1975 Topps #491 Doyle Alexander
Birthdate reads 9-5-50 — should be 9-4-50.
About Doyle Alexander
Doyle Lafayette Alexander broke into pro ball as a Dodgers ninth-round pick in 1968 out of Woodlawn High School and Jefferson College, debuting with Los Angeles in 1971. That December he went to Baltimore in the trade that sent Frank Robinson to the Dodgers, and by his 1975 Topps card, #491, he was in his fourth Orioles season, having broken through with a 12-8 mark in 1973. The card's printed birthdate of 9-5-50 is an error — Alexander was actually born September 4, 1950, in Cordova, Alabama. A June 1976 trade sent him to the Yankees, for whom he started and lost Game 1 of that fall's World Series against Cincinnati. After stops in Texas, Atlanta, San Francisco and back to New York, he found his best form with Toronto, winning 17 games in both 1984 and 1985. His career took its strangest turn in 1987, when the Braves traded him to the contending Tigers for minor-leaguer John Smoltz, one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history; Alexander went 9-0, 1.53 ERA down the stretch to help Detroit take the division. He made his only All-Star team in 1988 before retiring in 1989 with 194 career wins.
Sources: Wikipedia · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 357 | 3 | 109 | 206 | 25 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| SGC | 14 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-08-19. Half-grades fold down (8.5→8), and PSA's qualified grades are counted separately from the straight-grade rows shown here. The graders do not split the 1975 Topps Mini or O-Pee-Chee issues into this set.
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- #142 Bob Reynolds
- #167 Rich Coggins
- #202 1964 MVPs
- #204 1966 MVPs
- #208 1970 MVPs
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- #303 Grant Jackson
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1975 Topps #491 card?
It is card #491 of the 660-card 1975 Topps Baseball set, picturing Doyle Alexander.
Does 1975 Topps #491 have an error?
Birthdate reads 9-5-50 — should be 9-4-50. It was never corrected, so there is no variation to chase - every copy of #491 reads the same way.
How many cards are in the 1975 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1-660, with no variations and no short prints - PSA reports the cards were printed in equal quantities. The 1975 Topps Mini and the 1975 O-Pee-Chee issues are separate products with their own checklists.
Sources: Trading Card Database, Cardboard Connection, the PSA price guide, 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 2026-08-20.