1974 Topps #257 Buddy Bell
About Buddy Bell
A right knee strain cost Bell time in 1974, and he played 116 games, 115 of them at third base. He hit .262 with 7 home runs and 46 RBI. Frank Robinson, who had been a teammate of Bell's father Gus in Cincinnati, replaced Ken Aspromonte as Indians manager after the season. Card #257 lists Bell with Cleveland.
Buddy Bell was a third baseman for 18 seasons with Cleveland, Texas, Cincinnati and Houston, a five-time All-Star who won six consecutive Gold Gloves from 1979 to 1984. The son of Reds outfielder Gus Bell, he was drafted by Cleveland in 1969 and debuted on April 15, 1972, in right field before settling at third. Cleveland traded him to Texas for Toby Harrah after the 1978 season, and in 1979 he drove in a career-high 101 runs; in 1980 he hit .329. On August 31, 1984, he hit a two-out, walk-off grand slam against Milwaukee, the 16th ultimate grand slam in major league history. He added a Silver Slugger in 1984, reached 2,000 hits in 1985, and finished with 2,514 hits, 201 home runs and 1,106 RBI in 2,405 games. The Lou Gehrig Memorial Award came in 1988. He later managed Detroit, Colorado and Kansas City for three seasons each, and his sons Mike and David both reached the majors; David became manager of the Reds.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 394 | 12 | 191 | 154 | 15 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| SGC | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 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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Team card: #541 Cleveland Indians
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #257 card?
It is card #257 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Buddy Bell of the Cleveland Indians.
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.