1976 Topps #98 Dennis Eckersley
About Dennis Eckersley
#98 is Eckersley's rookie card, a key one for the set, printed with Cleveland. Frank Robinson wanted him in the 1975 rotation but opened him in the bullpen at the front office's urging, and his first start was a three-hit, 6-0 shutout of Oakland on May 25. He finished 13-7 with a 2.60 ERA, led the staff with 152 strikeouts and was named The Sporting News American League Rookie Pitcher of the Year. #202, from the League Leaders subset, puts him beside Jim Palmer of Baltimore and Jim Hunter of New York.
Dennis Eckersley won 197 games and saved 390 over 24 seasons, 1975 to 1998, and was the first pitcher with both a 20-win season and a 50-save season. He started for his first 12 seasons, with Cleveland, Boston and the Chicago Cubs, who got him from the Red Sox for Bill Buckner on May 25, 1984, and reached their first postseason since 1945. After a 6-11 season in 1986 he checked himself into a rehabilitation clinic for alcoholism, and he has been sober since January 1987. The Cubs traded him to Oakland on April 3, 1987, and Tony La Russa made him the closer when Jay Howell was hurt. He led the league with 45 saves in 1988 and saved all four games of the ALCS sweep of Boston, then gave up Kirk Gibson's World Series home run. In 1990 he walked four batters in 73 1/3 innings and posted a 0.61 ERA, and in 1992 he won the Cy Young and Most Valuable Player awards with 51 saves. He closed for St. Louis in 1996 and 1997, set up for Boston in 1998 and retired having appeared in more games, 1,071, than any pitcher before him. He borrowed his high leg kick from Juan Marichal and entered the Hall of Fame in 2004, his first year of eligibility.
Sources: Wikipedia · SABR BioProject · Baseball-Reference
Graded population (PSA & SGC)
| Grader | Total | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 1-4 | Auth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA | 5,960 | 9 | 191 | 1,338 | 1,581 | 1,257 | 779 | 799 | 6 |
| SGC | 1,339 | 0 | 13 | 113 | 336 | 346 | 289 | 213 | 29 |
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
More Dennis Eckersley in this set: #202 League Leaders
Team card: #477 Cleveland Indians Team
More Cleveland Indians cards:
- #21 Dave LaRoche
- #45 Boog Powell
- #66 Father & Son - Big Leaguers
- #69 Father & Son - Big Leaguers
- #74 Oscar Gamble
- #132 Don Hood
- #156 Rico Carty
- #178 Tom Buskey
- #202 1975 AL ERA Leaders
- #204 1975 AL Strikeout Leaders
- #209 Alan Ashby
- #232 Frank Duffy
- #255 Fritz Peterson
- #275 Rick Manning
Frequently asked questions
What is the 1976 Topps #98 card?
It is card #98 of the 660-card 1976 Topps Baseball set, picturing Dennis Eckersley of the Cleveland Indians.
Is 1976 Topps #98 a rookie card?
Yes - #98 is the 1976 Topps rookie card of Dennis Eckersley.
What are the key cards in the 1976 Topps set?
#19 George Brett is the top card of the set. The other major keys are #98 Dennis Eckersley (his rookie card), #240 Pete Rose, #316 Robin Yount, #330 Nolan Ryan, #550 Hank Aaron, #592 1976 Rookie Infielders (the Willie Randolph rookie) and #599 1976 Rookie Pitchers (the Ron Guidry rookie). The set was printed as one series in equal quantities, so it has no high-number or short-print run.
How many cards are in the 1976 Topps Baseball set?
660 cards, numbered 1 through 660 with none skipped and printed in equal quantities as a single series. No card carries a catalogued print variation, so the base set and the master set are the same 660 cards.
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.