1975 Topps #181 Fred Beene
About Fred Beene
Fred Beene, a wiry 5-foot-9 right-hander out of Angleton, Texas, made his living proving wrong the scouts who said he was too small for the majors. Signed by the Orioles for $6,000 in 1964 after helping Sam Houston State win the 1963 NAIA championship, he pitched parts of eight seasons, mostly in relief, for Baltimore, the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians. Teammates affectionately called him "Beeney," a nod to his surname that stuck through a career of outsized talent in a small frame. His best stretch came with the Yankees, posting ERAs under 2.50 out of the bullpen. Cleveland acquired him in an April 1974 trade that sent Chris Chambliss and Dick Tidrow to New York, and his final big-league outing came late in the 1975 season pictured on this card. He finished 12-7 with a 3.63 ERA, 156 strikeouts and eight saves in 112 games, then spent two decades scouting for the Milwaukee Brewers, signing future major leaguer Jim Morris.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 318 | 8 | 81 | 171 | 36 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| SGC | 15 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Graded population — a scarcity guide, not a price. Snapshot 2026-08-19. Half grades fold down for both graders (8.5→8); PSA qualified slabs (OC, ST, PD, MC and the like) are not counted. The graders do not split the 1975 Topps Mini or O-Pee-Chee issues into this set.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the 1975 Topps #181 card?
It is card #181 of the 660-card 1975 Topps Baseball set, picturing Fred Beene.
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 2026-10-05.