1974 Topps #306 Orioles Field Leaders - Earl Weaver / Jim Frey / George Bamberger / Billy Hunter / George Staller
On this card: Earl Weaver, Jim Frey, George Bamberger, Billy Hunter, George Staller
About this card
Managers have their own cards this year, separate from the 24 team cards: twenty Field Leaders cards picture a manager with two to four of his coaches, and #578 Ralph Houk of the Tigers is the one solo manager card. The Athletics, Yankees and Padres have a team card but no manager card. Eight Field Leaders cards include a Hall of Famer, among them the Dodgers' Walter Alston and Tom Lasorda (#144) and coaches Bill Mazeroski (#489) and Larry Doby (#531).
About Orioles Field Leaders (Earl Weaver / Jim Frey / George Bamberger / Billy Hunter / George Staller)
The Associated Press named Weaver Manager of the Year for 1973. Topps grouped Baltimore's manager with Jim Frey, George Bamberger, Billy Hunter and George Staller on #306 in 1974. His Orioles finished 91-71 and won the American League East that season, then lost the ALCS to Oakland three games to one. Earl Weaver managed Baltimore to four American League pennants and the 1970 World Series title. He used detailed pitcher-hitter records to arrange his lineups and entered the Hall of Fame in 1996.
The 1974 Orioles stood fourth, eight games behind Boston, on August 29. A 27-6 run took them to first place, and they clinched the AL East on October 1 before Oakland beat them in the ALCS, three games to one. Mike Cuellar won 22 games and Ross Grimsley 18. Years later, when Kansas City hired Frey, Weaver said the Orioles would miss his knowledge, his judgment and his organization ability. His 1974 Topps card, #306, lists the Orioles' staff with Frey second, after Weaver. Jim Frey spent 14 minor-league seasons as an outfielder without reaching the majors, coached the Orioles under Earl Weaver for ten years, then managed the 1980 Royals to the World Series and the 1984 Cubs to the NL East title.
On #306 Bamberger moves to third in the lineup of Orioles coaches, after Weaver and Jim Frey. In the dugout he sat on Weaver's left, because he was nearly deaf in his right ear. His message to the staff was to throw strikes and change speeds. On Father's Day in 1951, Ottawa Giants pitcher George Bamberger no-hit Toronto in a 1-0 win. His bases-loaded walk drove in the only run; his daughter Judy had been born the night before.
Hunter coached third base for Earl Weaver's 1973 Orioles, who won the American League East at 97-65 and lost the ALCS to Oakland, three games to two. When Weaver was ejected from a game, Hunter often took over for the rest of it. In 1974 he added a gimmick: after an Oriole homer, he unbuttoned his shirt to show the crowd a T-shirt that read ZAP. #306 is the Orioles manager-and-coaches card, shared with Weaver, Jim Frey, George Bamberger and George Staller. Billy Hunter was a slick-fielding shortstop, an All-Star for the 1953 St. Louis Browns and a Yankees reserve on the 1956 champions. He later coached third base for Baltimore's 1966 and 1970 title teams and managed the Texas Rangers in 1977 and 1978.
Among Staller's small jobs as the Orioles' first-base coach was tossing the ball to the pitcher at the start of each inning, with one exception: Mike Cuellar, a superstitious Cuban left-hander who wanted it resting in the grass in front of the mound. Topps placed him on #306 in its 1974 set, an Orioles card in the manager subset headed by Earl Weaver that also pictures Jim Frey, George Bamberger and Billy Hunter. Left-handed outfielder who played 21 games for the 1943 Philadelphia Athletics, then managed in the minors for 14 seasons and coached first base for the Baltimore Orioles from July 1968 through 1975 under Earl Weaver.
Sources: Wikipedia (Earl Weaver) · Wikipedia (Jim Frey) · Wikipedia (George Bamberger) · Wikipedia (Billy Hunter) · Wikipedia (George Staller) · SABR BioProject (Earl Weaver) · SABR BioProject (Jim Frey) · SABR BioProject (George Bamberger) · SABR BioProject (Billy Hunter) · SABR BioProject (George Staller) · BaseballCardPedia
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 309 | 3 | 113 | 156 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| SGC | 11 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 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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Related cards
Team card: #16 Baltimore Orioles
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- #160 Brooks Robinson
- #187 Don Baylor
- #206 1973 Earned Run Average Leaders
- #235 Dave McNally
- #259 Bob Reynolds
- #282 Doyle Alexander
- #329 Mark Belanger
- #334 All-Star Third Basemen
- #353 Rich Coggins
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1974 Topps #306 card?
It is card #306 of the 660-card 1974 Topps Baseball set, picturing Earl Weaver, Jim Frey, George Bamberger, Billy Hunter and George Staller. Managers have their own cards this year, separate from the 24 team cards: twenty Field Leaders cards picture a manager with two to four of his coaches, and #578 Ralph Houk of the Tigers is the one solo manager card. The Athletics, Yankees and Padres have a team card but no manager card. Eight Field Leaders cards include a Hall of Famer, among them the Dodgers' Walter Alston and Tom Lasorda (#144) and coaches Bill Mazeroski (#489) and Larry Doby (#531).
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.