Brian Downing of the White Sox, McBride representing the Cardinals. He had hit .302 in 40 games in his 1973 debut season. In 1974 he won Rookie of the Year with .309, 173 hits and 30 steals, and on September 11 he scored the winning run in the 25th inning at Shea Stadium. Outfielder Bake McBride won the 1974 NL Rookie of the Year Award with the Cardinals, hit .299 in 11 seasons, and homered in Game 1 of the 1980 World Series for the champion Phillies.
Sources: Wikipedia (Ed Armbrister) · Wikipedia (Rick Bladt) · Wikipedia (Brian Downing) · Wikipedia (Bake McBride) · SABR BioProject (Ed Armbrister) · SABR BioProject (Bake Mcbride) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 340 | 2 | 81 | 173 | 37 | 19 | 16 | 12 | 0 |
| SGC | 17 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 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 cards: #459 Cincinnati Reds, #363 New York Yankees, #416 Chicago White Sox, #36 St. Louis Cardinals
More Cincinnati Reds cards:
More New York Yankees cards:
More Chicago White Sox cards:
More St. Louis Cardinals cards:
- #15 Joe Torre
- #60 Lou Brock
- #108 Al Hrabosky
- #151 Diego Segui
- #175 Reggie Cleveland
- #204 1973 Stolen Base Leaders
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #601 card?
It is card #601 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Ed Armbrister, Rich Bladt, Brian Downing and Bake McBride. Cards #596-608 are the thirteen four-player Rookie Prospects cards, each titled by position. A Rookie Prospects card is a rookie card for the players on it who had no earlier Topps flagship card - on #601, #603, #604, #605 and #608 one of the four had already appeared on one, and the rookie-card answer on each card names the players it counts for.
Is 1974 Topps #601 a rookie card?
Yes - #601 is the rookie card of Rich Bladt, Brian Downing and Bake McBride. Ed Armbrister had already appeared on an earlier Topps card, so it is not his rookie card.
How many cards are in the 1974 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, tracked as 678 collectible states. Numbers run from 1 to 660 with none skipped, issued all at once as a single series and printed in equal quantities; 17 cards carry catalogued print variations that the master set counts separately - fourteen San Diego / "Washington Nat'l Lea." pairs (thirteen Padres player cards and the #226 team card), the three-state #599 Rookie Pitchers, the #608 Apodaco misspelling and the #654 Jesus Alou front without a position.
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.